James Harry McReynolds, C.S.B., of Dallas, Texas
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
Christian Science can appropriately be called "Applied Christianity," for it reveals the divine law of Christ Jesus' words and works, which may thus be understood and demonstrated by all who are willing to follow him in the way that he commanded. I trust that there are many here who are attending a Christian Science lecture for the first time, and I assure you at the outset that you will find everything in the lecture to be in accord with the inspired Word of the Bible.
The truths of Christian Science are simple and practicable, and you may prove for yourselves the efficacy of these teachings by utilizing them in your individual experience. The Bible says, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters" (Isa. 55:1), and the words of a much-loved hymn are, "The open fount is free to all" (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 269).
The mission of Christian Science, as stated on page 150 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," by its author, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, "is not primarily one of physical healing," but rather is it one "to attest the reality of the higher mission of the Christ-power," namely, "to take away the sins of the world." Through the application of these teachings it is not only possible to be healed of physical diseases, but also to be liberated from the bondage of sin. It is your privilege and opportunity to begin applying these truths in this very hour to any phase of human discord confronting you, thus proving for yourselves that "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34) and that His law is just as available for your protection, support, and guidance as it has been proved to be for others.
In seeking to understand Christian Science one begins with God. Do Christian Scientists believe in a humanly circumscribed God, one who is less than infinite and supreme? Do they believe in more than one God? Emphatically no! The God whom Christian Scientists worship is the one spoken of by David (I Chron. 29:11), "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: . . . and thou art exalted as head above all," the God referred to in the First Commandment, "Thou shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3).
In Science and Health (p. 465) God is defined as "incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." These seven synonyms or terms for God when used separately or collectively help us to understand God's real nature, and the modifying adjectives, incorporeal, divine, supreme, and infinite, enable us further to enlarge our concept of God.
In Psalms (147:5) we read that "his understanding is infinite." Since God is infinite in understanding, He is all-knowing Mind, and His wisdom is illimitable. Jesus said that "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24). He is therefore omnipresent, and the indestructible substance and power of Spirit are universally available. God as Soul is consciousness, imparting individuality to man. The Bible refers to God as creator, the one and only cause, which means He is divine Principle. We read also in the Bible that God is Life, and since God is infinite, Life is infinite, limitless, endless. Further, we are told in the Bible that God is Truth; consequently He is supreme and unerring in His judgment and justice. Finally, St. John has written (I John 4:8,18) that "God is love" and that "there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." Love expresses the nature of God, which is changeless, constantly watching over, guiding, and sustaining its creation.
God is Father, and to be Father He must have an offspring. What is God's plan for His creation, and for what purpose does His creation exist? It is to represent and express Him. Man, made in His image and likeness, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis (Gen. 1:26), must be spiritual, since God is Spirit. Let us, then, stop thinking of man as a three-dimensional object with physical form and outline, and let us rather endeavor to understand him as he is spoken of in this first chapter of Genesis. Man's true identity is this spiritual identity in the likeness of the divine.
Man, identified as the manifestation of Mind, expresses intelligence; identified as the likeness of Spirit, he reflects divine strength, power, and substance; through spiritual sense imparted by Soul he is aware of his real selfhood; as the idea of divine Principle he is inseparable from his creator; as the expression of Life he exhibits vigor and immortality; as the reflection of Truth he manifests the reality and harmony of being; and as the image of Love he expresses tenderness, compassion, and goodness.
Man, as the child of God, can have no sensitive disposition, no excess baggage called temperamental characteristics, no mortal hereditary tendencies. Since man is identified as God's own image and likeness, the evil elements of the so-called carnal or mortal mind are no part of his real being. So-called evil qualities have no identity, because they have no reality, and man cannot be identified with that which has no identity; he cannot therefore be identified with such things as disease, suffering, weakness, decrepitude, poverty, criticism, malice, or hate, for these are only suppositional qualities of the carnal mind, and since infinite Mind, God, is All, He can have no opposite. These facts understood enable us all to apply this truth successfully, thereby overcoming whatever discordant condition may present itself in human experience.
Jesus was continually aware of his true identity as the son of God, and this understanding protected him, making it possible for him to escape through an angry crowd unharmed. Peter, on the contrary, in allowing himself to be mesmerized by fear allied himself with this element of the carnal mind and thus was exposed to error's ridicule and abuse.
Error has no means of recognizing you when you understand your true selfhood as the son of God. When you consciously abide in the realization of man's at-one-ment with God, the carnal mind cannot reach you and therefore cannot cause you to suffer. As the spiritual image and likeness of God, man is not a sufferer; he is not diseased, for he cannot be himself and his opposite at the same time. Man is the changeless expression of God and is never less than man, for his being is in God and inseparable from God, indestructible, and not subject to age and decrepitude.
Here is a simple and practical way whereby Christian Science can be applied. We have seen that only that which is real has identity; a mistake, as an illustration, has only mistaken identity, which is no identity; consequently it is not possible to identify a mistake as an expression of Truth. It is Soul which, through spiritual sense, enables you to identify your true self as God's man, and if you are continually aware of man's identity as God's offspring, you cannot then believe for a moment that man can be identified with suffering and disease. Man is the representative of Soul, and certainly disease, evil, or errors of any kind cannot become identified with Soul's representative. In fact, they have no point of contact with man nor have they any means of attaching themselves to him, any more than darkness can attach itself to a ray of light.
As we base our reasoning on spiritual sense, error is seen to occupy no place and to be inert and powerless — unreal, nonexistent. Through this identification work, which Christian Science teaches us to do, we are enabled to see ourselves as we really are — the sons of God. Thus do we put off the old man and put on the new.
We need to be active in claiming our rights, our mental rights, and alert in defending them. How would we act if someone were instituting suit to deprive us of lawfully obtained possessions? Would we refuse to go to court and declare our rights? Certainly not! We would take every right means to protect them.
If, for instance, we were bequeathed certain valuable property, would we say, "Why, that wasn't intended for me, there is no need of my going to court and claiming it. It is not mine"? Of course we would not; we would employ the best counsel obtainable to help us identity ourselves as the ones entitled to the property or the bequest. We would leave no stone unturned, nor would we allow fear to intimidate us and keep us from accepting what was rightfully ours. Now, should we not be even more alert in claiming man's God-given heritage of immortality, spiritual substance, and harmony? Try this plan for yourself and see how satisfactory, simple, and practical it is.
To Christian Scientists the Bible, the Authorized King James Version, is the best loved and most sacred of all books, and it is studied and pondered daily by them. The inspired writings of the prophets, their lives and works, all pointed to and prepared the way for the coming of the great Master, Christ Jesus. While the Christ has always been present, it remained for Jesus fully to demonstrate the Christ, thus illustrating "the coincidence, or spiritual agreement, between God and man in His image" (Science and Health, p. 332), and Christian Science emphasizes the necessity for a right evaluation of his life-mission, words, and works. We owe Jesus an endless debt of gratitude for his unparalleled work in exemplifying the Christ and pointing out the way of Truth, Life, and Love.
Born of a virgin, "born, not of . . . the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13), and recognizing man's divine origin and spiritual sonship, he claimed no relationship to human parents, but said rather, "Call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven" (Matt. 23:9). Jesus was thus divinely endowed and empowered "to speak God's word and to appear to mortals in such a form of humanity as they could understand as well as perceive" (Science and Health, p. 332).
The definition of "Jesus" in Science and Health (p. 589) is as follows: "The highest human corporeal concept of the divine idea, rebuking and destroying error and bringing to light man's immortality." When Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), he was not claiming equality with God, but rather declaring that the Christ, which he exemplified, was coexistent, coeternal, at one with, or one in being with God the Father.
In the same chapter of Science and Health we find this wonderfully illuminating definition of "Christ" (p. 583): "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Recognizing the power of the Christ, Truth, Jesus was enabled to do easily and speedily his many mighty deeds.
For what purpose does this "divine manifestation" come "to the flesh," other than to save, to bless, to heal, to purify, to regenerate? It was the Christ, manifested by Jesus, which made him capable of supplying every need, whatever it was and wherever it seemed to exist. He was able to feed the multitude in the barren place because he knew that substance is spiritual and therefore everywhere present. He healed the sick by knowing that health is a spiritual quality of Life and that man, being the full reflection of God, manifests health continuously. Knowing that sight is a faculty of Mind which man has by reflection, he healed the blind, and knowing that Life is continuous and uninterrupted, he raised the dead.
The reason that it did not take a great amount of time for Jesus to do these wonderful works was because he knew that life, harmony, and substance are the realities of Spirit and are ever present; that they are not more abundant nor available in the future than they are now; and that they do not have to be stored nor brought from a distance. His spirituality gave him a sense of freedom, and he was not burdened and restricted by the weight and care which usually come with the possession and accumulation of material so-called substance. He also had a true sense of economy, and in spite of the ease with which the loaves and fishes were multiplied, he commanded the disciples to gather up the fragments which remained after he had fed the multitude in order "that nothing be lost" (John 6:12).
Think of the joy, the peace, the serenity that come from a realization that health, sight, hearing are the illimitable and unrestricted realities of Life and are forever expressed; that the substance of Spirit is inexhaustible; and that salvation from all limitation is assured to those who seek it in the Christ way. Jesus proved all of these things, and he proved them in order to show you and me how to prove them too.
Conscious of the Christ which he manifested, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). By this divine light we are able to see the way and the means of mankind's redemption. In this light we see man as man is; see him as God created him; see him as God's own image and likeness. In order to make practical application of this divine truth, let us earnestly endeavor, beginning in this very hour, always to see our fellow man as revealed by the Christ. When we do this, we are in reality knowing the truth about man — in other words, bearing true witness — and this is divine or spiritual healing.
Some time ago I had a visit with a little girl about eight years old, and during the conversation I explained this to her, that Christ is "the light of the world," that evil is similar to darkness, which this divine light destroys, and that the Christ comes to consciousness for the purpose of dispelling evil. The heavenly peace which she radiated when leaving gave evidence of the fact that she well understood what had been said.
Later, an aunt, while visiting in the home of the child's grandmother, was suddenly stricken with an excruciating pain. A member of the family lovingly endeavored to help her in Christian Science, but the pain persisted unabated. Upon learning that the aunt was suffering so intensely, the little girl went to her and with childlike faith and assurance said, "Auntie, you are asleep; you must awaken." Then she proceeded to explain about the divine light of Christ which is always shining and which would awaken her from the dream of pain and suffering.
While the child was still talking, the aunt was instantaneously healed and able to join the family, to whom she eagerly and gratefully related the experience of her healing. This seemed a remarkable occurrence to all of them, but to the child it was quite a natural event.
The grandmother, marveling at the healing, called to the child, who had already gone back to her play, and said, "Dear, do you realize what a wonderful thing has happened? Auntie is well"; and the child answered simply, "Yes, I know," and quietly resumed her play without further comment.
This experience shows how easily and effectively a child is able to use this truth.
St. Paul said, "Work out your own salvation" (Phil. 2:12), and, "Now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2). The Christ, Truth, is the only liberating, regenerating, healing, and saving power there is, and Christian Science affords a simple and practical method by which the Christ, Truth, can be utilized in working out our salvation.
"Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), and is defined in Science and Health (p. 593) as, "Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed." The attainment of salvation, therefore, requires an understanding of the supremacy of the Christ, Truth, and a daily demonstration of it. It requires that we reverently keep the Commandments and humbly follow the Christ, thus making ourselves worthy to receive God's blessing of salvation.
Where do we begin working out our salvation? It must be right where we are when we awaken to the necessity and possibility of attaining it. A practical way to begin working out our salvation is to eliminate false traits of character, such as jealousy, hate, resentment, self-aggrandizement, self-pity, self-justification, self-condemnation, and replace them with generosity, love, forgiveness, and selflessness.
How is the individual to be saved
from false believing and erroneous experiences? By means of Christ, the Saviour. Referring to Christ, the redeeming Truth, Jesus said,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). And
from what is one to be saved? Saved from the belief that there is a power
opposed to God; that evil has its origin in and is upheld by Truth; that there
is reality apart from God; that God created something with power to oppose Him
and His creation.
One must have faith in God's goodness and mercy to work out or demonstrate one's salvation. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Believe, what? Why believe that salvation for humanity is possible; believe that it is possible to replace mortality with immortality, believe in the omnipotence of God; believe that man is forever in the presence of God; believe that God is ever available and that man cannot be separated from Him. Thus believing in the Christ, Truth, accepting the divine consciousness as the only consciousness, one rises to understanding and demonstration, in which, death and mortality are "swallowed up in victory (I Cor. 15:54) and man, the new man, is seen as the only man there is. This plan of salvation is practical, simple, and direct, and you will be gratified with the results if you will apply this method honestly and faithfully.
Although women occupied distinctly subordinate positions in ancient times, they did in some instances play important roles in Bible history, and their influence has been strongly felt. They exemplified such qualities as love, devotion, loyalty, faithfulness, perseverance, and spiritual discernment.
Jochebed, Moses' mother, risked her life in order to save him from the Egyptian spies. Deborah's spirituality enabled her to visualize the liberation of her people. Ruth, the Moabitess, at the death of her husband refused to return to her own people, but remained with Naomi, her mother-in-law, saying. "Whither thou goest, I will go: . . . thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16). Faithful to her promise that if she were given a son she would present "him unto the Lord all the days of his life" (I Sam. 1:11, 28) Hannah took Samuel to the house of the Lord saying, "I have lent him to the Lord: as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." The widow of Zarephath, whose food was all but exhausted as a result of the famine in Zidon, trustingly complied with Elijah's request that she bake a cake for him first. Her obedience was rewarded, and the account is that she and her son never lacked, for "the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail" (I Kings 17:16). Elizabeth, cousin of the Virgin Mary, discerned by revelation, that through Mary's spirituality and goodness, Jesus was to be born. The three faithful women of Galilee remained at the cross to the last. The first person at the tomb on the resurrection morning to whom our risen Lord revealed himself was Mary Magdalene.
It should not be thought strange, therefore, that in our time a woman was prepared to receive and give to the world the revelation of Truth which Jesus promised as the Comforter which would lead into all truth. Mary Baker Eddy's spirituality, faith, and perseverance, her love for God and man, enabled her to expound her discovery and establish her movement.
Mrs. Eddy's mother was a woman of unusual discernment and spiritual thought. The father also was a devout Christian: he had the family unite daily in Bible readings and prayer. It is related that their home was a place where the needy were always welcome and special hospitality was accorded the clergy.
As a child Mrs. Eddy was extremely delicate, and she grew into womanhood only to suffer many weary years of invalidism. In exploring various healing methods she became convinced that the cause of disease was mental, and she was continually searching for a divine law which, she knew must be ever operative and which she felt would result in healing now, just as it did in Jesus' time. She reasoned that Jesus of Nazareth never failed to restore health and that he cured the most hopeless diseases instantly, and further, that he said these things could be done by others if they believed in him and followed him.
As a result of her search for God, she was raised from what her neighbors, friends, doctor, and pastor thought was her deathbed. Suddenly restored to health by reading the passage from the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew regarding the healing of the palsied man, she was at the moment unable to explain her healing, other than to say that it came from God. However, here was the absolute proof she had been seeking. For three years she withdrew from society in order to search and study the Scriptures in an effort to find the divine rule or law by which her healing had been accomplished.
It was through patient toll, working at times against almost overwhelming odds, that Mrs. Eddy was enabled in 1875 to publish her God-inspired book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which gives the complete exposition of Christian Science. This book may be found in Christian Science Reading Rooms and in public libraries throughout the world. The debt mankind owes Mrs. Eddy for her discovery, her tireless efforts, and her labors of love in behalf of humanity is indeed great, and it is gratifying to see that in some measure at least the world is awakening to an appreciation of the good she has accomplished.
Christian Science is the only teaching since the days of our Master, Christ Jesus, which has revealed evil's true nature, namely, its nothingness. It is not denied that disease, discord, and limitation seem real, disturbing, and exceedingly troublesome, but since they can be eliminated, as Christ Jesus proved, does this not prove that these erroneous conditions are unreal, insubstantial, and without divine authority and support? The opposition to this theory regarding the transient nature of all kinds of error arises largely from the fact that such a theory is contrary to physical sense testimony, to academic and medical education, and to generally accepted theological views.
When declaring the allness of God, we are at the same time declaring evil's nothingness, which is a fundamental teaching of Christian Science, for the allness of God excludes evil with its materiality and mortality. There can be no compromise here; either God is All and good, and evil is nothing, or else God is both good and evil. Goodness and evil are opposites and cannot proceed from the same source.
Jesus proved evil to be mortal error, unreal in nature, by healing through purely, spiritual means. Thus he disproved the false claim that evil has cause or effect. When the demented cried out to be left alone, he rebuked this carnal mind opposition to his Christliness and commanded the evil spirits to come out, and they obeyed. The impotent and paralytic, believing in the reality of incapacity and inactivity, were commanded to take up their beds and walk. The man with the withered hand, entertaining an imperfect sense of body, was commanded to stretch forth his hand. Jesus recognized sin as the source of the trouble with the blind and impotent when after healing them he admonished them to go and sin no more. In healing the woman bowed down with infirmity, he told her in substance that she had been bound (mesmerized) by Satan, whom you will recall he defined as "a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). Here was a new doctrine whereby Jesus exposed evil as a lie — an untruth — without origin, continuity, or support.
Today Christian Science continues and amplifies this teaching. It enables us to dispose of evil as a lie and the father of its own lie and to eradicate it on the tests of the allness of Truth and the nothingness of evil. Let us then oppose and refute (disbelieve) evil, which has been deceiving the whole world with its lies about man. We eliminate the errors of poverty, distress, disease, sin, and suffering by knowing the truth which makes us free.
In your schooling you were taught certain truths. In arithmetic, for instance, you were not taught about mistakes concerning arithmetic, but you were taught the truths and rules which are governed by the principle of mathematics. It was explained what these truths and rules were, rather than what they were not.
You did not study to learn where ignorance came from nor did you study to find out why you were ignorant of the particular subjects. Your motive in going to school was to acquire knowledge; your work was positive, and you went about it in a positive way. If you had gone to school to study the falsities of ignorance, you would have been working in a negative way. Since ignorance has no origin, it is unreal and mythical in nature and needs only to be replaced in consciousness by understanding and intelligence.
A mathematical mistake is not a part of the principle of mathematics. Intelligence does not enable you to know that five times five equals twenty-six. Admittedly, this is ignorance or a mistaken concept of the fact that five times five is twenty-five. What basis would there be for believing the mistake? Only ignorance of the fact. Obviously, the belief in the misstatement would be without a foundation, without power or reality, and would have no effect or influence on you when you found it to be a mistake. To quote again from Science and Health (p. 276), ". . . real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God." So spiritual consciousness cannot know man as sick, weak, inharmonious, limited, or victimized by evil, or in other words, as being different now from that which God created and eternally maintains.
Sickness, lack, inharmony of any nature, are mistakes resulting from false beliefs regarding God's true and perfect creation. They do not proceed from Mind. They are lifeless because they do not exist in God, who is the only Life. They are the inevitable outcome of the false concept of life and intelligence in matter. Physical scientists inform us that matter or material structure is a form of energy or force, which is but a sense impression, therefore mental; and Christian Science reveals matter to be only a false belief, because it does not originate in God nor is it perceptible to or through spiritual sense; consequently it is unreal — nothing or no thing. It might be said that ignorance of reality constitutes matter or materiality. From this we may conclude that matter and ignorance stand for the same thing — nothing. However, because of false education it is easier for us to see the nothingness of ignorance than the nothingness of matter.
You would not attempt to eradicate ignorance by taking a pill or having an operation. When ignorance has been replaced by knowledge, no entity has been disposed of, because the ignorant belief merely vanished into its native nothingness when the truth was recognized.
You do not look to ignorance for intelligence, for life, substance, health, and yet you have been educated to look to matter and materiality for them. St. Paul said, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2), and in Science and Health we read, "Correct material belief by spiritual understanding, and Spirit will form you anew;" again, "Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered" (p. 425). It is easy to see that faith in ignorance would never construct a better body; neither could you live in ignorance, for there is no life in it; nor would you look to ignorance for your supply when there is no substance in it. Neither should you look to matter for any good.
We are making practical use of this teaching of Christian Science regarding the transitory and unreal nature of matter as we begin in this scientific way to eradicate from thought the inharmonies of human experience.
What Christian Science teaches regarding divine or spiritual healing is a subject in which I am confident you are all interested and one which is of practical value, because you can prove for yourselves that it is possible for you both to heal and be healed. Christian Scientists are demonstrating the fact that "the prayer of faith," that is, the prayer of enlightened faith or spiritual understanding, heals the sick and saves the sinner today just as surely as it did in Jesus' time.
"Prayer" is the title of the first chapter in Science and Health, and the opening lines are: "The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, — a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love."
Effective prayer is a realization that God is All-in-all and that He eternally governs, guides, and sustains His creation, man. Prayer is the ceaseless desire to do the will of God — the constant endeavor to live in accord with His law, to cherish only thoughts, aims, and motives which are in keeping with divine statutes.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and His creation, man, is forever like Him and forever with Him. The healing of any discordant condition is attained when human consciousness accepts the fact that health and harmony are qualities of being which are inseparable from man as the expression of God, Life.
God has made man healthy, harmonious, whole. Let us then treat the lie of disease as falsity deserves to be treated, by proving its unreality through spiritual understanding. Health does not have to be restored, for in reality it has never been changed, impaired, nor lost: it is not something that has to be brought to man, for it has never been taken from him; and you can experience the benefit of these truths as you recognize and demonstrate them.
It has been proved time and again that Christian Science heals all kinds of so-called incurable diseases when material means have failed. God, being good, knows nothing about evil, including disease, so is it reasonable to suppose that man could know anything which God does not know? No, God bestows a consciousness which knows only Him and His loving, sustaining qualities — His "saving health" (Ps. 67:2).
One experiences a better sense of health in proportion as he understands that health is the true and eternal state of man's being. Then it is possible through spiritual understanding to know health, to have health, to enjoy health because it is the forever reality of true substance.
Christian Science has been found equally effective in the overcoming of poverty, discordant business and home conditions, and in liberating and redeeming those in bondage to false appetites. It is becoming increasingly evident that these erroneous conditions result from evil thinking and sinful practices. "The emphatic purpose of Christian Science," as stated by its Discoverer, "is the healing of sin" (Rudimental Divine Science, p. 2), and there are great numbers of people in all parts of the world who gladly testify to the fact that as a result of their understanding of Christian Science they have been spiritually reborn and that their prayers are effective in the elimination of discord, and the restoration of harmony.
Perhaps more attention is focused on the subject of security today than ever before in the history of mankind. In learning the truth about man, you are learning about man's security. Man is secure because he lives in God; man could not possibly live or exist outside of the infinitude of Life; and because his being and living are included in Life, they are insured by God. A realization of this will bring a better sense of security, peace, and harmony to your consciousness and consequently into your experience and will also bring the assurance that your loved ones, your home, and your business are safe in the all-embracing divine care.
Man's security and safety are maintained by God, in God. A line from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal reads (No. 144),
"He holds us perfect in His love,
And we His image bear."
Man is never for an instant separated from God's governing and directing power; consequently he is never in danger. He is held in this security by the unopposed properties of divine Mind — adhesion, cohesion, and attraction — which are everlastingly encompassing and upholding him. When these truths about man's real being are accepted, it will be seen that neither disease, bombs, nor bullets can separate him from his preservative Principle, God. The words of promise are: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isa. 54:17), and "The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save" (Isa. 59:1).
Evil falsely says you have a carnal or mortal mind with which to know lack, discord, inharmony, strife, war, pestilence, and disease. Should you not disclaim this argument and vigorously and persistently claim man's heritage as the son of God — claim that man is a joint-heir with Christ to the kingdom of heaven?
When error assails you and says you are not entitled to health, you are not entitled to happiness, you are not entitled to all the good which comes from God, rise in the strength of Spirit; declare: "This is only temptation, the false claim of the carnal mind. I will reject this error because Christian Science has taught me that God is the only Mind and that I, in truth, am the expression of that Mind — the beloved of the Father." As you do this you will experience in ever-increasing degree the presence of divine substance, harmony, peace, health, completeness, and immortality.
Christian Science, though profound because it is the spiritual truth about God and man in His image and likeness, is, as you see from this brief discussion, simple and practical. Children grasp its meaning and apply it successfully. This revelation will enable anyone who will approach its study humbly, willing to be guided by the Christ, Truth, to discern his real identity as the blessed child of God. The Christ, "the divine manifestation of God," is with you now and will always be with you to show you the way.
[Delivered circa 1945-1947.]