Christian Science: God’s Law Made Practical
Lela May Aultman, C.S., of
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
The following lecture was
presented on Monday, November 1, at
The lecturer spoke substantially
as follows:
How strong is our courage as we
face the days ahead of us? Can we say as did David, "My soul, wait thou
only upon God; for my expectation is from him"? (Ps. 62:5.) The degree of
confidence we feel that good is
in store for us and our fellowman depends upon the source to which we look for
our expectation of things to come. Is our view colored by the alarming reports
of the speed with which mortals are devising weapons for their own destruction?
Or are we obeying God's command recorded in Isaiah, "Ask me of things to
come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye
me"? (45:11.) We need to understand the nature of God in order to
comprehend what He would outline as "things to come" concerning His
beloved sons.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer
and Founder of Christian Science gives
us in her writings many pages elucidating the nature of God. In the Christian
Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,"
she has written this definition of God: "The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing,
all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit;
Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence" (p. 587).
Shall we consider just a few of
these descriptive words, and let them tell us what God has foreordained for
man's experience?
God Is Supreme
God is all-knowing Mind, the
creator of the universe, including man. This creation, according to the first
chapter of Genesis, He declared to be very good, His noblest work being man
whom He created in His own likeness. Since God’s infinite intelligence brought
forth a wholly good creation, by the very nature of His wisdom He would never
create a counter force of evil which could destroy that good work.
The omnipotence of God is acknowledged
by many today who believe in the power of prayer to overcome evil. This is
illustrated by the statement of the chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
that "the power of prayer is stronger, far stronger than any weapon which
will ever be devised by man" (Representative W. Sterling Cole as quoted in
The Christian Science Monitor, Central edition, Oct. 13, 1953).
This is not a theory; it has been proved
many times, and such proofs are recorded throughout the Bible so that our study
of them may strengthen our faith.
May I recall to you two of these records?
During the period when Elisha was the prophet who guided the Israelites in
their worship of the one God, an enemy came against
There is another Scriptural account
which tells of the days when Hezekiah was ruler in
It is interesting to note that
both Hezekiah and Isaiah, the prophet to whom he turned for spiritual guidance,
interpreted these threats as defiance against God, and their preparation to defend
themselves against the attack consisted chiefly in their declaration of God's
goodness, love, and power, which strengthened their own love for Him and their
complete trust in His ability to preserve them.
The answer to their prayers came
as a clear conviction that God would never allow the enemy to enter their city
or to use a weapon against its inhabitants. They knew that God, and not material
armies, would defend them. And the Assyrian invaders were defeated without even
the need of meeting them in battle. The king of
Christian Science teaches us to
trust the same God today, and His power is still supreme. We avail ourselves of
the protection of this power when we live righteously and obey God's
commandments understandingly.
Mrs. Eddy's definition of God, as
previously stated, speaks of God as all-loving. When we ask the all-loving
Father-Mother God of "things to come" concerning His sons, we know
that His tenderness, compassion, and impartial generosity express themselves
in man's comfort, safety, health, and joy. There is nothing in the nature of
divine Love which could possibly bring forth sickness, sin, or sorrow.
Evil's pretense that it is a god,
and that it has destructive forces with which it can control a man's health,
destroy his life, or even govern his thinking, is powerless to deceive anyone
who knows the nature of our God, His great love for His creation, and His power
to preserve its perfection. Whom do we worship as God? Evil or supreme good?
Spiritual Light on the Ten Commandments
Jesus' teaching re-emphasized
Moses' oft-repeated admonition that we must prove our love for God by obeying
His commandments. I remember many years ago feeling that the Ten Commandments
were very severe, and that their effectiveness lay in the threat of the heavy
penalties incurred if they were disobeyed. How gloriously Christian Science
elevates our view of the Commandments by revealing to us their expression of
God's love, tenderly protecting and guiding His children, not threatening them
with penalties but teaching them how to avoid wrongdoing, and thus spare
themselves the suffering which always goes hand in hand with evil.
Christian Application of Christian Science
Mysticism and other phases of
scholastic theology teach that we should accept religion through blind faith,
and that we must not expect to understand God; but Mrs. Eddy tells us that
"God is understandable, knowable, and applicable to every human
need" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 238).
She explains the nature of God in terms which are familiar to everyone,
helping us to comprehend His infinite goodness, power, and love.
An orderly, systematic plan for
including in each day quiet, spiritual study and prayer is essential for
everyone's spiritual progress, but this study does not require us to become
hermits. Christian Scientists apply the truth they learn to meet the needs of
humanity, even as Jesus, after the periods when he left the crowding multitudes
for an interval of quiet communion with God, returned to put into practice the
spiritual ideas God had revealed to him. His holy renewal blessed everyone who
turned to him for help, and every discordant condition they presented to him
he healed quickly and perfectly.
Jesus Demonstrated the Way of Salvation
Jesus trusted so completely God's
direction of his life that he took the necessary steps in his spiritual
progress confidently, even when he realized they were leading him to the
crucifixion, for he knew the victory over that experience was certain and
would prove man's life to be eternal and indestructible. He understood God's
love so thoroughly that he was able to face every form of evil which the carnal
mind could present, knowing that God was guiding him to full salvation, and
thus enabling him to be the Way-shower for mankind, showing them by example how
to conquer sin, disease, and death.
Christian Science healing, like
the healings accomplished by Jesus, is the operation of the Christ in human
consciousness. Mrs. Eddy defines Christ as "the divine manifestation of
God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error" (Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 583). The Christ is spiritual light which
dispels the darkness of ignorance and fear and awakens mankind to the
realization of God's infinite power and love, and the perfection and
immutability of His good creation.
There were no defeats in Jesus'
life. His understanding of the Christ, Truth, was so great that he was given
the title Christ Jesus. The light of the Christ had always been present, for it
is the eternal truth concerning God and man. The spiritually inspired leaders
all through Bible history caught glimpses of the Christ and were thereby
enabled to win victories over enemies in battle, over sickness and famine, and
many other discords.
When we turn to the New Testament
and study thoughtfully its record of Jesus' life, we appreciate as never before
the import of his glorious career, with its unswerving steadfastness,
consistent obedience to God, and its expression of completely unselfed love
which never lapsed into momentary selfishness. It was the Master's unwavering
obedience to the First Commandment which enabled him to be the Way-shower for
mankind, showing them the path which leads out of all materiality and into the
realization of full salvation. Let us never forget to be thankful that we have
been shown the way!
Mrs. Eddy Emphasizes the First Commandment
This way was illumined for Mary
Baker Eddy by her own remarkable healing when she had been judged by her
doctor to be at the point of death. Her great love for the Bible turned her to
its pages at this time of critical need, and as she studied the record of one
of Jesus' healings, her spiritual vision caught a glimpse of the very law of
God which he had applied in his healing work. Her own healing was immediate,
and through divine revelation and her continued study of the Scriptures, she
was led to the discovery of Christian Science. She realized that Jesus' healings
had not been miracles, but that they had been the natural operation of a law of
God which Jesus understood. So she continued to search the Scriptures in the
light of the inspiration gained from her healing, and what they taught her of
this law of God she put into practice and found that it healed the sick, the
sinning, and even the dying, as certainly in her day as when Jesus had applied
it.
After she had for several years
proved the truth of Christian Science, this spiritual revelation which God had
given her, she wrote the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, to
make available to everyone the Science of Christianity and to bring to the
Bible the light of spiritual interpretation, which makes its teachings
inspiring, deeply satisfying, and practical to meet humanity's every need. It
is no wonder that Christian Scientists love to spend many hours studying the
Bible and their textbook, which illumines its teaching. It is the King James
Version of the Bible which is used in Christian Science churches.
Mrs. Eddy urged her followers to
obey the Ten Commandments, just as Moses and Jesus had done, and she said,
"The First Commandment of the Hebrew Decalogue, 'Thou shalt have no
other gods before me,' and the Golden Rule are the all-in-all of Christian
Science" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, P. 64). ,
Christian Science Known by Its Fruits
It is inevitable then, that a sincere
student of Christian Science feels he needs to study faithfully the real
meaning of this First Commandment and to strive earnestly to live in obedience
to its requirements. Many pages of Mrs. Eddy's writings are devoted to the
spiritual explanation of the First Commandment. How do we know that her
explanation is correct?
Every statement in her writings
can be judged by the fact that its truth can be proved. Christian Science is
rightly called Science because the divine law it reveals is unchanging, always
effective when accurately applied, and impartially operative for everyone.
Science is absolute knowledge, and
the only teaching which is entitled to the name of Science is one which is so
right in the first place that experiment and change are never needed. Christian
Science is the demonstrable law of God. Mrs. Eddy proved its accuracy before
she presented it to the world and established beyond question her right to the
titles of Discoverer of Christian Science and Founder of the Christian Science
church. She tells us that "Christian Science awakens the sinner, reclaims
the infidel, and raises from the couch of pain the helpless invalid. It speaks
to the dumb the words of Truth, and they answer with rejoicing. It causes the
deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Who would be the first to
disown the Christliness of good works, when our Master says, 'By their fruits
ye shall know them'?" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.
342) Everyone who knows the facts about Mrs. Eddy's life of untiring love for
humanity and her unwavering fidelity to God is ready to say of her in Solomon's
words: "Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise
her in the gates" (Prov. 31:31).
Mrs. Eddy did not ask anyone to
accept her textbook through blind faith; she urged us to test its accuracy for
ourselves. Christian Science is not a mystical philosophy; it is
understandable, demonstrable truth. It is not only Science, or absolute
knowledge, but it is Christian, and the word Christian connotes the
application of God's law to meet the needs of humanity, even as the first
Christian, Christ Jesus, utilized this law.
Christian Science does not ignore
the human need; if it did it would not be Christian. It gives to mankind an
understanding of God and of man as His likeness, which enables any sincere
student of its theology to release himself from being identified with God's
opposite - sickness, sin, and sorrow.
Do you remember that Jesus'
enemies often questioned whether he had the God-given right or power to heal?
When he healed a man who had been born blind, some of the Pharisees tried to
persuade the man that Jesus could not have healed him because Jesus was a
sinner, and they told him they were not at all convinced that Jesus had come
from God. It is difficult to see how the simple logic of the man's reply could
have failed to convince all his hearers, for he answered: "Why herein is a
marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened
mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but it any man be a
worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he
heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man
opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he
could do nothing" (John
Christian Science should be judged
on the same basis of proof. Study its textbook and begin to apply its teachings
to your daily life. Its effectiveness in meeting your own needs will tell you
clearly that its doctrine is from God. In her book "Miscellaneous
Writings" Mrs. Eddy tells us: "If Christian Science lacked the proof
of its goodness and utility, it would destroy itself; for it rests alone on
demonstration. Its genius is right thinking and right acting, physical and
moral harmony; and the secret of its success lies in supplying the universal
need of better health and better men" (p. 365).
The "new commandment"
Early in Jesus' ministry he linked
with the First Commandment a second, which he said was like the first:
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt.
We are not asked to love imperfection
or to call a faulty mortal a perfect mortal. We are commanded to love the only
man God ever made, the spiritual likeness of His own perfect being, and to
acknowledge that nothing contrary to this has ever been true of man. We can
maintain this fact steadfastly no matter how loudly the accuser lies about man
or material sense testimony misrepresents his true nature. Jesus found it
possible to behold in Science a normal, healthy, innocent man right where the
physical senses proclaimed the presence of a mortal who was sick, blind, or
sinful, and because the perfection Jesus saw was the truth about man, the false
evidence yielded to the light of his spiritual understanding, and even the human
evidence of health and wholeness appeared. When we are as faithful as he was
in holding firmly to the truth about God and His good creation, the evidence of
normal health and joy and freedom will follow our prayers as surely as they resulted
from Jesus' holy work.
There is one part of Jesus' second
great commandment which we sometimes overlook - the words are "as thyself."
The commandment does not read, Thou shalt love thy neighbor instead of thyself,
though it is often so interpreted. It tells us to love our neighbor as
ourselves. Then, in order to have an intelligent basis for our neighborly love,
we must learn first to love ourselves wisely. Many people seem to feel there is
Christian virtue in magnifying the good expressed in others' lives, while
belittling one's own nature and accomplishments. We no longer feel this is
righteous when we realize that all good originates in God, and that
discrediting any part of His creation would be to dishonor Him, since He is its
source.
Identifying oneself with sickness
or sin is egotism - a belief that one can originate something God did not make
or does not express. Egotism sometimes expresses itself as a delusion that we
have a superior human intellect, a mind separate from God, and greater wisdom
than our fellowmen. Or it may suggest to us that we are always right and other
people always mistaken. Personal egotism has no place in the enlightened consciousness
which gives God the full glory for all good, wherever it is expressed.
If your day begins with contemplation
of God's love, His omnipresence and wise government of man's life, this gives
you a basis for knowing your own real nature in His likeness, and you can with
conviction acknowledge: I am wise, for my Father-Mother God is infinite
intelligence; I am safe, for His great love encompasses my path and safeguards
my steps and my relationships; I have clear, strong, spiritual vision, the
ability to see good as the only reality, because my creator is all-seeing and beholds
His own good creation as the only fact of existence; I am rich in blessings,
because it is God's will that His children should have every good and perfect
gift. With this true concept of yourself as your basis, you can, indeed, love
your neighbor as yourself, knowing that he, too, is created in God's image,
and that God's fatherhood is supporting and strengthening him, and God's
motherhood comforting and guiding him; realizing that every gift and every
ability you have, God's impartial love has provided for all His children. It is
our understanding of the First Commandment which enables us to obey Jesus'
second commandment.
Obedience to the First Commandment
Enlightened observance of the
First Commandment frees men from idolatry. But do you say, I am not a worshiper
of idols? There are many false gods enthroned in people's hearts, and some of them
are tyrants. We need to be on guard lest they creep in to dominate our lives.
We read in Science and Health (p. 19), "Jesus urged the commandment, 'Thou
shalt have no other gods before me,' which may be rendered: Thou shalt have no
belief of Life as mortal; thou shalt not know evil, for there is one Life, - even
God, good."
Have you an idol called a material
body? That false god has more worshipers than any other. The material body has
actually no power, but if we have come under the spell of this false worship,
we may spend a great proportion of our time catering to what we believe to be
the whims of this despot - exercising the body carefully, not too much and not
too little, feeding it on a diet which we have decided will benefit it in some
way. One believes perhaps that health is a condition of this body, so he
swallows drugs, has operations, or travels to various climates trying to
bolster up its wavering health. He asks permission of this false god to carry
on his normal activities. He says, "Please, do you feel well enough to let
me go to the office today; or are you rested and strong so I may enjoy an
evening with my friends?" And the body has actually no power to think or
act or feel, or to control one's life in any way. Is this idolatry very different
from the attitude of the idol worshipers in ancient history who bowed down to
an image of gold or stone to ask its powerless, unthinking godlessness to
decide all their important actions? A pound of flesh is just as unintelligent
as a pound of stone, and neither one is any part of the great reality which is
God's spiritual creation, governed, controlled, preserved by its divine
creator.
The idol which most easily deceives
you may have another name. Perhaps you believe that popularity, material wealth
and acclaim, or a whirlwind of social pleasure is the god which determines
your security and your happiness. Or is your idol a material personality - a
child to whom you make yourself a slave, a friend or relative that you believe
controls your happiness and peace of mind by his every word and action?
Sometimes the idol is the person we call by our own name. Self-indulgence is
the offering this idol exacts. There are many facets to his nature - self-consciousness,
self-depreciation, self-aggrandizement, self-justification - all of them
phases of idolatry, belief in the reality of a mortal selfhood separate from
God and unlike Him.
The important "Rule for Motives
and Acts" which Mrs. Eddy has given us in the Manual of The Mother Church
begins with these words: "Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment
should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church" (p.
40). Have you ever thought of the fact that animosity is idolatry, for it
builds up in your thought a belief in an evil power, and thus denies God's
omnipotence. You may even believe that someone's antagonism toward you can deprive
you of your peace of mind, your business opportunities, or an elective office
in your government or church. This is certainly forgetting that God is supreme
in earth as in heaven, and that His love controls your life and your relationships.
A student of Christian Science who
had come home from work suffering from influenza went to bed feeling extremely
ill. For some time she lay still, asking God to show her what to do. She recalled
that her dictionary stated that astrologers had attributed influenza to the
influence of the heavenly bodies. Immediately she began to reverse the error
and to affirm that she was influenced only by good. As Mrs. Eddy says,
"Man is the expression of God's being" (Science and Health, p. 470),
she declared, "As the expression of God's being, I am purely spiritual,
not material, and am governed by Spirit, God, alone."
The word "influence"
then brought to mind this part of the "Rule for Motives and Acts": "The
members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil,
from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced
erroneously." In obedience thereto she again affirmed her oneness with
God and insisted that she could not be influenced erroneously.
It then occurred to her to start
at the beginning of the "Rule for Motives and Acts" to see if anything
mentioned therein could be inducing a false influence upon her, so she began,
"Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives
or acts of the members of The Mother Church." She asked herself, "Is
animosity impelling me?" The conscientious reply was "No." Again
she questioned, "Is, mere personal attachment impelling me?" And again she was
prepared to say "No." But suddenly the arresting thought came,
"If you don't believe that you are personally attached to a mortal body
or think of yourself as identified with a material corporeality, what are you
doing lying here believing you are in pain in that body?" This was such a
revolutionary and challenging question that she was startled into sitting
straight up in bed and declaring with great joy: "Why, of course I'm not
living in a mortal body! I live in Mind and am the embodiment of right ideas
only. I, the expression of Mind, God's spiritual idea, can't have any pain, for
God hasn't any." She realized that she was under the loving government of
God, her Father-Mother, and that she was free! The next morning she went to work
without a trace of the erroneous condition which the evening before had seemed
so real.
Healing Through Prayer
Single-minded allegiance to God
requires that we trust Him completely to maintain our health. We have many
warnings in the Bible that it is impossible for us to serve two masters; that
the double-minded man expresses instability in everything he does; and that our
whole body, or consciousness, is full of light when our eye is single. Everyone
who has experienced the peace of mind which comes when he trusts his health and
his life completely to his creator, and to the beneficial operation of God's
spiritual law, knows that it brings an incomparable feeling of security and of
resting on dependable support. Anyone who has tried to mix his trust in God
with an opposite trust in matter as the supposed source of health has
experienced the instability which the Bible associates with double-mindedness.
When we obey God's command, "Thou shalt have no other gods before
me," we know we are upheld by the sustaining power of omnipotence. We
feel the sure support of the divine law we obey. Mrs. Eddy tells us:
"Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and
strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth
gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of
power" (Science and Health, p. 183).
The beneficial results of turning
to God as the source of health were illustrated in the following experience. A
young man had been gassed during the First World War. After he had returned to
this country he was so ill that he had to be taken off the train in a city on
his route. He was taken to a hotel and examined by doctors who said that the
lining of his stomach was completely gone and there was no hope for his life.
His mental condition was even more painful to him than the physical problem,
for he constantly relived the whole war experience and had no control over his
body or emotions. Because the doctors could offer him no help, he turned to
Christian Science for healing, and a practitioner went to him and talked with
him about God's goodness and love for His creation, and of God's power to take
care of him, and the fact that it was God's will that he have life and health.
The practitioner knew that in reality the fumes of hatred had never touched
man, since the omnipresence of God's love had always been his only abiding
place. The boy was actually frightened the next day because he had slept peacefully
for the first time in so very long a period. He was able in two weeks to take
on the work of night clerk in the hotel where he was staying and was completely
healed in about three weeks. This meant not only freedom from the physical
torture he had been suffering, but from the mental nightmare he had so long
experienced. He had seen a glorious proof of the promise written in Science
and Health, "The eternal Truth destroys what mortals seem to have learned
from error, and man's real existence as a child of God comes to light" (p.
288).
How is the healing and redemptive
work of Christian Science accomplished? Through prayer. Prayer as taught in
Christian Science is not pleading with God, for His work is already done. Our
prayer acknowledges God's ever-present love; beholds man in His likeness,
whole, and safe, and blest. It thanks God for the good which is already true,
and knows His power and willingness to sustain it. Our prayer acknowledges one
supreme God and denies the existence of any force or condition opposite to His
infinite perfection. This prayer stills the fears which produce sickness;
exchanges for the belief of chance and danger a calm trust in God and
confidence in the effectual operation of His just and merciful law. The countless
healings effected by Christian Science have proved that disturbed, fearful
thinking produces illness, and that spiritual awakening which uplifts thought
does at the same time heal sickness. Because every type of disease, both
organic and functional, has been healed spiritually, one who understands the
teaching of Christian Science confidently relies on God for help in every need.
Summary
May I recall to you some of the
points considered in this lecture? God demands of us that we ask Him of things
to come. He determines our life experience; the carnal mind does not. When we
understand God's nature as Love, and as infinite good, we are assured that He
has ordained only blessings for His beloved sons.
Christian Science reveals to us
the spiritual meaning of the Ten Commandments and shows them to be, not threats
of penalties, but assurances of the safety, comfort, and joy which accompany
obedience to right. Alert obedience to the First Commandment frees us from
idolatry - the worship of the false gods of materiality.
If discordant problems have come
to your door in rapid succession, have you found yourself believing that
there is a real force of evil, and that it is operating against you with
mounting power? If you are led to believe that there are two powers, and one of
them is evil - and that actually the evil is more powerful because it can annul
the influence of good in your life - you are being tempted to break the First
Commandment. Mrs. Eddy tells us that "The first demand of this Science is,
'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' This me is Spirit. Therefore the
command means this: Thou shalt have no intelligence, no life, no substance, no
truth, no love, but that which is spiritual" (Science and Health, p. 467).
There is one God, and this means one power. God's allness permits of no
opposite; therefore good - and this includes the individual expression of
good in your own life - has no
opposition. Your health is a state of harmonious spiritual consciousness; it
is given to you by God and is sustained by God, without interruption. Your
security rests on the sure foundation of God's unchanging love, with its
abundant, generous giving. Man can never lack, because he has all the good
which God gives. Man's happiness is not in the hands of persons or material
circumstances. He has perpetual joy, because God is Soul and man reflects the
inspiration, satisfaction, harmony, and blessedness which result from a
wholehearted worship of our good God!