Will B. Davis, C.S., of Chicago, Illinois
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
Will B. Davis, C.S., of Chicago, lectured on "Christian Science: The Way of Freedom from Human Discords" Sunday afternoon in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, under the auspices of the six Churches of Christ, Scientist. Mr. Davis is a member of the Board of Lectureship in Boston, Mass. The lecturer was introduced by Frank C. Ayres.
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
Perhaps no word so quickly attracts human thought as the word "free." Almost everyone is seeking a way out of some situation that is irksome or unsatisfactory. When all of our bodily functions are acting normally we say we have gained freedom from sickness; and when our material needs, including food, clothing, and an adequate dwelling place, are being supplied, we rejoice in freedom from want. But seldom do we find anyone who will admit being perfectly satisfied with every condition and circumstance which concerns human welfare. To gain and maintain a sense of harmony and freedom requires much more than a lazy acceptance of the unlimited bestowals of God's boundless goodness.
We call this a free lecture on Christian Science, meaning that there is no admission charge, and that no collection is to be taken. But even that which is available for the taking requires something from the recipient. Freedom must be earned, and if it is to continue, it must be accepted, utilized, and maintained. Paul in his epistle to the Galatians emphasized this point when he wrote: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1).
Earlier, when Paul was devoting all his time and energy to persecuting the Christians, he was no doubt sincere in the belief that his actions were justified. Then, as he journeyed toward Damascus, intent on capturing and imprisoning any followers of Jesus he could find there, we read in the ninth chapter of Acts that there suddenly "shined round about him a light from heaven." This Christ-light awakened him spiritually, and even though he had never seen the human Jesus he learned to express the Christ-consciousness so fully that he soon was ready to accept his God-appointed task of bringing freedom, healing, and regeneration to men and women everywhere.
There is ample evidence in Paul's writings that he had learned that the true followers of our great Master can express the Christ and thereby heal as Jesus did. It was this discovery that the Christ may be entertained in human consciousness that enabled Mary Baker Eddy to bring to this age the way of freedom from human discords and limitations. When we learn how to keep our human thinking in close communion with the one supreme intelligence, the one Mind or Principle called God, we are letting in the healing Christ. Mrs. Eddy not only discovered how this may be done, but she proved the accuracy of her discovery by bringing freedom from all manner of sickness and inharmony to thousands who were in need.
It was in 1866 that she rose from what was considered to be her deathbed as she contemplated the Bible account of one of the healings of Jesus. It was thus that Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian Science; but not until nine years later, in 1875, did she publish the first edition of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." With unswerving and resolute devotion she revised this textbook over and over again until she completed the task which was given her to do. In the final edition published in 1910 she writes on page 361, "I have revised science and health only to give a clearer and fuller expression of its original meaning." The Christian Science textbook explains fully just how healings were accomplished by Jesus and his early followers, and how the same method may be successfully utilized today.
In the Preface of Science and Health you will find an interesting exposition of some of the steps which were taken by Mrs. Eddy before she was ready to publish a complete statement of Christian Science. On page ix she makes this significant observation: "She had learned that this Science must be demonstrated by healing, before a work on the subject could be profitably studied." On the next page she declares: "By thousands of well authenticated cases of healing, she and her students have proved the worth of her teachings. These cases for the most part have been abandoned as hopeless by regular medical attendants. Few invalids will turn to God till all physical supports have failed, because there is so little faith in His disposition and power to heal disease."
We soon learn that something is required of us if we are to benefit fully from the privilege of having access to the teachings of Christian Science. A willingness to drop any sense of egotism or antagonism and to approach the subject in a spirit of sincerity and humility will hasten our progress. We hear someone remark, "Christian Science will no doubt help in some kinds of trouble, but it will not help me." I can only say to such a doubting Thomas, "Try it."
In the thousands of cases of healing and regeneration through Christian Science which are being recorded day after day, there are a great many in which the trouble had seemed incurable, insurmountable. Whether the discord concerns a sick bodily condition, an unsatisfactory business situation, or an unhappy home, an open-minded approach to the teachings of Christian Science will solve the problem.
Perhaps the reason for the resistance which is sometimes shown toward using Christian Science is that our method of treatment is utterly opposed to human, material systems. We do not begin a Christian Science treatment with a human man subject to disease and discord, but we are taught to start our prayerful reasoning with God, the one true cause. We then accept the conclusion that the image and likeness of God, the real spiritual man, is now expressing the harmony and perfection of his creative Principle, or Father. In other words, that which seems very real and disturbing from a human standpoint we learn to view as unreal, in fact, nonexistent, from the standpoint of spiritual reality.
While I was serving as a Christian Science Wartime Worker, a Navy Chaplain asked me one morning, "How does it happen that a Christian Scientist has the mumps?" I replied that Christian Scientists seem to have difficulties along with the rest of mankind, but that we overcome them in a different way. The Scriptures contain many accounts of the troubles of the early Christians and how they were corrected through the teachings and practice of our Way-shower. The Psalmist wrote, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all" (Ps. 34:19). Jesus overcame the crucifixion, and we are profoundly grateful that we are learning through Christian Science to heal as he did, through spiritual means alone.
What is it, then, that is
accomplished through Christian Science treatment when it brings salvation from
sickness, poverty, disease, and other human discord? Through her diligent
perusal of the Bible, Mrs. Eddy discovered the mental nature of all that seems
physical and materially substantial. She learned that the material creation,
including the mortal body, is only the Adam-dream about the real, spiritual,
perfect, God-made universe. She learned how to reason from perfect cause to
perfect effect — from God to the real man. She found that, when she thus
uplifted her thought to a contemplation of the spiritual creation, mortal
discordant conditions which came to her view faded into their native
nothingness. Furthermore, Mrs. Eddy found that not only did she begin to
manifest a more healthful, abundant, harmonious, happy human experience, but
through the same process of thought she was able to bring freedom to others.
Is it not plain, then, that Christian Science does not attempt to heal a perfect creation? The method in Christian Science is to awaken or regenerate human consciousness so thoroughly that the externalization of that thought becomes harmonious and well. But let us not forget that in reality the difficulty never resided anywhere but in the human mind.
To clarify a point it is sometimes helpful to compare the efforts of the medical profession with the methods of Christian Science. It seems that the major effort of the medical profession is to attempt by additions, subtractions, or alterations to make some change in the human body through the use of material remedies, appliances, operations, diets, or changes in climate. Unless we are extremely watchful we gain the impression that through Christian Science treatment we are endeavoring to do the same thing; that is, produce a physical change. However, our method is always to start with God — to understand that a perfect creator never made anything imperfect which needs changing. From this it follows that what we call a healing is in reality a mental awakening. When physical relief comes, and it does, through this scientific process of thought, we learn to rejoice because we have begun to understand a little more clearly that perfection is all there is.
Christian Science teaches us to declare that man is spiritual, perfect, normal, and rightly active, even when humanly the very opposite appears real and true. We know what the good God gives cannot be lost.
But suppose the same discord is tempting us today as yesterday. We may understand that inharmony which has never been true about the real man cannot come back or be repeated. Man continues to be well, joyous, and free, because that is the way God made man. There has not been, there could not be, a lapse from this perfect state of being. Accept these true facts and you will find yourself living them.
It is scientific to ask, when inharmony of any kind seems to be manifesting itself, "Did God give it to me?" and to answer with conviction, "No"; it follows that you do not have it. That which divine Love has not sent has not been received. Does that thought sound new? John the Baptist put it in these words, "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven" (John 3:27).
Let me give you an example. A man who had been having treatment from a Christian Science practitioner for quite a period became discouraged because the trouble did not seem to yield. In talking with the practitioner one day he was voicing his disappointment. The practitioner asked him what he was doing about it, reminding him that it was his understanding that needed to be awakened. To this the patient replied, "I am knowing each day that truth removes properly whatever is offensive." "What truth?" asked the practitioner. It was then pointed out that he had been using only part of the sentence he had been quoting to himself from Science and Health. The entire sentence reads (p. 463): "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive."
Immediately the patient realized what he had been doing. He had been dwelling on the trouble as a reality, as something that needed to be removed, as something that seemed offensive, instead of holding to what he knew about the perfect status of spiritual man. He resolved to remind himself again and again that God's man is a spiritual idea, and as the image and likeness of a perfect God could not manifest "a single element of error." He maintained this stand every time there was a temptation to believe in the discord, and shortly found that he was expressing the perfection he was understanding. To put it in plain English, he was well and knew why he was well.
You will see from this illustration that prayer as taught in Christian Science may be at times a reasoning process. Starting from the premise that God, divine Principle, is the only cause and creator, and that His creation is wholly good, we reason that the real man must express the harmony and goodness of his Father-Mother God.
True prayer is not a question of asking God to heal poverty or to remove disease. On page 12 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes: "The common custom of praying for the recovery of the sick finds help in blind belief, whereas help should come from the enlightened understanding." On this same page Mrs. Eddy refers to the "humble prayers" of Jesus as "deep and conscientious protests of Truth, — of man's likeness to God and of man's unity with Truth and Love."
[. . .] scientifically as Jesus did. We realize that God is Mind, and that immortal man, the expression of the supreme intelligence, is capable of knowing himself as he is known of the Father. We rejoice that God is Love, because it follows that the likeness of Love must be loving, and could not express bitterness, hatred, and resentment. It is such an enlightened understanding, such a consciousness of "man's unity with Truth and Love," that enables us to give as Love gives, to follow, in a degree, in the footsteps of our Master, and heal through the prayer of "enlightened understanding."
We learn through experience that obedience and freedom are closely allied. It has been well said, "Obedience to law is liberty." Freedom must not be confused with license. Men and women down through the ages have found a rich measure of freedom and protection through obedience to the moral law as set forth in the Commandments by Moses.
Similarly, obedience to just civil law enables us to live comfortably and harmoniously together. Through the teachings of Jesus we have learned that, through obedience to spiritual law, we can dispel the bondage of poverty, sickness, sin, disease, and death. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). Christian Science shows us how to become obedient to spiritual law, and it is significant indeed that it was discovered in a country whose Constitution gives us all the privilege of making our own decision as to what God is, and how He is to be worshiped.
Let us not allow the present tendency toward regimentation to lull us into apathy and indifference. Through scientific, corrective thinking let us vigorously protest against injustice and greed, however it presents itself. We obey the laws of the land, but if we are clear enough in knowing that spiritual law alone is operative and enforceable, we will see right changes made in human laws until they more nearly conform to the divine.
All are familiar with the parable of the prodigal son, which has encouraged so many to turn away from the false gods of materiality and to return to obedience, to spiritual law. The prodigal had made the mistake of confusing immoral and "riotous living" with freedom (Luke 15:13). When we begin to entertain a willingness to let go of the bondage of erroneous material habits we soon find them leaving us, painlessly, that is, without a struggle. We humbly say, in the words of the repentant son, "I will arise and go to my father" (Luke 15:18).
One of the most healing and helpful lessons of this instructive parable concerns the way the father handled the hurt feelings and resentment of the elder son, who had always remained obedient to moral law and had been dutiful and helpful, but who became resentful when he saw the celebration for his brother's return. With one brief sentence the father removed any reason for jealousy when he said, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine" (Luke 15:31). Let us think of our all-loving heavenly Father as saying to each one of us, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
All the intelligence and love in the divine Mind is being bestowed upon Love's idea, God's spiritual man. All that God has is yours. We cannot conceive of any other real source or creative power than divine Principle. God made all that was made and made all good. My friends, let us claim our divine sonship. Pain, disease, sickness, or abnormality cannot be included in God's creation. Man has all that God gives, and only what divine Love has imparted.
Time and time again when some assignment has come to me that has appeared difficult and has seemed to require courage, perseverance, and love, it has been sustaining and reassuring to think of the voice of Truth saying to me, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
Are you being tempted to believe that you have many discordant things which the Father does not have, and therefore, which He has not given to you? Poverty, sensitiveness, hate, greed, unhappiness, sickness, and other types of human bondage are not being expressed by our Father-Mother God, and, therefore, could not be manifested by spiritual man, God's idea. Accept as true about you and your fellowman the freedom from evil and danger which is the God-given heritage of spiritual man as the image and likeness of God. You have the strength and ability to defy the challenge of mortal mind which would say that others may receive the Comforter and be restored and regenerated, but that you must resign yourself to the dictates of a material body, a material business, or an erroneous habit.
All human bondage stems from the notion that man can be separated from God, at least temporarily. The Comforter, divine Science, has come and has emphasized the glorious truth that creation cannot be separated from creator. As Mrs. Eddy declares, "Man cannot be separated for an instant from God, if man reflects God" (Science and Health, p. 306).
Here it will be illuminating to substitute for the word "God" in this sentence each of the seven synonyms for God which our Leader uses throughout her writings to express God's nature and completeness. They are "Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love" (Science and Health, p. 465). For example, man cannot be separated for an instant from Mind. Because of man's continuous at-one-ment with the only supreme intelligence or Mind, God's man could never express unintelligence or ignorance, or be lacking in alertness, acuteness, and accuracy.
Spirit is a synonym which denotes the ever-presence of God. Spirit is the very opposite of matter and is the only real substance. Because it is utterly impossible for spiritual man to be separated, even momentarily, from Spirit, his eternal supply, his true substance is ever at hand.
I have seen many healings occur through understanding the spiritual fact that man cannot be separated from Soul for an instant. In her book "Rudimental Divine Science," on page 5, Mrs. Eddy speaks of Soul as "the only real consciousness which cognizes being." Spiritual man, then, is the reflection of Soul, divine consciousness, and in reality he could never lose his sense of harmony, or become unconscious of good.
Now we come to Principle, which Mrs. Eddy has also used to signify Deity. We learn to think of Principle as the only real source or origin of ever-active, always wise, all-loving, divine law. Spiritual man cannot be separated from Principle, hence he cannot be influenced by, subject to, or governed by any of the so-called laws of mortal mind.
Man cannot be separated for an instant from Life, from right spiritual activity. As we hold to this absolute fact the varied expressions of Life come to our vision; and obstructions, stagnation, stoppage, and the belief called death are seen to be impossible for the man who is the expression of continuous right activity, of infinite Life.
Man cannot be separated for an instant from Truth. The Truth which is God is unerring. There could be no mistakes in Truth; therefore man is expressing health, harmony, and abundance, and is correctly guided and directed.
Man cannot be separated for an instant from Love. Love is the infinite Giver. Love bestows, man receives. Love imparts intelligence and ability to think clearly, because Love and Mind are synonymous. Love's impartations are substantial and adequately expressed everywhere, because Love is Spirit.
Now that we have broadened our concept of the never-failing and all-inclusive nature of our supreme Father, we can listen with ever deeper, fuller, more grateful confidence to the words, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
I remember that for many years I entertained a sort of latent fear about my business situation. With the needs of a family to be supplied, and a house and automobile to be maintained, I had formed the habit of thinking of my business connection as the source of supply. All sense of business bondage left me when I awakened to the joyous realization that the vocation of a Christian Scientist is to serve God, to be employed in His vineyard. When our thought is so uplifted and enlightened that we help everyone with whom we come in contact, we are pursuing this God-ordained vocation, and the reward comes from Him. In the words of the last verse of the last chapter of II Kings: "And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life."
Please do not think of Christian Science as merely a method of producing a desired physical comfort or supply. Until we begin to study this Science for the sheer joy of learning more about God and man's inseparability from Him, we never fully demonstrate the freedom God has in store for us. It may seem that our effort in Christian Science is concerned with securing better health, a better position in business, more satisfactory surroundings, more money, more clothes, or more harmony at home. Even though these things are desirable, and humanly necessary, our real need is for spiritual awakening, so that the fullness and complete adequacy of God's goodness may be more readily recognized.
To those of us who have experienced, through the study of Christian Science, the boundless joy of bringing harmony, health, and freedom from fear to ourselves and others, the life and example of its Discoverer and Founder are a constant inspiration. We are imbued with such a sincere appreciation of the privilege of living in the age in which the method of healing employed by Christ Jesus has again become available that we often ask ourselves whether we are expressing fully enough, by our efforts to let our light shine before men, the deep gratitude we feel for the freedom and regeneration which have come into our experience through Mrs. Eddy's discovery.
Earlier in the lecture I referred to the Preface of Science and Health. On page ix our Leader's profound humility is beautifully shown in these words: "To-day, though rejoicing in some progress, she still finds herself a willing disciple at the heavenly gate, waiting for the Mind of Christ." It was such humility and sincerity of purpose that made our loved Leader ready for the revelation when it came. She had always been an earnest student of the Bible, and had early formed the habit of listening for divine direction. She speaks of this in her autobiography, "Retrospection and Introspection," on page 23, in these words: "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 midnight torches of Spirit. My heart knew its Redeemer."
It is true that the unprecedented progress of Christian Science in less than a century is amazing to many; but those who realize that the Comforter, promised by our God-inspired Master, has come and is available to all now cannot help wondering why the whole world has not more fully acknowledged that the advent of Christian Science in this age has confirmed Scriptural prophecy. It also seems strange to us that Christian Science has not been more quickly and more universally accepted.
How well we all recall the conversation with Peter which Jesus had after he had come forth from the sepulcher — a conversation which came at the conclusion of the disciples' spiritual meeting with Jesus on the shore of the Galilean Sea, where he had told them to cast the net on the right side of the ship. As we read in the twenty-first chapter of John, "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." Jesus knew that many receptive hearts, many lambs — those who were only beginning to reach out for what he had taught — were waiting for his message of healing and redemption. However, he did not seem satisfied that Peter realized the obligation and responsibility that went with the privilege of being a disciple, for it is recorded that Jesus "saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep."
Evidently Jesus made a distinction here between lambs and sheep. In thinking in terms of our present-day responsibility as Christian Scientists, his admonition is a helpful reminder that not only do the lambs, the new students, need encouragement, but the sheep often yearn for an outstretched hand as they clamber up the rugged road towards perfection.
Perhaps never before in history has the yoke of bondage seemed heavier for the peoples of the world than during the last several years. Christian Scientists know that there is always a sure way to overcome the human sense of domination and disaster. But, having found the way for ourselves, let us all ask ourselves whether we are really doing our part in making it possible for others to gain freedom, as we have done, through the discovery of Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy has given us this often-quoted instruction: "Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert — are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences" (Science and Health, p. 570). The "cup of cold water" may be an invitation to attend a Wednesday testimony meeting, or a Sunday service in a Christian Science church, or an invitation to use our Reading Room, or to come to one of our lectures. Even a kind word spoken in season may lead a friend, a neighbor, or even a stranger to share in this great blessing that has come to you.
Not all know that thousands have learned the way of freedom, have been healed, reformed, and directed aright just by reading the Christian Science textbook, and that other thousands have been healed during our Sunday services and Wednesday meetings. Still others who have come to Christian Science lectures, earnestly seeking more understanding and enlightenment, have found that some physical discord has vanished as they listened. We who know these things must tell them to others and be willing to point the way.
Let us not become smug, self-satisfied, intolerant, or apathetic. We have been entrusted with a great responsibility. The Comforter has come to us through Mrs. Eddy's discovery of Christian Science, and this rich heritage must be shared with others. My friends, we are still pioneering, and the honest effort of every individual Christian Scientist is needed to show mankind how freedom may be gained and maintained.
Now that matter is a step nearer the zenith of its supposed power as shown in the atomic bomb, it is evident that the human race is being forced to look more actively than ever for salvation to the only possible antidote for material power — the omnipresent all-power of the divine Mind. God alone is almighty. A correct recognition and prayerful acknowledgment of this accepted fact is the only sure protection from the belief that matter in any form can destroy life.
Quite often I have sent an audience home from a lecture with something to do, and here is an assignment I know you would find awakening and useful. First look up the word "free" in the dictionary. Remembering Mrs. Eddy's vehement declaration, "God made man free" (Science and Health, p. 227), you will find the definition of this simple word extremely interesting. In the two dictionaries I use most frequently, I found the following among the many definitions for the word "free": "Not subject to an arbitrary external power or authority; having liberty; not in bondage; without impediment or restraint; not repressed, checked or hampered; unrestricted; not obstructed; open; clear; unimpeded; unconstrained by timidity or distrust; released; exempt; not under an arbitrary or despotic government." This is just what Christian Science teaches about man. Man is not subject to atomic or material power, but is governed by, and subject to the law of God alone. The real man has no impediment, is not repressed, checked, or hampered, but is free and unrestricted. Spiritual man is capable of accepting the good divine Love is so constantly imparting. He is not obstructed or in bondage, but free and unimpeded. Man is not subject to arbitrary and despotic laws of mortal mind, or materia medica, but is exempt from them, released, unconstrained by timidity or distrust.
You have seen how much you may be helped by just such a scientific consideration of the word "free." And now take another step. With a Concordance to Science and Health as a guide, look up various citations in which Mrs. Eddy has used such words as free, freedom, freely, liberty, exempt, released, open, unobstructed. When you thus find statements that appeal strongly to you and that you readily understand, write down the page and line numbers. After you have gathered together quite a number of references, try to rearrange them until they tell a consecutive and convincing story of man's inseparability from God and his freedom from disease and danger. You will find it awakening and inspiring to explore our Leader's writings by locating the various statements she makes on some particular subject. The Concordances make this sort of study possible, and they may be borrowed or purchased at any Christian Science Reading Room.
Let me illustrate the importance of learning to think scientifically and correctly about our fellowman by telling you the experience of a friend of mine. This young woman, who is a Christian Scientist, had been having luncheon each day with three other girls in her office. One of these friends was troubled with a condition on her hands which had been diagnosed as eczema. Almost every day during the lunch hour something was said about the condition and the type of treatment which was being used. Many times the Christian Scientist thought that she ought to ask her friend whether she did not want to try Christian Science, but the argument presented itself that perhaps her friend would not be receptive. After several months the Christian Scientist was startled one day to see that the same condition was appearing on her own hands. That evening she worked for herself earnestly as she had been taught in Christian Science, studying the Bible and Science and Health, but the next morning the condition seemed much worse. Her first inclination was to stay away from the office, but then she realized that no harm could come from doing what it was right for her to do. Her hands were noticed at luncheon, and there was much excited conversation about it. That evening as she turned gratefully to the textbook, she suddenly awakened to the fact that she had been believing, over a period of months, in the reality of her friend's difficulty. How often it had come to her that Christian Science would heal the trouble if her friend would only turn to it for help. It was now plain to her that she was not actually manifesting physical inharmony, but only expressing what she had accepted as true about her friend. No matter what others believed, she now knew that the difficulty was only in mortal thought and therefore not real at all. A sense of calm and fearlessness came with this enlightenment. She studied some more that evening just for the joy of it. In the morning there was not one sign of the discord, and her complete healing was observed by the girls that noon. And here is the most inspiring part of this experience: within three or four days her friend's hands were also entirely free from every
blemish.
What an awakening experience! What
are we talking about at luncheon, or at other times during the day? Do our
discussions with others prophesy disaster, sickness, unemployment, poverty, or
war? Are we declaring audibly or inaudibly that political intrigue, the atom
bomb, selfishness, aggression, or hate will eventually destroy the race; or are
we keeping our thought in the spiritual realm with a certain sense of God's
ever-presence and omnipotence? The young woman, by believing in the reality of
eczema, first seemed to see it in her own environment as belonging to her
friend, and then in the guise of her own plight. We must practice universal
love so that we shall stop believing that the world is diseased and in
bondage. Whether we call the disease war, wounds, lack of vision, or just plain
dumbness, it is our responsibility to impersonalize the evil, and then make it
nothing by knowing it could not exist in God's plan.
Our most important assignment is to continue our sincere and earnest effort to see immortality, perfection, harmony, and spiritual goodness everywhere. This we all are capable of doing through allowing the fresh, inspiring, Godlike thoughts, which come to us through the study of Christian Science, to lead us into broader realms of spiritual freedom, comfort, and understanding.
A quotation from page 227 of Science and Health brings us these stirring words: "Christian Science raises the standard of liberty and cries: 'Follow me! Escape from the bondage of sickness, sin, and death!' Jesus marked out the way. Citizens of the world, accept the 'glorious liberty of the children of God,' and be free! This is your divine right." Thus we are reminded once again that our heavenly Father is saying to each one of us, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
[Delivered Jan 19, 1947, in the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana, under the auspices of the six Churches of Christ, Scientist in Indianapolis, and published in The Marion County Mail of Indianapolis, Jan. 24, 1947. At one point in the lecture "[. . .]" indicates that text missing. This is not an error on the part of the Mail, as the exact same problem is found in multiple copies of the lecture, including one published toward the end of 1950, nearly four years after this report. The text in each case was provided to the newspapers already typeset (which practice The Mother Church had evidently found expedient over the years, in part to avoid incorrect capitalizations, to present accurate quotations from the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's works, to attempt to circumvent inadvertent omissions on the part of the local typesetters, etc.). The omission in this case appears to have have been made in Boston.]