Independent Christian Science articles

A Christian’s first duty is to maintain our own peace

From Dominion Within by , pages 108 to 111

Even in the experience of those strongest in the truth, there come times when, to sense, error specially abounds and rages. In such a time a Christian’s first duty is to save his own sense from taking part in the raging of error. With his utmost efforts this may be all he is able to do, and he will do well, at times, if he does this; but, unless he does this first of all, he can neither help himself nor any one else. Such a raging of error is spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, and he tells us: “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.” If these mighty men of faith under the given unfavorable conditions would have been able to have saved but their own sense from having part in error, able to have done no more than maintain spiritual consciousness, then surely there are times when we, who have not endured the test of the flood, nor the trial by suffering and the loss of all earthly possessions, and who have not survived the lions’ den, — there are times when we shall do well if we do nothing more than maintain our own peace.

In this connection, the story of Noah and the ark is illuminating. Taken figuratively, the flood may represent the raging sea of error; the solid ground the abiding sense of good, which for a time seemed to be completely covered and hidden from sight by the sea; while the ark represents that spiritual’ consciousness which rides safely above the raging waves. Spiritual consciousness was a place of safety to Noah, his sons, and their wives, but there were none others in the world who were able to dwell in this ark of spiritual consciousness, and so no other men were saved from the flood. The ark had but one window, and it was open toward heaven, toward light and truth and good, — the ark had no windows at the sides for looking out on the sea of error. From time to time Noah sent out a thought of peace, the dove; but it found no resting-place, none of the solid ground of good appearing above the flood, and so it returned to Noah. Thus he knew that the waters of error were not yet subsided, and he continued to dwell in the ark of spiritual consciousness until error should destroy itself, and thus abate, at least in some measure. When once more Noah sent out the dove, his thought of peace, it found a resting-place, and did not return. Then he knew that error was sufficiently self-destroyed, and enough of truth and good had appeared in the outward situation so that it was safe for him to begin to make preparations to go forth from the ark; that is, to reach out with aspiring faith for the benefit of mankind.

Many times there are members of our family, or of our church, or people in our neighborhood, who are so satisfied with their present condition that the wisest thing we can do is to protect our own consciousness and allow the error to find its own self-destruction, while we calmly abide in the consciousness that nothing real, nothing good, can be destroyed or lost. When error has sufficiently destroyed itself in the consciousness of others through suffering, the time will come when they will be ready for the help which we can give them. It is well for us occasionally to utter a word of peace, a thought of Science; but if their behavior does not indicate that this thought of Science finds a place in their consciousness where it can rest without stirring up violent manifestations of error, the thing for us to do is to continue to dwell quietly in the ark of our consciousness of Truth. If, in our efforts to help them, we ourselves are dragged forth from the ark into the sea of error, much is lost to us and to them. While the prodigal chose to remain in the far country, “no man ministered unto him.” By these words Jesus seems to intimate quite clearly that to let them alone is the most effective treatment for those who are headstrong in error.

The proper interpretation of certain verses in the first chapter of Genesis gives us added understanding of our privilege and duty. God’s universe was never “created” in the sense of having been developed from a previous state of non-existence. God’s universe is coeternal with Himself. Any well-instructed Christian Scientist will recognize this fact, without argument from the Scripture to support it, though such evidence can readily be given. The record in the first chapter of Genesis is not, therefore, a record of creation, but a record of the inspired writer’s advancing periods of understanding of the universe which eternally existed. Says Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health (p. 504), “Was not this a revelation instead of a creation? The successive appearing of God’s ideas is represented as taking place on so many evenings and mornings, — words which indicate, in the absence of solar time, spiritually clearer views of Him, views which are not implied by material darkness and dawn.”

While we are passing through the advancing periods of understanding, the human sense may be subject to more or less of disquietude and unrest. There will be “days” when all will appear bright and clear. Then other problems will arise, which we are not able to solve for a time, and we may pass through a period of “night.” Then we succeed in solving or overcoming these difficulties of understanding or experience, and come into a brighter and fuller “day.” Finally, we arrive at the goal of complete understanding, where we know the truth, and know that we know it, and feel scientifically confident that we can abide in the consciousness of Truth and protect ourselves from coming under the domination of error. While there is much that we have not demonstrated, yet we feel that we understand God, understand His universe, and understand ourselves, and that we have sufficient hold on the truth, so that we can make our way forward gradually to a complete demonstration of that which we know to be true, without let or hindrance from error.

When we have attained this consciousness, we have reached the day of rest, — not a period of idleness, by any means, but rather a period of activity in demonstration of the truth. Like God, we are able to “rest in action” (Science and Health, p. 519). We work vigorously for our own advancement and the advancement of others. While doing so, we are confronted with all sorts of errors, but they do not disturb the harmony of our consciousness while we are overcoming them. We are strong enough in the truth so that they cannot disturb us. So we are in perfect repose, even while we are actively working. This period of repose, this day of rest, is our Sabbath day. We should “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;” that is, our consciousness should rest in God, and we should not allow inharmonious, annoying, unholy thoughts and feelings to enter. We should keep our consciousness pure and clear and our Sabbath day, our spiritual consciousness, having been attained, should endure forever.

Mind And Nature

From the September 1909 issue of the Christian Science Journal by

IN Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy often speaks of the apparent obscuration of Mind, Truth, by mortal belief, under the figure of clouds obscuring the light of the sun. By carrying out this line of illustration, some of the points in the philosophy of Christian Science which are considered difficult by beginners may be cleared up.

Let us suppose that there were an island in the Pacific ocean far removed from all other land, inhabited by a people who had never had communication with people from any other country. Let us assume, further, that the conditions were such that the sky over this island was always overcast with clouds,—not clouds of uniform consistency, but with clouds always drifting, and somewhat broken; never thin enough in any place to permit the outline of the sun’s disk to be visible, but thin enough in places, now and then, to permit the sun’s light to be manifest in golden spots in the clouds, otherwise comparatively dark.

Naturally the people of this island, never having had direct sense perception of the sun, would have no word in their language with which to speak of it; nor would they have any knowledge of the sun, unless they had reasoned out that there must be such an object. They would have a word signifying light, and they would probably think that the clouds were the source of this light. Seeing light spots in the clouds, here and there, they would exclaim, “Oh, how beautiful!” and they would very much desire to keep these light spots from fading or drifting away, but they would be unable to do so.

As a matter of fact, they would be mistaken in almost all their conclusions with regard to light. Instead of light being a property of the clouds, as it would seem to them, the clouds, in their very nature, are opposed to light—the more cloud, the less light. They would see light, not because of the clouds, but in spite of them; and they would see light far more perfectly and enduringly if the clouds could be utterly swept away. They would think that light is in the clouds; but the light would be no more in the clouds than everywhere else,—less so, if anything; and the light would never be in the clouds in the sense of being a property of or inseparable from them. They would think that the fading or drifting away of the spots of light was a change in the light; but there would be no change in the light,—merely a change in the obscuring medium. They would probably think that the different light spots in the clouds were different lights, and so they would speak of many lights; but in fact they saw only one light, the light of the sun. made to appear to them to be many lights by the conditions of the obscuring medium.

Mind, God, manifested in all true intelligence, all genuine love, all real beauty and harmony, changelessly and eternally, is omnipresent, even as the sun’s light is omnipresent in the solar system. But Mind, God, is more or less concealed from the apprehension of human beings by a changing, drifting condition of general false belief, named by Mrs. Eddy “mortal mind,” named by St. Paul “the carnal mind,” and named by Jesus the one evil, or the devil.The apparent obscuration of Mind, God, by mortal sense is so constant in human experience that mankind have questioned the complete and unclouded perception of God realized by Christ Jesus. This obscuration is so continuous and dense that many human beings find it as difficult to believe that there is a God behind all the phenomena of human experience as the islanders might find it difficult to believe that there was a sun behind the clouds, when no one of them had ever had a clear perception of it. Christ Jesus, being born of the Spirit on the one side, and of a human mother on the other, was on the border between the clouds of mortal sense and the clear sky of Spirit above; that is, he was above the clouds, yet near enough to them to be in touch with them and with those below these clouds or those enveloped in them. He was thus able to gain an unclouded vision of Spirit, God. All others know what they know about God by a process of learning, by a process of intellectual and spiritual effort, thus coming into a mental apprehension of God which is valid, certain, and valuable, but which in most cases is not full and unclouded apprehension. The islanders would never know of the sun directly: they might know of it through a process of reasoning, and thus know it only mentally, if at all.

At one point, the illustration cannot be made to apply; to the subject under consideration. The best way for the islanders to apprehend the sun would be by direct and unclouded sense evidence, if possible; but God cannot be known at all by sense evidence, for sense evidence is itself the obscuring cloud which prevents the full apprehension of God. The only way that God can be known is spiritually; so that, in proportion as human beings learn to know God through spiritual perception, in spite of the obscurations of sense evidence, in that proportion they come into direct knowledge of God in the only way that He can be known, and the clouds of sense no longer exist for them.

One phase of the condition of false belief named mortal mind is the belief named matter. As the islanders, speaking in terms of our supposition, would never behold the sun’s light except through the clouds, so human sense has never outwardly beheld the manifestations of Mind, God, except through the obscuring veil named matter. Hence, unless we have learned to know God through the mental and spiritual faculties within, we are never able to perceive the manifestations of Mind as they really are. In fact, those who depend solely on outward evidence are apt to be skeptical about the existence of the all-creating and all-ruling Spirit; while, on the other hand, they are apt to think that such intelligence and harmony and beauty as they see manifest in connection with matter is a property of the matter itself, just as the islanders would be apt to think that the light they saw was a property of the clouds.

The islanders might argue, “No clouds, no light; therefore there can lie no light where there is no cloud.” We can see how foolish such a deduction as this would be, and equally foolish is the deduction of the modern materialist, who reasons in this wise: “In human observation, where there is no brain, there is no mind; hence there can be no mind or intelligence where there is no brain; therefore mind is a property of the brain.” As a matter of fact, the mortal embodiment and experience is but a projection of general mortal belief, through which, here and there, the one omnipresent Mind shines more perfectly, perchance, than it can shine through the more material conditions of mortal belief. The clouds of mortal belief are thinner at these points, yet dense enough and sufficiently opposed to Mind in character to obscure more or less largely and pervert the true characteristics of Mind, when beheld through this veil even in its thinnest parts. The more intellectual, moral, and spiritual a human being is, the thinner the veil of mortal belief at that point. Where little or nothing of intelligence is manifest, as in earth and water, there the cloud of mortal belief is thickest. Intervening conditions of density are manifest in the appearances named plants, trees, animals, manifesting varying degrees of intelligence; and highest of all. as already indicated, are human beings, culminating in Christ Jesus.

Flowers, for instance, are such organizations in general mortal belief that, while they do not permit Mind to shine through and be manifest as sentient life, as in the case of men, yet they permit much of divine beauty and harmony to be manifest for a time. When we see a perfect flower, we exclaim: “Oh, how. beautiful!” and we would like to keep it in its beauty and freshness; but we say that its beauty will wither and fade away. As a matter of fact, the beauty of the flower no more changes or withers than does the sunlight; the fading and withering are incidents of the obscuring medium, named matter. If we could sweep this obscuring medium out of the way, as we shall some time be able to do through the power of Christ, Truth, we should behold beauty and harmony far more perfectly than they are ever manifest in a rose or a lily. We should thus have uninterrupted experience of beauty and harmony, forever.

Mind, God, is all intelligence, all beauty, all harmony, omnipresent and eternal. He is no more in matter than sunlight is in the clouds. The clouds lessen the amount of sunlight received, even as Mind is less manifest in connection with matter than it is anywhere else; and this is perceived to he a fact by those able to apprehend Mind and its manifestations as they are. Such apprehension is possible only through spiritual discernment, and never through sense perception. Said Jesus: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

God, the sole creator, is Mind: and the creations of Mind are necessarily mental; that is to say, ideas. Only those who are able to apprehend ideas, and to think in terms of ideas, wholly apart from any material manifestation, are able to apprehend the things of God as they really are. Mind has created a heaven and an earth, and plants and animals and man. and known as they are, these are all universal ideas of Mind, and are never in or of matter. They are apprehended in a very imperfect and perverted manner through the obscuring veil of false material belief, which is no better a medium for beholding these things as they are than are clouds for beholding the sun’s light as it is.

Under a slightly different figure Mrs. Eddy has brought to us this same line of illustration. She says: “The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. The light and the glass never mingle, but as matter the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality —much error—in order to become a better transparency for Truth. Then, like a cloud melting into thin vapor, it no longer hides the sun.” “There is neither growth, maturity, nor decay in Soul. These changes are the mutations of material sense, the varying clouds of mortal belief, which hide the truth of being.” “How little light or heat reach our earth when clouds cover the sun’s face! So Christian Science can be seen only as the clouds of corporeal sense roll away” (Science and Health, pp. 295, 31O, 548).

As already indicated, the islanders, in terms of our supposition, would be apt to think of the light manifest in several spots in the sky as many lights; but they would see only one light, the light of the sun, which would be manifest equally everywhere, if the clouds were swept aside. So human beings, owing to the varying conditions of the obscuring medium, perceive Mind manifest in spots, as it were, through the veil of matter, and they speak of men as being, or as having, many minds. But in truth there is only one Mind manifest, which would be manifest in all individualities, and far more perfectly, if the beliefs named matter and mortal mind could be swept away, as they are being swept away more and more through the application of the teachings of the Bible as they are interpreted in Science and Health, and as they will be swept away completely by the continued application of these teachings.

Likewise in flowers, and in trees and in the other forms of so-called nature, we do not really behold many beauties and many harmonies, but we behold more or less imperfectly, more or less transiently, the one imperishable and perfect harmony and beauty,—the harmony and beauty of Mind. Tennyson wrote,—

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies; —
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand.
Little flower—but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

In these beautiful words he expressed a great truth, for he who can correctly discern the Life, beauty, and harmony manifest in a little flower, is sure to find God, and man in His image and likeness.

By maintaining the understanding which has come to us through the teachings of our Leader, and by exercising a rightly discriminating sense, we may know that God is in a degree manifest through what men call nature; that He is never manifest because of matter, but always in spite of it. Then we may read with both profit and pleasure, and at the same time, without perversion of understanding, the many beautiful passages in the Bible where God is represented as being manifest in nature, such as the following, from the Psalms:—

“Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. . . . Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: them greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. . . Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.”

Undefeatable Career

From Lectures on Christian Science by

You may fear that the injustice of others can defeat that purpose, can keep from you the good things God has prepared. Nothing of the sort really can happen. Not even your own folly can indefinitely postpone the destiny the Eternal plans for you as you “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

You remember the morning Jesus was brought before Pilate, charged with making himself king. At one point in the trial, where he refused to talk, Pilate said to him: “Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee?” “Thou couldest have no power at all against me,” answered Jesus, “except it were given thee from above.”

Then Pilate delivered him to his accusers and he was executed. But presently Jesus was back alive the same man he was before. How little the conspiracy accomplished except to speed and glorify the career of that amazing man. There was not power enough in the clamorous rabble or even in the Roman government to defeat the purpose the Almighty had for His son.

There is no circumstance, no injustice, no power in this world to defeat the purpose God has for you if you make the right choice and stay resolutely with it. And life is still before you.

The greatest human need is more Spirit

From Dominion Within by

Perceiving that the real and true supply for our needs is spiritual, we can at once understand that God all the time meets every man’s need with His Spirit, which is substance, strength, harmony, life, and an everlasting dwelling place. “In Him, we live and move and have our being.” Whoever appropriates this spiritual supply gains the kingdom of heaven.

But what about men’s need for material food, drink, and raiment? Are not these human needs? Has God always met these needs? Yes, He has always met even these needs, although He has not forced the appropriation of the supply upon those who would not seek to gain it in the proper manner. These needs are not real, but only apparent; still, they are very imperative from humanity’s present standpoint; and Christ Jesus has pointed out in clear and unmistakable language the right method of appropriating the supply. “Be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” In other words, whoever sufficiently appropriates the real, spiritual food, drink, raiment, shelter, strength, health, and life, will infallibly have a sufficient supply of the material counterparts of these spiritual realities “added unto” him, as long as he has need of any material supply.

The greatest human need, even here and now, is more Spirit, rather than more matter. The trouble with most men is, that, relatively, they have too much matter in proportion to their present vital possession of Spirit. If any man lacks material supply, it is a sure sign that he has not sufficient hold on Spirit, though the converse proposition is not true, that an abundant material supply is necessarily a sign that the owner is “rich toward God.” But if any man lacks material supply, his first effort should be, not to gain more matter, but more of Spirit. If he does so, his need will not only be “met,” as it always was and always will be, far more than half way, but his need will be filled. “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness (right-wise-ness); for they shall be filled,” not only with the kingdom of God, but even with the supply of their material needs.

So it is true that, “divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need;” and men will always find their need, not only “met,” but abundantly satisfied, if they will “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

Time Not Toxic

From the Tues., Nov. 23, 1948, Page 4, of the Kentucky New Era newspaper by (This was found in the Herbert Eustace Foundation boxes)

Here is something which should be added to our treasure – house of maxims and framed and hung in every home. Like most maxims and adages it is probably not completely correct. But it is good enough for me, because I have tried it and found it true.

Do try it yourself and it may do you a world of good. Have your husband try it when he starts complaining. Have your wife try it — you know when. Never mind the children, they don’t need it yet. This is it: “TIME IS NOT TOXIC.”

I didn’t originate it. I don’t know who did. But it was the main topic of a recent conference of physicians and surgeons in Cincinnati.

According to those doctors, one of the principal complaints of their patients is: “Doctor, I am getting old.” Then they blame almost everything that happens to them on approaching old age. They think there is nothing they can do about it. They think arthritis, heart trouble, cancer, in fact, almost everything is due to time. Nonsense, say the doctors. Time has nothing to do with it. Let me quote from one of the addresses made at the conference by a prominent specialist:

“Every human tissue is endowed by potential immortality when adequately provided with food factors, oxygen and suitable warmth, and when removal of wastes is carefully effected. Time has no effect on human tissues maintained under such conditions, or indeed, on human tissues under any conditions.

“Vigor does not necessarily vary inversely with the age of the adult. It varies directly with the factors of heredity, healthful living, mental condition, and medical and surgical treatment.”

The doctors agreed that belief in the effects of time tends to reduce ambition; therefore, expectations and endeavors are curtailed. “ All those who develop a time neurosis subscribed to the prevalent superstition that time is in some way a poison exerting a mysterious, cumulative action.”

The report goes on to say that where there is such a time neurosis, confidence, and hope are diminished, continual worry decreases efficiency, and increases nervousness and irritability. “ Imaginary symptoms are noted with increasing frequency. The mind or the heart seems to be failing. Morbid attention is given to every little symptom”.

And, by golly, those doctors are right. I just had an awful pain in my neck. A sharp pain. Rheumatism? Neuritis? Old age? I investigated. Do you know what it was? A pin the laundry had stuck in.

I hope you will benefit from this column. But just one bit of parting advice. Don’t go gallivanting around now that the doctors say old age is imaginary. And don’t make a hog of yourself. Hogs don’t live long.

An idea of the true relation between Soul and body

Excerpts from “Class Teaching” in Addresses by

What Mind is conscious of, as Himself; man is that. Man is Mind’s idea or awareness of Himself: Man is the mental, spiritual isness of Mind.

Body

The word body means being: what Mind is consciously being, that is body. Body is always the expression of (the) Mind, therefore man or intelligence the body of Mind. Mind and body are one and inseparable. So-called mortal mind and body is but an erroneous concept of Mind and body, and is a myth.

Soul God

Soul: Body, true sense of body. An idea of the true relation between Soul and body. Unless we have a proper sense of this relation we never can overcome sin, disease and death.

Soul to itself is the one conscious power, and animus to unfold itself out into body. Belief of a soul of our own; this is the root of animal magnetism, false religions, and M.D.’s all working to save souls. This belief worst of superstitions. Soul is God — One infinite one. The sun sends itself forth in many rays, but not many suns. (Each ray possesses all the qualities of the sun.) Before the revelation of Christian Science no one ever dreamed the body and soul he now has is the manifestation of the One Soul or Mind. Christian Science is the only religion that teaches one Soul and one Body.

Body: purely mental and spiritual. We need to enlarge and spiritualize our sense of body. Our sense is all that is wrong. Soul or Mind can only be known through its manifestation, body. Man does not have body, man is body. Man is both the one Mind and body, the noumenon and phenomenon. Everything that constitutes body is spiritual. The seven synonyms give to itself body. Each individual does not have a body. Each individual is body. The fact about body constitutes a treatment. (Man the embodiment of all right ideas.)

The first Truth or Principle we need to understand is the coincidence that exists between the human and the divine; is the same thing, at the same place, at the same time. A true humanhood, visible according to our comprehension. This body here was never born and will never die. Always remember the coincidence between the divine and the human. One has only to turn from false sense to see body as consciousness. The human feminine and masculine qualities are the very life of the divine. All function is the Divine Mind functioning. It is Mind that hears, sees, feels, tastes and smells. The human five senses are the divine, they cannot fail! Because God is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-hearing, etc., subjectively unfolded out in the best we can see it. As more of God’s thoughts are unfolded out in our experience we have the true humanhood. Mrs. Eddy speaks of the divine fact more perfectly understood, may appear as an improved belief, but it is our present world inside our consciousness. Must not think of body as material and want to get rid of it. We want to see our bodies as they are. My humanhood when correctly viewed is the presence of God. Anything we are conscious of as good and useful we do not get rid of. Human-hood (Unity of Good, Page 49:8) “The more I understand true humanhood, the more I see it to be sinless, as ignorant of sin as is the perfect Maker.”

What appears as improvement or improved belief is the divine fact more clearly understood. Present humanhood not mortal. The “I AM” right here, unfolded out in its true expressions.

Everything must have body, expression, concrete expression. Mind always manifesting body. My human health or experience identified God. My present health subjectively as God, sameness or oneness. Mind maintains its own identities. Identity appears first a true humanhood, then a real thing. God can’t be separated from His identity. Body is essential.

Mortals versus Immortals

From Revelation Interpreted by

All that is true in human sense constitutes the appearing of immortal man, who is forever safe.

Revelation 20 : 14, 15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Verses 14 and 15 refer to the complete destruction of evil…

In verse 15 we are taught that the mortal or false factor of every man’s consciousness “was not found written in the book of life” and so “was cast into the lake of fire”, along with general evil, to be destroyed. “Mortals” are constituted of the false factors in the mentalities of human beings, while “immortals” are the true factor, the knowledge of truth, in the mentalities of men. All “immortals” are eternally safe, because they have part in the reflection of the one Mind, which is forever. All “mortals”, all false mentalities or beliefs of falsehood, are predestined to be destroyed. This is the true doctrine of predestination. …

Revelation 2 : 7 “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” The one who heeds this message, and overcomes the difficulty of giving his attention to spiritual things only, or very largely so, …can have part in the millennium. Over such, “the second death”, the final destruction of evil, has no power, St. John tells us; for there is nothing evil in them to be hurt or destroyed. He who conquers his attention, who brings it into the undivided service of God, is promised immortality, “the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

With God all things are possible

by

Mary Baker Eddy did three things for her followers. First she opened their eyes to the enemy and exposed how it relies on a surprise attack for its success. For instance, one may wonder how he could come down with a particular sickness, when he was not thinking about it, or harboring conscious fear of it. Mortal belief hides its claims so that they will not be detected, but will come as a surprise. Mortals touch poison ivy, that to the ignorant one appears to be a harmless leaf, and are poisoned. In like manner mortals accept suggestions that appear to be harmless and even good, when contained in them is some hidden claim of sin or sickness.

The second thing Mrs. Eddy did was to furnish her followers with weapons that, rightly used, will always overthrow the enemy. In this way they may prevent the enemy from stealing that incalculably valuable thing, namely, their spiritual thought and conscious oneness with God.

The purpose of animal magnetism is not to make us sick or poor or sinful. It is always to rob us of that precious thing, our consciousness of God, with which we can conquer the world, the flesh and the devil, and help to restore all humanity to their right relation to God.

Finally Mrs. Eddy provided her followers with fresh mounts along the way, giving them thoughts to refresh them and keep them active for the fray. In the work of demonstration that Science and Health sets forth, parts of the book are intended to lighten and refresh thought; but one should never enjoy that revivifying sense to the point where he neglects the rest of the work. For instance, one should not enjoy the Lesson-Sermons on God, Life, Truth and Love to the extent that he neglects those on animal magnetism. It is true that the latter call for practical demonstration, in contrast to the refreshment that comes from the former; but in order for the refreshment to fulfil its purpose, one must use it to keep ahead of the enemy, exactly as the rider of the pony express would use a fresh mount, when his old one was fatigued.

At times, when students work mentally, they are driven by an excess of fear, and so do not work scientifically or correctly. They approach the error through fear rather than through expectancy, and soon become so mentally weary that their work is not only ineffective, but not intelligent. It is not intelligent to work against error as if it were real and needed the mighty power of God to crush it, when it is merely a claim of nothingness, a dream, or an hallucination.

It is a trick of animal magnetism to tempt one with the argument of mental weariness, so that his work becomes mechanical and fruitless. Refreshment and relaxation of thought are permissible at intervals, if one believes that he needs to recuperate from the vain attempt to apply Science with a weary sense. When thought is refreshed, it rises up to overthrow the claim of evil with the needed expectancy and clarity of vision.

Some battle-scarred practitioners at times permit thought to become so weighed down with an excess of effort and a weary beating of the air, that they do not think intelligently. They possess the necessary knowledge and ability to handle the error, but in belief they become worn with the strife and need a fresh mount. The moment they gain the needed refreshment, thought rises spontaneously to destroy fear, their vision becomes clear, and the problem is solved. They know the truth and the truth makes them free.

Christian Science is not a prizefight, where one opponent continually strikes another, until he overthrows him. The contest is with oneself. It consists of throwing off the false beliefs that hold thought down. When thought is fresh, this can be done with ease; but when thought is weighed down and weary, it needs refreshment, not work.

Samson furnishes an illustration of one with an understanding which enabled him to meet daily all the error that presented itself. Then through subtlety and trickery, he was robbed of his spiritual thinking, as symbolized by his hair. He was overthrown and retired from any further fighting. Yet after a while his hair grew again; his thought became refreshed, and he was able to rise up again and to overthrow the enemy.

This line of thought leads up to the concept of safety, showing that it is not enough for a student to embrace the first two points Mrs. Eddy has furnished, namely, a knowledge of evil and the weapons to use against it. In order to awaken his thought and handle error, one must have a rested sense. Once Mrs. Eddy expressed this by saying, “Touch lightly on evil when treating, as you would upon the grace notes on a piano.” It requires a light thought in order to do this, since one characteristic of the claim of mental weariness is that it bears down heavily on the claim at error, and thus tends to make it more real, instead of less.

Under human courage man feels personally capable of taking the responsibility for doing whatever is necessary, and of standing up under whatever affliction may come to him. The error of this point of view is that it is wholly deceptive, since only spiritual courage will enable one to meet affliction, and to rise above it constructively.

Spiritual courage does not rely on self. It is based on the recognition that God is with men, and that He takes care of His own. It is a leaning courage, and that is why it is scientific. Under it man recognizes his own inadequacy, in accordance with the Master’s words, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” He knew that with God all things are possible. Therefore the courage that sustained him was the knowledge of his oneness with the Father.

You Would Not Be Afraid Of Anything If You Knew You Had Dominion Over It

From Lectures and Articles by

Our sense of Christ Jesus and his work is that he did not come to overthrow or overturn some mighty thing that had a right to be. Not at all. He came to demolish that which had no right to exist. Surely it is not rational to suppose that Christ’s coming to do the will of God would have upset anything that God had ordained; that he would have extinguished something that was based on immortality and had immortal existence. That certainly would not have been rational or sensible; and our teaching is that his very work ought to prove to humanity and draw attention to the fact that disease and sin and insanity and fear and all of these kindred things that distress humanity are all of them illegitimate, abnormal, unrighteous, unlawful, and unnecessary. Christ’s mission is proof in our estimation of the destructible nature of the different forms of evil that harass humanity.

When Christ Jesus had finished his mission he made a wonderful declaration. It was this: “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” “Go thou and do likewise.” Note the universality of that declaration. He had not done something that was extraordinary, something that was of value only to a mere handful of people, but it was a service to humanity for all time, in attestation of the infinite nature of the divine purpose. “Go thou and do likewise.” “These things shall ye do and greater.” “I am the way.” “Follow thou me.” “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Free from what? Following in his way, doing likewise, — what does it all mean? Why, it ought to mean that you have a right to learn your way, to discover your way, to practise the way that will deliver you from the same phases of evil; and this is one of the cardinal points of Christian Science teaching. God gave man dominion over all the earth; that surely means dominion over his body, over his circumstances, his environment, and his surrounding conditions. It means dominion over every foe, over every obstacle, over everything that surges up against his life. The trouble with us is that we are afraid of everybody and everything because we do not know, never did know, that fundamentally God provided dominion for us. You would not be afraid of anything if you knew you had dominion over it; and everybody who reads the Bible has an opportunity to find upon its first pages that that is what God has given us, and we have all of us missed it until this day. We have all been, as it were, like bubbles upon the sea of capricious destiny, and ready to believe that an evil state of existence can overcome us, and abolish life, and make us sick, and kill us at any moment. We are educated to be reconciled to our own evil destiny, our own doom, and nobody has been educated to suppose that he has a right to resist, or adequately to contend against his foe.

At this point Christian Science is exciting the hope that you have a right to contend and win. You have a right to be the master of your fate. You have a right to succeed in everything that is right for you to do. You have a right to learn how to prevent disease; you have a right to learn how to cure disease; you have a right to learn how to cure poverty; and the awful strife of humanity against itself. We to-day are adrift, according to our own confession; and yet there ever rings out in the ear of Christendom this one thing, that in our Christ and his teaching and his way and his rule we are entitled to salvation, and it shall make us free.

God And Man

From Teaching and Addresses on Christian Science by



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Short Address Delivered in 1900

God is absolutely All, at this moment, and God is good; hence it is an absolutely incontrovertible, unchanging fact that there is nothing in the universe but Good and Its perfect effect.

This God is Mind, forever conscious of its own selfhood, and never was and never will be conscious of anything else. Mind is eternally one, and this One is all-inclusive. It is now including all that by any possibility can be needed for perfect Mind.

Mind is self-governed. It is now and forever conscious of its own divine impulsion, Love. It is inspired by, energized by, prompted by and forever moving in accordance with this one and only impulsion, Love.

For this reason, Mind — the only Intelligence — is calm, trustful, tranquil and eternally confident, because it is simply experiencing the potency of its own nature, Love. Therefore, there is in the limitless realm of Mind no possibility or occasion for fear. There is nothing in Love to engender fear, nothing in Mind to cognize it, nothing in Good to maintain it, no room in the universe of Love for any such thing.

Mind — perfect Self-Consciousness — knowing Itself to be One, and forever governing Itself, forms the basis of Its perfect nature, Love, and is immortal Life. This means that — since everything that Mind holds in consciousness is evidence — expression — of Itself, and Itself is substance, Mind simply now realizes that It is experiencing immortality.

All the ideas in the universe, at this instant, are statements of this one Mind; therefore they are kept, maintained, vitalized, governed and directed by Itself, everlasting Good.

These ideas constitute the Word of God, which — according to His promise — shall accomplish that whereunto they are sent.

This Mind, filling all space, leaves no room for any other mind; containing all that can by any possibility be needed for life, action or power, leaves nothing to compose any other mind; and being conscious of acting as infinite causation, leaves no cause or element of causation for any other mind.

This conscious Mind, being conscious of completeness, of satisfaction, of infinite knowing, makes it an utter impossibility that there can be, ever was or ever will be, another mind.

This one Mind, including all and being All, can never know, meet or have, opposition. There is nothing to oppose, to oppose for, to oppose with, no method of procedure, no medium, and no cause, action, or power for any such thing, because God is All and cannot oppose Himself.

Being All, God is perfectly conscious of His own divine authority, simply knows the perfection of His own government, realizes His own limitless control, has evidence — proof — of His own unopposed supremacy.

He is conscious of doing whatsoever He will, and His will is good. Mind, therefore, is all the government, legislation, law, and operation of law there is, and this law is incontrovertible, infinite in extent and power.

Man is forever enfolded within the perfect consciousness of Good. He cannot get away, for one instant, from the protecting, loving, all-inspiring, all-sustaining, all-seeing, all-controlling purity of Love. He has no care, no responsibility, nothing to arrange, to plan, to accomplish, to get, to long for, because he simply has all possible good.

There is no future in the eternal now of infinite Mind. Hence, there is no future in which to realize Truth, or to know God, or to reach perfection, and no demonstration to make, because the only demonstration there is, ever was, or ever will be, is God’s, and that is made now, and man is the knowledge of this fact. He simply knows, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the eternal facts of being in Good.

He, man, has spiritual cognition, complete conviction of good, knows Good to be one in government, one in power, one in activity, one eternal presence, one consciousness, one tangible, veritable state of being. What he eternally is, is the consciousness of Good, the spiritual discernment of Truth, the knowledge of one Mind. He is one state of pure, natural, unclouded consciousness, acting, moving, having his perfect being in the unchanging love of God.

He cannot fall from his high estate. His dominion cannot be taken away. He cannot lose his God-given knowledge. He cannot be misguided, misled, fooled in any way, since all he knows is Mind, God.

Love is the liberator.