THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE VIEW ON MEDICINE
             The First Church of Christ, Scientist was founded by Mary Baker Eddy over a century ago in Boston, Massachusetts. Her discovery of the idea of the science of Christianity came shortly after a fall on the ice. After consulting doctors and receiving grim prognoses, she turned to her Bible and read about the healing powers of Jesus Christ. According to history, she was instantly healed; thus began the Christian Science movement. The church embraces and upholds more than just the doctrine of faith healing, but it is this facet of the church that has, within the past decade, come under the intense scrutiny of the medical community. The right to forego or deny medical treatment for oneself or one's child is protected under religious freedom laws; the controversy begins when children die because of these laws, through the withholding of medical treatment. The view of the church is that they are protected by religious freedom; the view of the medical community is that denying medical care to children constitutes abuse.
             Today, the Christian Scientist church is divided into two followings, one out of Boston, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and one out of Denver, now called the Endtime Center. A core concept in church doctrine is faith healing, or prayer healing; this practice is what the church is most known for. There is nothing in the doctrine to forbid anyone from seeking medical healing. Rather, there is a strong sense that when one does seek medical healing one has turned one's back on the power of prayer1. When Christian Scientists put their faith in the power of prayer, it is thought that it would be hypocritical also to put their faith in medicine1. As defined by Mary Baker Eddy, disease is "a belief, a latent illusion of mortal mind"2. The church's view on medical treatment stems from this logic; if sickness is in one's head, drugs and other ...