Christian Science: The Law of True Dominion
Herbert W. Beck, C.S.B., of
Member of the Board of Lectureship
of The
Herbert W. Beck, C.S.B., of
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
What is true dominion? In the
first chapter of Genesis are these words: "And God said, Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth."
True dominion is naturally based
on power, on the presence of God to support that power. Divine Love, omnipotent
Truth, has sovereignty, which is the consciousness of true dominion, and all
may turn thereto and use its authority to demonstrate the presence and dominion
of God. Therefore true dominion is spiritual authority.
God has dominion because evil has
naught with which to oppose that dominion. Good is supreme because it is the
only power. It is not a question of Truth being superior to error, holding the
balance of power, but of Truth's law of dominion revealing good as the only
power and presence, the only real, motivating force in the universe.
Man's God-granted
Dominion
Man's God-bestowed, reflected
sense of dominion should be cherished by us always, kept as our great
heritage, and we should never allow it to fall into disuse. Man's God-given
birthright is dominion; therefore man is not in slavery or in subjection to
matter and its many phases of belief.
We have the ability to reflect
power; we have the right to express God's allness and dominion. God did not
express His image to be supine without stamina; rather did He make man
conscious of good, active in using good, which is always dominant in God's
realm. These qualities governed the thoughts and actions of our Master. He was always
conscious of his heritage from the Father. Individual men and women should
claim their God-given right to that same dominion over all the earth and its
hosts. Let us always remember that we reflect spiritual dominion.
Jesus' hearers were startled "because
he taught them as one having authority." Using this authority which was
given to him by his heavenly Father, he was able, through the Christ, to give
to his disciples "power and authority over all devils, and to cure
diseases." Pray that your thoughts will be open to accept the truth about
yourself. Recognize the glory of God's man as your radiant, individual
consciousness, and take to humanity this glory of man.
Prayer awakens hope, strengthens
faith, blesses endeavor, and places us in the path which leads to spiritual
unfoldment. Prayer swings open the gate to the realization of God's blessings,
so that the pilgrim is lifted above the ills of the flesh to rejoice in
freedom.
Prayer is that sacred communion
through which man talks with God, expresses gratitude for blessings received,
and becomes obedient to the law of God. Prayer makes one conscious of the
protection of God's love and care and lifts him above the threats of evil to the
assurance of man's oneness with the divine Mind.
It is a provable fact that there
is only one God, one true power - hence His dominion is expressed by real
creation. This dominion is always constructive, protective, and loving.
A proper sense of our God-given
dominion gives us the ability to heal the sick and reform the sinner. We have
the dominion to be kind; we have the dominion always to love in the face of
hatred. We have the dominion to be just and not wrongly critical. We have the dominion
to be tolerant; we have the dominion to be healthy; we have the dominion to
live forever. We have the dominion to recognize that we are God's image,
because we are made that way. There is no power in existence that can take from
us the dominion which God has given to the real man, and which God maintains.
We walk with dominion; we live with dominion; God's dominion controls us, and
that dominion is good.
We demonstrate dominion through
correcting thought, through spiritualizing consciousness. Our demonstration
of Christian Science is to express harmony, and to make use of the dominating power of Truth which
enables us to overcome wrong conditions and to realize peace.
Oh! To let go our limitations, our
fears, our false beliefs, and let the great power of God's presence bless us with its true dominion!
The Wrong Concept of
Dominion
As humans, we are all conversant
with what is called domination - the control of one individual over another, or
the power exercised by one nation over another for the advantage of the
aggressive person or nation. But this physical domination is a perversion of
right power.
This wrong sense of dominion has
gone on for centuries and will be broken only as every aggressive individual
or nation realizes that what he believes to be power or freedom is really
bondage, hatred, and defeat. Wrong domination will cease when the Golden Rule
is accepted, lived, and demonstrated as the governing impulse of the
individual or of the nation. "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye
also to them likewise" prevents any unkindness, brutality, or selfishness.
Mortal mind has rejected this true and good rule of behavior because it was
afraid that it would lose something of value.
The scope and activity of true
power supports and sustains spiritual dominion. As true, spiritual dominion
is demonstrated or put to practical application, we are able to destroy the
wrong sense of dominion as having place, power, prestige, or victim, for God,
the only ever-present creator, never made a wrong, perverted sense of dominion.
So to destroy the impulse as well as the evidence of a physical, maddened
sense of dominion, the allness and presence of good should be demonstrated
continually by us who know what true power is and to whom it belongs. It is
possible through the understanding of the spiritual sense of dominion, which
Christian Science gives to mankind, to demonstrate that evil has no authority,
no place to sustain its self-accredited sense of dominion.
A Christian Scientist found employment
in a large corporation. In a few days it was apparent that another employee was
endeavoring to dominate the Christian Scientist's living and thinking. Soon
there appeared also a sense of hatred towards the student of Christian
Science because of the religious background of the other, and the situation
became very tense between the two employees.
At first the Christian Scientist
was tempted to resist and resent the intrusion upon her rights, but she
recognized the desire to give way to resentment as a temptation to lower her
high standard of thinking. Naturally she prayed over the situation, but the
relationship grew worse as the days went by. Continuing to pray there came a
light to the student, for she remembered that she had been given dominion over
all evil, and over the bad situation in the office. Immediately she pondered
over the use of that dominion and she realized that it could be applied only
through love. A great peace flooded her thought, resentment faded away, and in
a day or two the other worker began to express kindness, and shortly asked if
they could not be friends.
This attempt of one person to
dominate another was completely healed and brought blessings to both through
advancement in the office.
Demonstrating Our
Dominion
What are we doing about demonstrating
dominion in our human affairs? The dominion of good over evil is demonstrable
and can be successfully proved by any earnest seeker for Truth.
Basically, all the troubles of the
human race are due to sin. Sin brings unhappiness, sickness, death, all sorrow,
and inharmony. In the Ten Commandments we have certain sins mentioned
specifically, yet sin covers a wide field - it is the breaking of the First
Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We sin when
we accept the belief of any other power than God. Can this prevalent sin of
believing in other gods be destroyed? Certainly! And when it is, then all the
train of evil following sin will be destroyed also. This can be done with
increasing ease as we use our reflected power of God's omnipotence, our
dominion.
One may express his dominion and
refuse to seek the approval of the world by indulging in the use of tobacco or
in social drinking. The effect of intoxicating liquor is the same whether taken
through desire or under the guise of sociability. Such indulgence leads away
from freedom and towards sensuality, away from Spirit and towards material
bondage.
Sin is wrong thinking, wrong believing;
it is the acceptance of the mesmeric suggestion which tries to implant the
belief of other gods, other powers than the one God. Since sin is a condition
of thought, and thought is easily changed, then what is termed sin can be
overcome with the understanding of the truth about God and His man. Why is this
change of thought possible of accomplishment? Because man, the real you,
expresses dominion and is able, not only to call a halt to sin's encroachments,
but to destroy sin itself
In the healing work of Christian
Science, we work primarily with the law of health and purity to destroy sin. If
a healing is delayed, perhaps quiet prayer will uncover to one that his effort
has been to heal sickness instead of destroying the error which caused the
sickness. In Science and Health we find these words (p. 270): "If sin
makes sinners, Truth and Love alone can unmake them. It a sense of disease
produces suffering and a sense of ease antidotes suffering, disease is mental,
not material. Hence the fact that the human mind alone suffers, is sick, and
that the divine Mind alone heals."
Christian Science gives to us the
needed understanding of truth so that we can use it humanly and approach our
problems as masters. Evil has only the power we grant it, so it is wise to
bestow upon it no fear or belief that it can act or destroy. As we put love in
the place of hate, faith in God in place of fear, spiritual understanding in
place of ignorance of God's presence, all phases of inharmony will disappear.
What does your God-given dominion
do for you? It makes you strong in grace, fearless regarding evil, always able
and willing to express good and to be good: it enables you to be kind and
gentle without weakness; to be honest, brave, and truthful without fear of
consequences; it enables you to meet and destroy the insidious approach of evil
with its claims to reality; to heal the sick and reform the sinner instantaneously;
for you have the
dominion to know what is real and to practice and demonstrate
what you know.
A young man of potential ability,
though lacking in business experience, was elevated quickly to the board of
directors of a large mining and manufacturing corporation and also to the
management of the home office. He was conscious many times of his lack of
experience, yet he prayed continuously for understanding, for the ability to
use his God-given dominion over ignorance. Many problems which seemed knotty
and difficult because of lack of information and experience would start to
unravel as ideas came one after another showing how the work could be done
efficiently. These ideas came in answer to his prayer for intelligence, wisdom,
and receptivity to God's guidance to show him what to do. He accepted the
guidance and filled the position satisfactorily. All problems of business,
health, home, community, and nation can be solved through the practice of
Christian Science, which teaches the student how to apply God's law.
We have dominion to do what is
right, and as we are controlled by that fact we shall realize that in Truth we
do not have the ability or the desire to do wrong.
We need the spiritual awakening to
be aware of what we now possess as God's children. The Bible relates that the
king of
It is of advantage to note that
Elisha did not pray for a sense of protection for the city of Dothan or for
himself; rather he prayed that the film of ignorance might drop from the sight
of the servant so that he could behold the actual, ever-present dominion of good
which is always available to be demonstrated in destroying enemy attacks. The
omnipotent power of good exists; we only need to be conscious of it and to
make use of it.
Error is always easily destroyed
if we are conscious of the dominion of good. One popular affirmation of evil is
that the passage of time makes a condition hard to heal. This is not true, for
time as expressed in years cannot make an error true. The Master proved this
fact when he healed the woman who had been bowed together for eighteen years.
Christian Science uncovers the
machinations of animal magnetism as expressed in malpractice, sin, sickness,
and inharmony. This uncovering does not bring evil to the surface as a reality
but exposes the complete emptiness or nothingness of animal magnetism and
malpractice. One need not fear any phase of evil if he remains conscious of
God's presence. This may be illustrated as follows: If one were in a lighted
room, would he be fearful of the darkness in the next room if he opened the
door between? Would the darkness from the other room enter his room and put out
the light? Rather, the light would penetrate the darkness. So, it is wise to
stay within the light of God's dominion of good and there will be no evil to
fear.
In our healing work we should use
our spiritual knowledge of true dominion to the complete eradication of evil.
One is apt to say, "I have had a hard time and it has left its mark."
Evil cannot leave its mark without our consent or ignorance. When the sinner
is healed, his thought purified, there is neither scar nor mar left on him.
When the sick are healed through the energizing power of the Christ, there can
be no evidence of weakness or disability. Christian Science has come to the
world to remove the false belief that evil of any name or nature can leave a
blemish or the mark of the beast, for the Christ reveals man as pure, upright,
and free.
In the First World War a physician
who examined a Christian Scientist remarked that the soldier had certain scars
which indicated that at one time he had had a serious physical condition. The
student of Christian Science prayed about this, because he knew that evil did
not have the power or intelligence to leave a scar as proof that it had once
claimed to be real; he realized that evil had nothing to leave behind, because
evil is not a creator. Later when discharged from the army, no scars could be
found by the examining physician. The prayers of the soldier had been answered.
Dominion over Bad Traits
of Character
Christian Science gives us the
understanding of God's law by
means of which we overcome
bad traits of character. We all know of the mental and physical
suffering inflicted upon others by thoughtlessness, carelessness, ill temper,
criticism, and the like. There is hardly a person who has not some house
cleaning to do regarding undesirable traits of character, and he should be willing
to exchange them for the spiritual qualities already possessed by his real
self, such as thoughtfulness, charitableness, patience, gratitude, and joyfulness.
Because of false teaching regarding
heredity, habit, and inherent weaknesses, many persons believe that they are
helpless to overcome unlovely traits of character. Christian Science teaches
that the only law of heredity is the one which causes man to inherit or express
the spiritual qualities of the divine creator, God.
No bad trait of character is eternal,
but is at the point of instantaneous destruction, because the truth about
man's real character is present to release in human consciousness the truth
which destroys error. We are not using our dominion if we believe that it
takes time or many Christian Science treatments to overcome undesirable traits
of disposition. Any error is weak, powerless, possessing no ability to control
human activity, except through fear, sinful desire, or ignorance.
Resentment, hatred, bitterness,
and the like may cause a person many heartaches as well as much physical
suffering. These expressions or manifestations of evil can and will be
destroyed as the individual decides to discipline his thinking in accordance
with divine Principle. There is always a vulnerable spot in evil, and the
truth will find that spot and destroy the erroneous condition. Many Christian
Science practitioners have been led through prayer to uncover the vulnerable
spot and release the patient from the bondage of sickness, resentment, fear,
hatred, or sin.
One such case occurred as follows:
A man living in an eastern state had become paralyzed on one side. As a last
resort, his physician ordered him to go to a southwestern state, hoping that the
climate there might help to improve his physical condition. As he was being
wheeled from one train to another in a southern city, a woman approached him
and said: "You do not need to be in a wheel chair. You can be
healed." He was interested in her remark and the positive way in which she
said it, so he asked her how he could be healed. She related her healing of
cancer through Christian Science treatment. The man was greatly impressed and
decided to ask for help in Christian Science as soon as he reached his
destination, which he did. There was no response to the first three treatments,
and the practitioner knew that God would guide her to uncover the apparent
cause so that the patient could receive his healing. So she asked him if he
was still resentful and bitter over his daughter's marriage, and his reply was
so vigorous and explosive that she knew she had found the vulnerable spot of the error. Then she proceeded
to show him how he should think
about the marriage if he wished his healing, and she very firmly showed him
that his present physical condition followed his acceptance of hatred and
bitterness. She also told him that
the releasing law of forgiveness would free him from paralysis. He objected at
first, but in a few minutes he accepted the truth so completely that he was
healed, then and there. This healing proves the releasing power of forgiveness.
In proportion to our acceptance and love of Godlike qualities are we freed from
physical suffering.
It is safe to make the statement
that many readers of the Bible have longed to know how Jesus performed the
miracles and healings which are recorded in the Gospels. Many have sought out
some mysterious power to him as if God had given our Master a special
understanding that no one else could ever have. It is true that Christ Jesus
did have a special power but it is available to all mankind. He unveiled the truth
when he said "The
Tomorrow as you approach your
office, or take up your home duties, or perhaps go on with military training,
pray that you will remember that the Christ is present to bless you, to give
you wisdom, energy, compassion,
cooperation, and all other Godlike qualities. You stand in the presence of the
healing power of the Christ. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 316),
"Christ illustrates that blending with God, his divine Principle, which
gives man dominion over all the earth."
The Christ unveils God's love to
us, which destroys all error. The Christ, Truth, is power; it holds us safe in
His presence. The Christ is the ever-action of Truth which makes or sets us
free. There is no need of fervent prayer to put Truth into action, for Christ
is always with us, ever tenderly guiding us out of wars into the way of peace,
out of sin and sickness into the freedom and joy belonging to the sons and
daughters of God.
The Christ made Jesus the Saviour
of men. The same Christ is present to
motivate our lives, our thoughts, our actions so that we may become
"fishers of men."
Any true impulse which you may
express, by which good may come to another, is the Christ, which enables you to
manifest spiritual manhood. The desire to be better Christian Scientists, to
do better healing work, to be more alert to help others, is the Christ entering
in to abide with you. Oh, welcome this guest into your consciousness so that the
reflected glory of your life may bless the ones hungering for the kingdom of
heaven to come on earth. The Christ expresses the activity of God's
omnipotence; and is the outpouring of God's love by which creation is
expressed and maintained in perfection.
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy discovered Christian
Science, and later founded the great movement known as the Christian Science
church. The importance of this discovery is evaluated by the good which has
been accomplished in the world by this church, for sinners have been reformed,
the sick have been healed of all types of disease, and many who have been
considered incurable have been restored to health. The recipients of these
blessings have been made happy through release from suffering and they express
true gratitude for the spiritual healing and awakening which followed the
healings. This spiritual healing has given to thousands a demonstrable understanding
of God's omnipotent law of good. Mrs. Eddy has certainly blessed the ages
through her discovery of the scientific understanding of Christianity, so
that religion is no longer based upon opinion or dogma, but upon the
demonstration of divine Principle. Well may the generations of the human race
rise in gratitude and call her blessed.
Mrs. Eddy came of a long line of
God-loving ancestors, and her childhood was surrounded by a religious
atmosphere. Her early years held much sickness and sorrow, which caused her to
turn to God for comfort and relief. This daily, even hourly, custom of praying
to God made it natural for her, when a great emergency arose and she was given
but a few hours to live, to turn once again to God. Inspired by Christ Jesus'
healing of the palsied man recorded in the Bible, her prayer was immediately
answered and she was healed. Right then was born to the world a new idea, a discovery
later named Christian Science.
But there was much for Mrs. Eddy
to do to understand her discovery. For years her Bible had been carefully
studied; now it became her textbook, for it answered her questions as to how
she was healed. What an answer to her hours of prayerful waiting and watching!
She had touched the borders of the greatest discovery ever given to mankind - Christian
Science. She writes in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 23):
"Thus it was when the moment arrived of the heart's bridal to more
spiritual existence. When the door opened, I was waiting and watching; and,
lo, the bridegroom came! The character of the Christ was illuminated by the
Almost immediately following her
discovery Mrs. Eddy was invited to fill certain pulpits in
This spirituality enabled her to
receive the guidance of divine Mind so that she was able to found her church,
guide and strengthen it through stormy years when the human mind was determined
to destroy it and cast into oblivion this new appearing of the Comforter.
Loving, gentle, strong in the understanding
of God's allness, Mrs. Eddy became the Leader of her church, which is going
forward under that Leadership to awaken men out of material thinking to the
freedom belonging to them as God's children.
Our Church
Following her discovery of Christian
Science, Mrs. Eddy confidently expected the churches of the land to accept and
welcome the great truth revealed to her. When her offer was rebuffed again and
again, she lovingly turned away to found her own church. It was necessary to do
this or let the discovery sink into forgetfulness. But Mrs. Eddy realized that
she was ordained as God's messenger to fulfill prophecy and give the final
revelation of Truth, and so with courage she founded a church that at first astonished
and then aroused bitterness, religious hatred, and intolerance. However, the
Christian Science church is winning its place in the respect of the world.
Our church offers the spiritual
good which the world is struggling in a material way to obtain. If the
religious people of the age would realize what Christian Science is, and not
what they think it is, our churches would be crowded. It rests with us to
demonstrate what we know of Christian Science so that others will be awakened
to its usable, practical, and healing mission.
An important activity of our
church is the Sunday school, for there the children are taught the simple
truths about Christian Science. Our little ones need what the Sunday school
has to offer, for they are given the basic teaching of God's allness and man's
spiritual perfection. This teaching will enable them to combat successfully
the present trend to scoff at religion and all things that are pure and good.
That Christian Science is simple is
attested by the children who make use of their understanding, and the
demonstrations of healing which follow are at times almost startling. In an
editorial appearing in one of our Christian Science periodicals it is told of a
little boy brought up in the teachings of Christian Science who was asked if he
were not afraid of catching a prevalent infectious ailment. He replied firmly,
"No. I never take anything that doesn't belong to me."
A deep responsibility rests upon
the officers and teachers of our Sunday school, for the children must be
properly taught and their interests aroused, so that they will use more
frequently the truth that frees.
How much of practical, loving understanding
are we giving them? Are we convincing them that Christian Science is what they
need to offset the sinful, alluring temptations which cross their paths?
At one time Mrs. Eddy sent for one of the associate editors of our
periodicals and asked her to take a class in The Mother Church Sunday School.
The editor asked to be excused because of many demanding activities, and
suggested that a younger student be given the opportunity. Whereupon Mrs. Eddy
answered: "I want the best thought possible in my Sunday school." And
so this loyal worker, in spite of the growing demands of many years, took her post in the Sunday school.
If the pupil is in school,
college, or the business world, he should be taught to turn always to God for guidance. Christian
Science gives the pupil the understanding of spiritual law by means of which he
is able to solve his problems with as much assurance as he works out his problems
in arithmetic. If the problem is difficulty with school examinations, the pupil
can prove his dominion over fear and lack of memory by turning to God for understanding;
if ill he can declare with assurance that God made him perfect and keeps him so,
and as he holds to this truth, the error disappears. The pupil can always
awaken to the spiritual truth about himself, and this understanding of God's
law will flood his consciousness and destroy whatever error is disturbing him.
Our Missionary Work
The Christian Scientist of today
has an unsurpassed opportunity to awaken the world to the practical value of
Christian Science, and to convince the suffering that the Christian Science
church points the way of Life, the way of peace. We need to have a better
appreciation of our opportunities to become more active, more willing to
sacrifice our leisure and our ease in matter, and to go forth as missionaries
to extend the truth to a world torn with problems of every kind.
Pray that you can express a kindly
word or deed here and there, and that the kingdom of heaven is touching the
consciousness of everyone. The suggestion may come to you that the world does
not wish Christian Science, but "the harvest truly is plenteous." Let
us be ready to thrust in the sickle, to gather the grain into God's storehouse.
What wonders a smile will do, a word of comfort, a little consideration, and it
has been known that just a "Thank you" has lighted up another's
face. In all these ways we "preach the gospel," and as opportunity
affords, we tell the waiting one of the good which Christian Science has for
him. Open the door to the kingdom of heaven and let the weary one see the joy
and freedom awaiting him as the beloved of God.
Today
The world is burdened with the
greatest problem it has ever had to face. If we have a low visibility of this
turmoil, it will leave us in the maze of conflicting views and emotions, and desperate
indeed will be the affairs of men if we cannot lift ourselves above that level.
But there is a way out of this
maze of human suffering, and it is the way of the Christ. This way leads us to
the realization of God's allness, which, when understood, will prove true the
words of Isaiah, "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall
be called The way of holiness."
Alertness to the value of prayer,
of a spiritual awakening to the power of God, is being emphasized to all of us,
whether at home or performing our work on foreign soil. The mesmerism of evil
cannot abide in the consciousness of a person who realizes the presence of
good. Sincere prayer for courage, fortitude, and confidence is always answered.
Christian Science does not ignore
the problems of anyone, but brings to that one healing and peace. If sadness has
come into some of our homes, thought must be lifted to divine Love to find
comfort. True compassion says, "See your dear one as God's image and so
keep him forever in the realm of immortality." Let this thought heal you,
bless you, comfort you.
Conclusion
The real man's dominion is secure
- based upon the rock eternal. It never fails him. So it is our privilege to identity
ourselves with what is already true of our real selves and demonstrate the
omnipotence of our reflected dominion. The opportunity is priceless; the
results blessed with the healing of the sick, sinful, and sorrowful. Let our
hearts sing a chorus of gratitude to our God, who has made man "a little
lower than the angels" and has "crowned him with glory and
honour."
Mrs. Eddy, in her book
"Miscellaneous Writings,'' blesses us with this benediction (p. 152):
"Thus founded upon the rock of Christ, when storm and tempest beat against
this sure foundation, you, safely sheltered in the strong tower of hope, faith,
and Love, are God's nestlings; and He will hide you in His feathers till the
storm has passed. Into His haven of Soul there enters no element of earth to
cast out angels, to silence the right intuition which guides you safely
home."
The