Thomas E. Hurley, C.S.B., of Louisville, Kentucky
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother
Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
Perhaps the three things that people in general are most assiduously seeking today are health, happiness, and security. The reason for this is quite obvious: most people are greatly in need of one or more of these three important elements of well-being. Even if one is not actually seeking to attain them, he is definitely interested in finding a way to keep them, since at best his possession of them seems insecure and precarious. For the fact remains that men have not discovered a practical material way either to attain or to keep them although untold wealth and effort have been expended in the search.
It would seem that this very lack of success would cause mankind to question whether the search was being made in the right direction, and today there is increasing evidence of such questioning. Thinking people are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the empty promises of materialism and are beginning to look more and more to God for a satisfactory solution to their problems.
Christian Science offers a reasonable and logical explanation as to why mankind has fallen so far short of the desired goal, and, what is far more important, it reveals the truly practical and effective way by which health, happiness, and security may not only be attained, but retained. This Science shows conclusively that they are not material conditions derived from, dependent on, and governed by matter, but they are man's God-bestowed heritage, derived from, dependent on, and governed solely by Spirit, God, who is constantly giving them to man without interruption and without limit. It is mankind's failure to discern the basic fact that health, happiness, and security are really spiritual qualities that has rendered the search so fruitless.
On page vii of the Preface of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," its author, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: "The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. . . . Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-stone to faith." Is it not ignorance of God that would claim to reverse the facts of being and argue that it is impractical to look to Spirit for the good which men naturally desire? The Bible tells us that God is Life and Love. Why should it be thought impractical to look to eternal Life for health and to divine Love for happiness and security? The Bible also tells us that God is Spirit, true substance, the source of all supply, and that He is Truth, the source of all freedom and power. The Scriptures clearly imply, as Christian Science elucidates, that God is Soul, the source of all bliss and immortality; that He is Mind, the source of all knowing; and that He is divine Principle, the source of all law, creating and controlling man and the universe. Surely it is practical to look to the source of all good for the good one rightfully desires.
The student of Christian Science finds that the aforementioned seven synonyms for God — Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle, Life, Truth, Love — are invaluable, since they reveal to him the true nature of Deity and thus enable him to worship God aright. Knowing the true nature of the Father makes it possible for us to understand correctly the true nature of man, His beloved son, the image and likeness of the Father. The Master, Christ Jesus, made it quite evident that a correct understanding may well be defined as a demonstrable understanding when he said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also" (John 14:12) Today the correct or spiritual understanding of God which Jesus taught and demonstrated is being presented by Christian Science to the thought of this age in a way that can be grasped by the individual and demonstrated in his own experience, thus proving its correctness and making it the most practical thing in daily life.
Christian Science teaches and demonstrates that the "straight and narrow way" of spiritual understanding taught by Jesus is the only practical and right way to health, happiness, and security. But collective mortal belief aggressively opposes this teaching and argues that matter's devious ways, or byways, are not only more practical, but also much easier and more attractive. Since each individual must choose for himself the way he is to follow, let us consider briefly the claim that matter, not Spirit, God, is the source of all good.
It stands to reason that if health, happiness, and security are to be found in matter, they must be attributes of matter; and if they are attributes of matter, they cannot be attributes of matter's opposite, Spirit, or God, and consequently they can be no part of the kingdom of God, or heaven. This simple reasoning has sufficed to show many thinking people the absurdity of looking to matter for these good qualities, health, happiness, and security.
Mrs. Eddy discerned and proclaimed the unreality, the nothingness, of matter. This revolutionary teaching she firmly based on the revelation of the infinitude, the allness, of Spirit, God, which is clearly implied in the Bible, and on the Scriptural teaching that like produces like. Since Spirit can no more create or include its opposite, matter, than light can create or include darkness, and since there can be nothing outside of the infinitude of Spirit, God, matter must be unreal, an illusion. As we read in Science and Health (p. 223), "If Spirit is all and is everywhere, what and where is matter?" And in "No and Yes" (p. 17) Mrs. Eddy states: "Matter, or evil, is the absence of Spirit or good. Their nothingness is thus proven; for God is good, ever-present, and All."
Perhaps there is someone in this audience who is thinking, But I can feel matter. I can also hear, see, taste, and smell it, and to me this proves that matter is present and real. It may come as something of a shock to this individual to discover that he is out on a limb that even physical science has now sawed off. Today the physical scientist admits that the so-called material universe — the universe that one thinks he sees, hears, feels, tastes, and smells objectively — is really subjective, a mental universe included in individual human consciousness.
In a book entitled "The Universe and Dr. Einstein," by Lincoln Barnett, are to be found some interesting statements as to the latest conclusions of the physical scientists. One of these deals with the world of perception which we have just been discussing. Mr. Barnett states (p. 11), "Gradually philosophers and scientists arrived at the startling conclusion that since every object is simply the sum of its qualities, and since qualities exist only in the mind, the whole objective universe of matter and energy, atoms and stars, does not exist except as a construction of the consciousness, an edifice of conventional symbols shaped by the senses of man."
While the physical scientist admits the subjective nature of the universe of perception, he does not accept this universe as reality, but feels that there must be something real back of it. As Mr. Barnett puts it (p. 14), "But a curious order runs through our perceptions, as if indeed there might be an underlayer of objective reality which our senses translate." However, he seems to have little hope that the physical scientist will ever find this "underlayer of objective reality," for he says (p. 28): "When he tries to divorce this 'real' world from his sense perceptions he is left with nothing but a mathematical scheme. He is indeed somewhat in the position of a blind man trying to discern the shape and texture of a snowflake. As soon as it touches his fingers or his tongue it dissolves."
Christian Science denied the reality of the world of perception long before the physical scientists arrived at the conclusion that it is mental and began to question its reality. Over seventy-five years ago Mrs. Eddy not only declared the so-called material universe to be mental, but falsely mental, the counterfeit of the spiritually mental universe of God's creating. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 60) we find this clear statement of her teaching on this point: "Evil in the beginning claimed the power, wisdom, and utility of good; and every creation or idea of Spirit has its counterfeit in some matter belief. Every material belief hints the existence of spiritual reality; and if mortals are instructed in spiritual things, it will be seen that material belief, in all its manifestations, reversed, will be found the type and representative of verities priceless, eternal, and just at hand."
It stands to reason that no one will look to what he knows to be false, or a counterfeit, for good of any kind. Nor is there anything to be gained from studying a counterfeit or trying to find out where it came from. We need only to understand that it is a counterfeit in order to reject it. But in order to replace it with the true idea, we must have a clear understanding of reality, of God and His creation.
The spiritual understanding of the truth of being may be gained by carefully studying the Bible and Science and Health, the well-loved and well-thumbed textbooks of the Christian Scientist. These two books are also essential to the investigator if he truly wishes to find out what Christian Science teaches. Science and Health contains the complete statement of Christian Science in its clearest and most accurate form; hence it includes the most simple and most profound statements of divine metaphysics. The latter require study and spiritual growth to be understood, but the beginner will find that he can easily grasp the more simple statements and even demonstrate them, for children study this textbook and are helped and healed.
I recently had a letter from a friend of mine which illustrates this point and also shows how important it is for the Christian Scientist to be alert to the opportunity to present the textbook to inquirers or those in need. My friend wrote that she had a neighbor who had a daughter who was confined to her bed with rheumatic fever. The neighbor mentioned her daughter's condition to my friend, who offered her a copy of Science and Health. She accepted it, saying that while her daughter could not hold the book to read it, she would gladly read it to her. Shortly after this, my friend met the mother and daughter on the street and was told that the girl was well and was as active as any other girl her age. The mother could not understand how the healing came about, but said her daughter was still reading the little book.
The Bible teaches, and Christian Science reaffirms, that God is infinite and perfect, that He is Spirit, that Spirit is the only cause or creator, and that like produces like. Therefore the creation of Spirit must be infinite, spiritual, and perfect. Spirit is Mind, and Mind creates ideas. Hence the creation of infinite divine Mind, Spirit, must be comprised of infinite spiritual ideas. As we read in Science and Health (pp. 502, 503): "There is but one creator and one creation. This creation consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and forever reflected. These ideas range from the infinitesimal to infinity, and the highest ideas are the sons and daughters of God."
It must be obvious to any thinking individual that the concept of man as the highest idea of God, the image of Spirit, Life, and Love, must be quite different from the sick, sinning, corporeal mortal that seems to be such an integral part of the world of perception. But let us remember that if the world of perception is subjective, hence mental, or as we have seen, falsely mental, this so-called material man must also be a false mental concept, the counterfeit of God's man.
This counterfeit is never man, nor does it become man. It is a false belief, or myth, that would claim to hide or deny the presence of the perfect man of God's creating. Christian Science teaches us to reject the myth and to identify ourselves with the real or spiritual man, and our success in doing so determines our health, happiness, and security. In the degree that one accepts the myth, or counterfeit, as true and identifies himself with it, he experiences its discords, limitations, and imperfections. To the extent that he rejects the counterfeit and identifies himself with God's likeness, he brings into his experience the health, harmony, happiness, completeness, and security which the real man forever possesses and expresses as the perfect reflection of God.
This teaching of Christian Science is in perfect accord with Paul's letter to the Ephesians, in which he urges "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24). Is not Paul telling us to reject the counterfeit, or false concept of man as material, and, through spiritualization of thought, to attain the understanding of the real man, the spiritual image of God? This putting off of the old and putting on of the new takes place in individual human consciousness and is therefore a wholly subjective experience. It is individual redemption or the evangelizing of the human selfhood by which all error or evil is replaced with spiritual truth, leaving nothing to hide the perfect image of God. It is working out one's salvation alone with God.
Some time ago a friend who was just beginning the study of Christian Science asked, "What is the difference between the Christian Science way of salvation and that of other denominations?" He went on to say that according to his former religious belief he was supposed to have been saved, yet he did not feel that he was free from sin and he most certainly had not been saved from sickness. He wanted to know what more he could expect from Christian Science.
The Christian Science way of salvation differs from that of all other teachings at its very basis or starting point, which is the present and eternal perfection of God and man in His image and likeness. Thus the Christian Scientist works out from perfection; he does not work up to it. Instead of trying to transform a sinning mortal into a perfect, spiritual man, he is engaged in proving that man is, always has been, and ever will be spiritual and perfect, since God makes and maintains man in His image. Understanding man's present spiritual perfection, he recognizes that the concept of man as material, sinning, sick, and dying is not and never was man, but only a false belief about man which the spiritual fact disproves and dispels. Thus he proves the unreality of the counterfeit, or false concept of man, and destroys its claim to hide the present fact of man's spiritual perfection.
While he strives not to identify himself with the human concept, he is aware that it is error claiming presence as the human selfhood that denies the presence of his true spiritual identity and individuality He further understands that these erroneous beliefs must be replaced by spiritual ideas in order that the mist may be dispersed and his true spiritual selfhood appear.
Mortal mind, or error, in its claim to resist Truth, argues that it is not necessary to take cognizance of or destroy the claims of error, that since there is really no human selfhood, one does not have to redeem or evangelize it. It would have the Christian Scientist believe that he can take a short cut to salvation by ignoring error. But the alert student knows that such a short cut is really a dead-end road, since it is always error that argues that error should be left alone. When Jesus was about to heal the man with "a spirit of an unclean devil," error "cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us?" (Luke 4:33,34.) Jesus did not ignore error, but he rebuked and destroyed it, thus healing the man.
Another outstanding difference between the Christian Science way of salvation and all others is that one does not labor in the hope of being saved at some future time; he proves that, as the Bible states, "now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2). When Christian Science heals the sinner, he knows that he is healed, since he is not only free of the sin, but also of the penalty that is inseparable from the sin. When this Science heals the sick or diseased, he knows that he has been saved from that disease, for he is well. In like manner, one knows when he has been saved from unhappiness, lack of supply, limited ability, and false traits of character. In Christian Science, every healing is a step forward and upward in working out one's salvation, for every healing must bring some measure of redemption or spiritualization of thought.
It is vitally important to think of healing in terms of redemption. Mrs. Eddy often speaks of "health and holiness," and this combination of terms is significant. Unless human thought is spiritualized or redeemed in some measure, real healing has not taken place, even though the physical discomfort may have vanished. The Christian Scientist is never engaged in healing a physical body, but rather in healing or correcting the wrong thinking claiming manifestation as a sick body. When these false beliefs are replaced by spiritual ideas in individual human consciousness, the body manifests health and harmony, and, what is more important, the individual has been regenerated or redeemed in a measure. It is this redemption of individual human consciousness which Christian Science healing brings about that distinguishes this healing from all other modes and methods and explains why Christian Science alone really heals.
It may be helpful to examine in more detail how Christian Science removes the wrong thinking that is manifested as disease. For example, let us consider a case that came to my attention a few years ago. A woman was suffering from cancer and had been given up by the doctors. She went to see a Christian Science practitioner, who quickly discerned that the leading error was an extreme fear that the cancer had been inherited and that it would prove fatal, as it had in the previous case, a fear which the doctor's diagnosis had confirmed. Now how did Christian Science obliterate this fear from individual human consciousness and heal the disease? By proving to the patient that her fear was really baseless. Through her study of the Bible and Science and Health, together with the practitioner's helpful counsel and treatment, she came to understand God as infinite divine Love and man as His perfect likeness, the object of Love's infinite blessings. She clearly saw that God, who is Love, never made a cancer or any other disease, never imposed it on His likeness, and never made man capable of experiencing or manifesting any such thing. She saw that since man really "lives, moves, and has his being" in God, Life, Truth, and Love, as the Bible states, disease could not possibly be where man is, nor could it reach or destroy his health, life, or substance. In the infinitude of Love, there is nothing unlovely, nothing harmful or destructive to man's eternal perfection, no material law of heredity, nothing for man to fear. As she thus gained the understanding and assurance of the allness of Love and its manifestation, her fear vanished, for as John tells us, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear" (I John 4: 18). When the fear was removed, there was no vestige of the disease. As we read in the textbook (pp. 411, 412), "If you succeed in wholly removing the fear, your patient is healed."
When we remember that equally convincing and well-authenticated testimonies of healings of all types of sin and disease, unhappiness and lack, have been appearing in the Christian Science periodicals for almost seventy years, and are still to be found each week in the Christian Science Sentinel and each month in The Christian Science Journal, we cannot fail to be impressed with the tremendous influence Mrs Eddy's revelation and demonstration of the Christ, Truth has had and is having in redeeming and healing mankind. In view of this, is it not natural that she should be regarded with deepest gratitude and love by an ever-increasing multitude of those who have been healed and regenerated by her teaching? I am glad to be one of this multitude. When one has been healed of deafness and restored to a life of usefulness, as I was, and when one has been restored to health after a doctor had said he was dying, which was also my experience, he is not only grateful for the healings and for the spiritualization of thought that accompanies them, he is naturally deeply grateful to Mrs. Eddy for her great work in making the healing Christ available to him and to all who are willing to accept it.
We often hear it said that to know a certain individual is to love him. No one could possibly know Mrs. Eddy and not love her and the better one knows her the greater will be his love. We know someone, even humanly, only to the extent we know what he thinks, the qualities he expresses, and the motives that animate him. If we do not know these things about our dearest friend, then we do not really know that friend. We can know these things about Mrs. Eddy, for they are clearly evident in her writings, and we may find them for the seeking.
In order to gain a demonstrable understanding of Mrs. Eddy's revelation, it is imperative to know her aright, just as it is necessary to have a correct concept of Jesus in order to comprehend his teachings. One who believed the Master to be a follower of Beelzebub could not possibly be a Christian. In like manner, a false concept of Mrs. Eddy would prevent one from demonstrating Christian Science. As one looks for Mrs. Eddy in her writings and begins truly to know her, he understands why she was the one divinely appointed to fulfill the prophecy of Jesus in bringing the promised Comforter to mankind. It was Mrs. Eddy's spiritual-mindedness, her clear expression of spiritual understanding, discernment, wisdom, purity, love, and other spiritual qualities, all of which come to man directly from God, that appointed and anointed her God's messenger in this age.
Jesus taught and demonstrated the Christ, the true idea of God and man. Mrs. Eddy has given to the world the Science of Christ, the divine rules and laws which make it possible accurately and scientifically to understand and demonstrate the Christ in daily life. In her writings, Mrs. Eddy brings out various aspects of the Christ, and there are two definitions we shall find helpful to consider in relation to each other. On page 332 of Science and Health we read, "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness." And on page 583 of the same book we find this definition of Christ: "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." The divine message is the spiritual idea that unfolds to one right where he is, meeting his present need by replacing and destroying the false belief that is manifested as discord or disease. This divine impartation carries with it absolute authority, the irresistible power of God. Consequently, it banishes false belief as light banishes darkness, and with no more effort. The divine message and divine manifestation are coincident. They are inseparable, since Christ is one and indivisible. Where the divine message is accepted and understood, the divine manifestation must be. Where Truth is manifested, error can have no appearance.
The inseparability of the divine message and manifestation was beautifully illustrated by the healings wrought by the Master. Through Jesus' clear understanding of the Christ, false beliefs of every description were immediately destroyed, and the manifestation of the presence and power of God was instantly apparent. It is helpful to understand and maintain this coincidence of divine message and manifestation in healing the sick. It is the perfect answer to error's argument that thought can be corrected and the erroneous manifestation remain.
In Christian Science it is important to understand the distinction made between Jesus and the Christ. Jesus was a human being, spiritually conceived by the Virgin Mary, but born of the flesh. His spiritual origin resulted in his being the most spiritually-minded man ever to walk the earth, but, as a human being, he was faced with working out his salvation, just as you and I are. He worked it out perfectly and completely, thus showing us how to work out ours and providing a perfect example. To deify Jesus, or to conceive of him in any way other than as the most spiritually-minded of men, is to lose the true concept of the great Exemplar and Way-shower, since it would then be impossible for humanity to follow in his footsteps. For the same reason, Christian Scientists do not deify Mrs. Eddy or conceive of her other than as the most spiritually-minded individual since the time of Jesus.
The Master clearly understood the Christ to be the Son of God, the full expression of divine Mind, the divine idea, image, or spiritual consciousness. He further understood that the Christ individualized, or the individual Christ-idea, is the true selfhood of each individual man. He so completely identified himself with the Christ that he was known as Jesus the Christ, or Christ Jesus.
Jesus was the Son of God, not as a human being, but in his true selfhood as the Christ-idea. In like manner you and I are the sons of God. John understood this, for he boldly declared, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God" (I John 3:2). John did not mean that human beings are the sons of God, since it is impossible for God, who is Spirit, to have sons so unlike Himself. John meant that we are not really human beings, but that right now each individual in his true identity is the likeness of God, the son of God.
In speaking of spiritual reality, John refers to "the sons of God." Sometimes the student of Christian Science has difficulty in understanding how each individual can be the image of God, perfectly reflecting every spiritual quality and attribute, and still maintain his identity. We have seen that Christian Science teaches that God is infinite; hence one and individual. This infinite, individual God expresses Himself in infinite ideas, all of which must be individual since they reflect the infinite individuality of God. Now an essential characteristic of this infinite, individual God is that He expresses Himself in infinite variety; otherwise He would be finite. Hence His every expression or idea must be distinctly individual. Consequently, as we discern our brother's individual expression of divine qualities, we are recognizing his eternal individuality and identity as a son of God.
We have seen that the Christ is the true idea of God, the spiritual understanding of God and man. Prayer in Christian Science is the utilization of this spiritual understanding. Jesus' words to the Jews that believed on him well describe this healing prayer: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31,32). Here we see that the first essential of prayer is to follow the teachings of Jesus according to our highest understanding, endeavoring to demonstrate the life of Christ, Truth, more in our daily lives. In the degree that we accomplish this, our knowing the truth will be effective.
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," is a very simple statement, and this was Jesus' definition of the effective prayer by which we are to work out our salvation — by which we are to destroy not only sin, but also sickness, death, and every other phase of error that denies the present perfection of man's true selfhood. If this is so, and every Christian must admit that it is, then ineffective prayer must result from one, or both, of two things. Either we are not continuing in the word of the Master in a sufficient degree, or else we are not knowing the truth. In Christian Science, we learn that we are knowing the truth only to the extent that we are acknowledging the present perfection of God and man and denying whatever contradicts this spiritual fact. Therefore the prayer of Christian Science is the acknowledgment or affirmation of the spiritual fact and the denial of the material sense evidence that contradicts it. It is as simple as that. But it must be remembered that one's affirmations and denials are effective in the degree that one is living in obedience to divine Principle. On page 149 of the textbook we read, "If you fail to succeed in any case, it is because you have not demonstrated the life of Christ, Truth, more in your own life, — because you have not obeyed the rule and proved the Principle of divine Science."
Patients should not assume from this statement that the entire burden of the demonstration rests with the practitioner, since this statement applies equally to them. The patient must express honesty, obedience to the rules of Christian Science, such as absolute reliance on God, co-operation, willingness to study and work to the best of his ability. When such right activity is lacking on the patient's part, the effectiveness of the practitioner's prayer or treatment may be limited.
Prayer should always be inspirational and spontaneous, never a hackneyed process. While it is true that one often has to use a certain amount of argument, affirming the truth and denying the error, in order actually to know or realize the truth, this should never be a stereotyped or set argument, nor should one feel that he must do a certain amount of arguing each time in order to get a clear realization of the truth. This would be a subtle form of ritualism, which has no place in Christian Science prayer or treatment.
Effective prayer destroys whatever would deny the present perfection of man's health, happiness, and security. We have seen that man as the son of God normally has these without limit. It is never necessary for him to acquire them: the only need is to obliterate the claims of error that deny his present possession and expression of them as God's reflection. This is accomplished by knowing the truth. Since Christian Science reveals the truth we are to know, instructs us how to apply it, and illumines the way by which we may "continue in [his] word," it is demonstrably the practical way to health, happiness, and security — to the realization and demonstration of the infinite good that is man's eternally as the image of God.
Christian Science is therefore the religion that is destined to bring the true sense of security to this troubled world. Recently several leading statesmen and physical scientists have declared that the world's greatest need is a religion that will keep men's spiritual development abreast of human invention. We Christian Scientists know that a religion that is capable of spiritualizing the thought of mankind was given to the world some seventy-five years ago by Mrs. Eddy and that men need only to awaken to this fact and to accept and make use of this Science of Christ in order to enjoy the freedom that is true security.
When we contemplate the world situation today, it may seem difficult to recognize that our individual right thinking can accomplish much in solving a problem that seems so vast and complex. But our Leader tells us on page 4 of "Pulpit and Press": "You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source, and daily demonstrate this. Then you will find that one is as important a factor as duodecillions in being and doing right, and thus demonstrating deific Principle. A dewdrop reflects the sun. Each of Christ's little ones reflects the infinite One, and therefore is the seer's declaration true, that 'one on God's side is a majority.'"
Reflecting the infinite One, we dwell "in the secret place of the most High" and truly "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Ps. 91:1). We dwell in a mental state of confidence and security while we are actively engaged in demonstrating the Christ, Truth which must obliterate the arguments of error that would claim to destroy the peace of the world.
In this great work we are encouraged by our Leader's inspiring assurance: "The Science of omnipotence demonstrates but one power, and this power is good, not evil; not matter, but Mind" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 101).
[Delivered Oct. 12, 1951, under the auspices of Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, Detroit, Michigan, and published in The Grosse Point News, Oct. 25, 1951.]