Consent

[MikeNJParticipant]

Mrs. Eddy says that we, as Christian Scientists, shouldn’t work for those who have not give their consent. There is someone very close to me in my life who is struggling and has not given me consent to work for them.

As a Christian Scientist, I always refute false claims that appear in my experience whether they appear to me or to others. How do I draw the line between taking care of my thought and working for someone else? Is there even really a distinction? I mean, there’s only one mind anyway, right?

-Mike

[GordonParticipant]

Mike, a little while ago there was a similar thread in these forums called Christian Science and Medicine. I gave an explanation there of what I understand to be the difference between specific Christian Science treatment and general prayer (the latter being something you can do anywhere, any time, with or without consent from anyone!).

So please refer to my answer there. In addition to that, I love this passage from page 421 of Science and Health:

It is no more Christianly scientific to see disease than it is to experience it.

You always have the right to pray about anything that is discordant in YOUR experience — and, in fact, you MUST pray about it!

• This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by  Gordon.
• This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by  Gordon.

[IanParticipant]

Great Question, Mike.

It is right to always be sure we are being honest especially with the people we care about. So I think you are right to be asking this question. My first thought was that you can always offer to support the person…

My second thought is that I have often worked on correcting my thought about a person and situation and it had a direct impact, but I never prayed for the person in a specific way. I was praying for myself to recognize what was true.

All the best.

[MikeNJParticipant]

Ok, so I really feel that Dickey phrases this concept beautifully. But it leaves me with a question. How would I do anything differently if I WAS given consent? I realize that its the Christ that does the healing and we cannot “do” anything. So to put it another way, what would change if I was given consent?

[IanParticipant]

Mike – Have you had class instruction? If you haven’t you might consider thinking about that. Your question sounds like it comes from someone dedicated and thoughtful about Christian Science and how to use Christian Science rightly and effectively. People like yourself are exactly the kind of people teachers would love to accept into class.

Either way, you still might want to ask a teacher of Christian Science to answer your question. Its a question that is a bit difficult to tackle on a forum like this, and could be hugely misconstrued by the public who are frequenting this site. I tried to write a response to you several times and just could not land the right words that would make sense to you and to the general public. Anyway…

Hope this helps a little. If you are interested, I would be willing to talk to you about it in a PM.

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