Should We Heal or Pray? A Defense of Modern Medicine

Brett Williams

Amidst the rise of American idealism after the Civil War, recent divorcée and amateur spiritualist Mary Baker Eddy self-published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. By the mid-1880s, the book was a hit, and Eddy founded both the Massachusetts Metaphysical College and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Eddy claimed that people relied too greatly on modern medicine and had lost the ability to tap into the divine "Mind," which would result in healing from both spiritual and physical sickness. She argued that Christians should focus on the metaphysical while rejecting medical science, or (as she put it) "abandon pharmaceutics and take up ontology." While Christian Science is rightly critiqued as a current version of Gnosticism, Eddy's claims pose intriguing questions. Should Christians seek modern medical care, or should they simply trust God? Furthermore, does the Bible offer any support for the modern practice of medicine?