Harold Molter, C.S.B., of Chicago, Illinois
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother
Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
Harold Molter, C.S.B. of Chicago, Illinois, delivered a lecture on Christian Science: The Science of God's Abundant Provision, under the auspices of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Silver Creek, at the high school auditorium, Thursday evening, October 6th. Mr. Molter, a member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, was introduced by Mrs. Charles S. Clark, First Reader of the local church.
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
The reign of King James I of England was greatly enriched by the appearing, in the year 1611, of a translation of the Bible, which has since been called "the noblest and most beautiful book in the world." This English translation of the Scriptures, known everywhere as the King James Version, because instigated and authorized by King James himself, was prepared by a group of fifty-four of the leading scholars in England. It has comforted and guided men and influenced the history of mankind for over three hundred years. It is an inexhaustible storehouse of spiritual truth, in which can be found the absolute rules which lead to righteous living. Christian Science is based on the Bible, and it is this Authorized Version that is used in Christian Science church services.
In the New Testament the words and works of Christ Jesus, the great Way-shower for all men, illumine the inspired pages of the Scriptures with a great spiritual light. One of the glorious promises of the Master reads as follows (John 10:9,10): "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. . . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." During his Christian ministry Jesus proved the truth of this statement in his mighty healing works. Yet he recognized the fact that mankind was not ready to receive the complete revelation of the truth which he came to demonstrate, nor to realize the abundance of Christian living which comes to those who follow in his footsteps.
The final revelation of the truth about God and man, with its assurance of unlimited good for man, was presented through Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer, Founder, and Leader of Christian Science in her book entitled "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Just as Jesus came in response to Biblical prophecy to reveal and prove God's ever-present abundance of spiritual good, so Mrs. Eddy's discovery and mission were in response to Jesus' promise that the Comforter would come and reveal all things to mankind. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy, through divine inspiration, has restored to mankind the primitive Christianity taught and practiced by Jesus. Through the study and application of its teachings, any sincere thinker can begin immediately to enjoy the abundant life which the Way-shower promised to all mankind.
Christian Scientists are grateful to their beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who not only discovered Christian Science, but also organized the Church of Christ, Scientist, with its many constructive philanthropic activities, including The Christian Science Publishing Society, which publishes the glad tidings of spiritual salvation throughout the world.
Working practically alone, abandoned by family and friends, supplied only with meager funds, Mrs. Eddy had reached, in middle age, what might be called a critical state of human existence. It was in a moment of seeming hopelessness and failure that the light came. The Christ revealed itself as ever-present, and Christian Science was born into human consciousness, to lead mankind to recognize the All-in-all of Spirit and the absolute nothingness of so-called mortal existence.
For her great and unselfish service to mankind, Mrs. Eddy received not only the gratitude of the spiritually receptive, but also the persecution which attends every step of mankind's progress from material sense to spiritual realization. At one time Mrs. Eddy was called to speak before a Lyceum Club (see Retrospection and Introspection, p. 40). Her hostess told her that a neighbor, whose case the physicians had given up, was dying. Mrs. Eddy asked permission to see her, and in fifteen minutes the woman arose, dressed herself, and was well. Later this woman gave birth to a twelve-pound baby, although the doctors had declared such an experience to be impossible. As a result of this spiritual healing, the physicians and clergymen in that community tore down the notices for a second lecture by Mrs. Eddy and refused her a hearing. This is but one instance of many which could be related, of toil and hardship, of ridicule and persecution, which beset Mrs. Eddy's forward steps. But Truth always wins over error; Love always triumphs over hate. Today, thousands are praising the great work of our Leader. Many physicians and clergymen are reading and acknowledging the healing, saving, and sustaining power of Christian Science.
Christian Science is based on the great fact implied in the first chapter of Genesis and stated by Christ Jesus, namely, that God is the one and only creator, that He is Spirit, and that He is infinite, ever-present, and omnipotent good. When a certain ruler came to Jesus and addressed him as "Good Master," the Way-shower answered (Luke 18:19), "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."
Throughout the Bible God is referred to as good and the source of all good. The Psalmist constantly echoes the statement (Ps. 106:1), "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." Since the creator is good, He can never be evil, create evil, nor do evil; neither can He permit its existence, nor know it, for He is infinite, He is All. The Bible supports Mrs. Eddy's conclusions that God is divine Mind, eternal Spirit, immortal Soul, unchanging Principle, indestructible Life, absolute Truth, and perfect, all-embracing Love.
Since God is infinite good, and this good is Spirit, it follows that God's creation is wholly spiritual, for cause and effect are inseparable — the effect reflecting or expressing the cause in substance and quality. Mrs. Eddy's proposition that man and the universe are spiritual is more revolutionary to human thought than was the proof in the days of Columbus that the earth was round, and it requires a fundamental change in human thought to understand this true creation.
The prophet Isaiah rejected the belief that man is material when he said (Isa. 2:22), "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" And Jesus told his followers that Spirit alone gives Life to man; for the flesh is nothing. What, then, is man, made in the image and likeness of his Maker? He is the infinite expression of infinite good, of Spirit or divine Mind, and includes all perfect, spiritual ideas, from the least to the greatest. You and I, and every object constituting God's creation, are really active, eternal, individual, spiritual ideas, and we have, in reality, nothing in common with the so-called material universe pictured by the material senses.
That we may clearly discern the nature of man in the image and likeness of Spirit, let us consider the answer to the following question: "What kind of man or woman would you employ if you were called upon to fill a position of great trust and responsibility?" Would you select someone merely according to his physical appearance, his material well-being, or earthly possessions? Would you not, rather, satisfy yourself first as to his ability, courtesy, industry, orderliness, intelligence, trustworthiness, and unselfishness? Now these and like mental qualities constitute a man's character, and they are not physical. They are qualities or characteristics of his mentality, and they affect everything he says and does. Because their effect is always good, they are referred to as Godlike or spiritual qualities. These qualities are the true substance which constitutes the individuality or identity of every idea of God.
The consciousness of Jesus absolutely reflected the qualities or divine character of Spirit. Therefore, he is called the Christ or God-expressed. Although he inherited a human form from his mother, the Virgin Mary, his consciousness was imbued with the qualities of God, or Spirit. Mrs. Eddy writes in her book Science and Health (p. 333): "Jesus was a human name, which belonged to him in common with other Hebrew boys and men, for it is identical with the name Joshua, the renowned Hebrew leader. On the other hand, Christ is not a name so much as the divine title of Jesus. Christ expresses God's spiritual, eternal nature. The name is synonymous with Messiah, and alludes to the spirituality which is taught, illustrated, and demonstrated in the life of which Christ Jesus was the embodiment."
Jesus was richly endowed with the Christ, the nature of God manifested, and this enabled him to do the mighty works of healing and saving which he accomplished. And he left this promise, that those who receive the Christ in the understanding will do the works which he did. Speaking of the Christ, he said (Matt 28:20), "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," that is, even unto the casting out of human consciousness every false concept of God and His perfect creation.
Christian Science does not bring Spirit into material things and conditions. It does not change human beings or mortals into spiritual ideas or sons of God. Spirit and matter never mingle. The basic teaching of the Bible and of Christian Science is that Spirit is All: God is All-in-all. That means God or Spirit is infinite divine Mind and includes all creation within itself. This clarifies the Bible statement (Acts 17:28), "In him we live, and move, and have our being." Christian Science teaches that since Spirit and its ideas constitute the All-in-all, there is no place for matter or mortality. Matter and mortal conditions, persons, places, and things are but the false sense or false concepts of spiritual ideas. There are many false concepts of God, man, and creation, but only one God, the divine Mind, and only one true creation, namely, Mind's spiritual idea, man, the universe, which is revealed in Christian Science.
I recently met a friend whose heart was filled with gratitude for the revelations of Christian Science. She introduced me with great joy to her grandson, a young man who, shortly before the World War, had been stricken with a severe condition of infantile paralysis. For three weeks he was confined to his bed, and during that period some of the normal functions of the body, including the movement of the bowels, had ceased. The family then telephoned to a Christian Science practitioner, who at that moment was several thousand miles away. The patient received no medical aid and took no drugs. Within twenty-four hours after the telephone call, the body resumed its normal activities, and a week later the boy went in swimming. Shortly thereafter he applied for admission to the U. S. Navy, was submitted to a rigid physical examination, completed training as a naval cadet, and later saw active service. When I met him he appeared in excellent health.
How had the practitioner, thousands of miles away, healed this boy? Certainly she could not have examined or treated a material body. All that she had received was a message over the telephone, describing a picture or concept of a sick person. Her immediate problem was to replace this material concept of man with the spiritual concept. She realized that the perfect, spiritual man could not have a material body or form. He could be perceived only through the qualities of Spirit. She maintained that this particular individual, as a son of God, was active, not inactive; joyous, not fearful; perfect, not imperfect; pure, not diseased; spiritual, not material; strong, not weak; upright, not stricken. She maintained, also, that he was conscious of his spiritual individuality, and that he lived in divine Mind, surrounded only by spiritual ideas. Her clear concept of man's perfection completely destroyed and replaced the erroneous mental picture of a sick person, in her own mentality and that of the patient and his family. This resulted, even to human sense, in a normal, healthy individual.
In Science and Health (p. 495) Mrs. Eddy states clearly the method of Christian Science practice as follows: "When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide to your thought . . . . Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony."
The question now arises, "How can I gain the understanding of Spirit and its perfect, spiritual creation and resources, entirely separate from material conditions?" Jesus made it clear to all when he called a little child to him and told his disciples that they must be converted and become as little children, if they would enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The mentality of a little child is naturally receptive and teachable. Normally it never doubts the wisdom of its elders; it is always ready to accept, without question, their answer to its queries. It rests in the arms of its father, mother, or nurse in absolute confidence and assurance of their loving care. Our Leader writes in her God-inspired book, Science and Heath (p. 323), "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea."
The mentality of Jesus was essentially childlike in its receptivity. He accepted, without question, the fact of the one infinite, perfect Mind and its infinite, perfect creation. He was absolutely obedient to God's will. Herein lay his meekness, humility, unselfishness. He said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth;" in other words, "Blessed are the spiritually receptive, for they shall perceive and enjoy the true nature of God's creation." This spiritual understanding gave Jesus complete control over matter and its conditions.
The willingness of the individual to surrender to spirituality, or in other words, to let the Christ in, results in purification of thought, which is spiritual baptism. It brings to individual human consciousness the true salvation, which frees it from all material beliefs and supplies it with an abundance of spiritual ideas. The result of this spiritual baptism is clearly presented by our Leader in her book "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 204) as follows: "By purifying human thought, this state of mind permeates with increased harmony all the minutić of human affairs. It brings with it wonderful foresight, wisdom, and power; it unselfs the mortal purpose, gives steadiness to resolve, and success to endeavor. Through the accession of spirituality, God, the divine Principle of Christian Science, literally governs the aims, ambitions and acts of the Scientist."
A friend told me that at one time in his career he and his family had lost all of their material possessions and were temporarily housed in a trailer camp. Being earnest Christian Scientists, they decided to turn their thoughts away from all material evidence of lack, and in childlike trust and receptivity to place themselves wholly under the guidance of their divine Father-Mother God. The following day, a check for five thousand dollars was placed in their hands by someone previously unknown to them, with the request that it be used to establish a business.
They decided to open a restaurant and to specialize in a certain dish for which they had the recipe. One of the problems confronting them was whether they should serve beer and other alcoholic beverages. Although their friends and business associates predicted failure if they did not, they resolved that the sale of such beverages was not consistent with their practice of Christian Science. Confident of God's power to sustain all right motives, they opened their restaurant, which soon became a very successful activity.
At this point, let me impress upon you the importance of claiming your birthright of spiritual abundance. If today someone were to send you a letter informing you that you had been named the beneficiary of a large fortune, would you fold your hands and say there was no use to claim it, because the distance was great or you didn't know what steps to take to obtain it? Would you not rather seek a counselor, ask him to file a claim, and agree to give him a liberal allowance for his part in obtaining the material inheritance?
What are you doing about your spiritual inheritance as a son of God? Are you daily claiming your birthright of spiritual perfection and abundance? Are you employing the best advocate that you can find, namely Christian Science, the Comforter, the representative of the Christ? Are you consulting this advocate constantly and heeding its advice? Are you looking to Christian Science to reveal to you what you really are — the loved of Love, possessing all of the infinite resources of Spirit? How much does it cost? If you are a beginner, perhaps it is just the effort of going to a Christian Science Reading Room in any community where there is a Christian Science church, and asking how you can become acquainted with this spiritual advisor. You will find a loving heart and a helpful hand stretched forth to introduce you to our preachers, the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." You will learn there how to read the Lesson-Sermon, consisting of passages from the Bible and their clear spiritual interpretation from the God-inspired pages of Science and Health. These will acquaint you with your true existence as a son of God, with the abundance of God's love. If you are an experienced worker, your regular study of these books, and obedience to our Leader's admonition for daily self-examination, will supply you with new views of God's tender provision, with fresh inspiration for renewed endeavor.
John the Baptist said (John 3:27,35): "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. . . . The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Since we, too, are the sons of God, each of us may say, in his true being, "The Father hath given all things into my hand."
We often hear it said, "I should like to be a Christian Scientist; but it requires faith, and my faith is not strong enough." Let us see what constitutes true faith. When a man wants to build a home, he usually employs an architect to draw plans and obtain estimates of the cost of erecting the house. After other preliminaries, the contracts are signed, and the word is given to go ahead. Yet there is no house in evidence — just a set of plans and some contracts. The man's confidence that the house will materialize and his trust in the honesty and dependability of the architect and builder supply him with the hope or expectation that the house will eventually appear. This confidence or trust on the part of the owner is the human faith or evidence that the things hoped for, but not yet seen, will become apparent.
Now spiritual faith is absolute confidence in God's ability to supply His ideas with abundant good. It is childlike, Christlike reliance on God. Spiritual faith is true substance. The word "substance" is derived from two Latin words meaning "under" and "to stand." Thus true substance is spiritual understanding, and spiritual understanding is the recognition that God's creation is forever complete and forever supported by its creator. It is the basis of prayer and demonstration.
One of the most inspiring examples of faith or spiritual understanding recorded in the Bible is the experience of Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. This Naomi had gone from Beth-lehem-judah to live in the land of Moab with her husband and two sons, and the sons had taken wives from the women of Moab. After the death of Naomi's husband and sons, she decided to return to her native land, and released her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, from any obligation to her. After some persuading, Orpah returned to her home, but Ruth insisted upon going to Beth-lehem-judah with Naomi.
Now it must be remembered that Ruth went into a new land, with a woman who had no close family connections and no resources. Ruth was practically a refugee, without family, social standing, funds, or expectations. Her only assets were love for and loyalty to her mother-in-law. When the two women arrived at their destination, it was necessary for them to find food. So Ruth decided to follow after the reapers and glean such ears of corn as were left in the fields. This was not an easy thing for a foreigner to do. Yet day after day she toiled faithfully and cheerfully to support the one she loved. The loyalty and devotion of this earnest, industrious woman were true substance, or spiritual understanding, and were the evidence of things not yet seen. Ruth had been gleaning in the field of a man of great wealth named Boaz, a distant kinsman of Naomi, who had noticed her fidelity to his relative. After he had talked to her and recognized her sterling character, she became his wife. It was impossible for a mentality like Ruth's to remain a refugee or to continue in poverty, for she was rich in faith, in true substance or understanding. We might say she had an understanding heart, abundant in unselfishness and service. And such an individual can never remain in poverty. So Ruth's faith was truly the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Let us learn to trust our statements of truth. Let us put more faith in God than in material theories, learn to love Spirit more than matter, become as little children in receptivity, humility, meekness. This is true prayer; it is the prayer of faith that absolutely heals in one treatment. In Science and Health (p. 1) Mrs. Eddy defines this healing prayer as follows: "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." Spiritual understanding opens the door of Christ, through which we enter into the heaven of Spirit, where God's abundant love and resources are available to all.
Jesus once referred to a grain of mustard seed, which, in his day, was a symbol of minute quantity yet perfect quality. He said that a grain of faith or spiritual understanding would do wonders. It would remove mountains. And he and his followers have proved it.
The childlike receptivity and absolute faith of Jesus in God's ever-present power gave him a sense of unity with Spirit which enabled him to say and exemplify that he was one with the Father. It gave him dominion over all things. Throughout his whole career, including his experience on the cross and in the tomb, he proved that his Christ-endowed mentality was inseparable from Spirit, Life. His recognition and exemplification of man's unity with God was the true atonement, or at-one-ment, which enabled Jesus to prove in his resurrection and ascension that divine Love always dispels the false beliefs of hate, fear, and death. This spiritual at-one-ment is the birthright of every one of us. It can be exemplified through acceptance and demonstration of the spiritual truths of Christian Science.
When Jesus was betrayed by Judas and brought into the judgment hall, Pilate said to him (John 18:37), "Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." Here is a clear statement of the spiritual vocation or true business of every man, woman, and child. Our work is to spiritualize human consciousness and thereby gain the true idea in every situation that confronts us. The various human activities in which each one is engaged daily are but incidental. His vocation is to bear witness to the truth about God and man. Problems offer him an opportunity to prove man's dominion as a son of God.
It is customary for those who enter business to seek a name for their organization which generally states its purpose, such as "American Telephone and Telegraph," "Eastman Kodak," "United States Steel." Each one of us may well consider that the name of his business is "Spiritual Resources Unlimited." Herein is recognized the fact that every idea of God is eternally and unerringly supplied, supported, and sustained by the inexhaustible Love. We must stop thinking of that little business with limited capital and opportunities, or of that undesirable position with an uncertain future, or of the old house which is in need of repairs, or of the employer or employee who is unsatisfactory or unkind, or of the relative or neighbor who seems "impossible," or of the child who is difficult to handle or slow to learn. We must even turn away from a mere sense of personal satisfaction in material wealth and accomplishment in human affairs. We must recognize Spirit as the source of all activity, placement, progress, supply, and understanding.
The Christian Scientist never needs to look outside of himself for happiness, health, peace, prosperity, or security. He finds them all within himself, that is, in the recognition of his true being and inheritance as a son of God. Every Christian Scientist must learn to realize that he has a partner, the best partner that anyone can have in the practice of his business of "Spiritual Resources Unlimited." This partner is a silent partner. It is ever present, always trustworthy. We can consult it at any moment for guidance, instruction, and support, and it will always give us the right answer to every question which arises. The name of our partner is "Christian Science." Do we seek the aid of this partner when we need help? Do we consult it when everything seems to be going well, just as regularly as when things are not going so well?
The evidence that this partner is at hand is found in our two textbooks, the Bible and Science and Health. These books enable us to confer understandingly with our faithful partner, which reveals to us the Christ, or spiritual idea, in every situation. It is a joyous, strengthening, and enlightening activity, to take these two books each morning and, with the aid of the Christian Science Quarterly, to find the spiritual resources which they reveal, treasures hidden from the unreceptive thought, but clearly seen by the receptive in all ages and climes. This partner unfolds to us unlimited spiritual assets, balanced and sufficient inventories, a boundless surplus, countless credits, constructive contacts, a constant flow of orders, a perfect balance, increasing interest and dividends, safe insurance, and assured success.
In these days of physical and mental confusion, discord, and uncertainty, Christian Science offers to mankind a clear sense of spiritual security, free from accident, chance, and change. A dictionary defines the word "accident" as follows: "That which is not according to God's law." Since the conditions of material confusion, decay, disease, lack, want, war, are mortal beliefs, they have no part in God's perfect, spiritual creation; they are not according to His law. These and all other mortal beliefs may, therefore, be included in Mrs. Eddy's statement (Science and Health, p. 424): "Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony."
A recognition of this great truth lifts us above fear and anxiety for the safety and security of ourselves, our loved ones, and all men. Let us accept the great fact that divine Mind is the source of all action and controls all creation through perfect law and order. Let us surrender all notions or false beliefs of chance and change and recognize the fact of God's unerring direction. Thus shall we approach that sense of security to which the Psalmist refers when he says (Ps. 91:1), "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Today, as never before, we may well follow the example of Noah. You will recall that Noah was a good man, living in a world flooded with wickedness. Through exalted, spiritual living he recognized the nothingness of so-called mortal existence and gained a clear sense of God's all-encompassing love for His spiritual creation. He was led of God to build an ark and thus to save himself and his family from destruction. In its spiritual significance the ark represents the qualities of thought that enable the individual to find safety in the recognition of man's eternal unity with Spirit.
In these latter days each one of us must build an ark and go into it. We must resolutely turn our thoughts away from the evidence of the material senses and through spiritual living establish an unerring sense of man's unity with Spirit. We must follow the example of our Leader. When assailed by threatening clouds, we must escape into Love. We must turn persistently from the human evidence of a world struggling in a mental flood of lies, torn by confusion, poverty, and strife, and seek safety for ourselves and others through the saving Christ, which leads us into the eternal calm and quietness of Spirit and the enjoyment of its unlimited resources and provisions. In an address to her students, our Leader writes as follows (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 113): "Divine Love is our hope, strength, and shield. We have nothing to fear when Love is at the helm of thought, but everything to enjoy on earth and in heaven."
Mrs. Eddy revealed to mankind not only the fatherhood but also the motherhood of Spirit. In the love and purity of God's motherhood there are room and ample resources for all. In this love there are no unwanted nor displaced persons, no separated families, no suffering mortals, no fear, no hate, no want, no war. The motherhood of God, forever watchful, forever at hand, guides, sustains, and enfolds in its love all of its ideas from the least to the greatest. Yes, the motherhood of God reveals to each one of us the tender Christ and Christian Science, as the unfailing friend, as the Comforter which leads every receptive individual to the recognition of man's rich inheritance as a child of God.
And now, in conclusion, let me read to you Mrs. Eddy's interpretation of the twenty-third Psalm (Science and Health, p. 578), which I like to think of as the Psalm of God's abundant spiritual provision:
"[DIVINE LOVE] is my shepherd; I shall not want.
"[LOVE] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [LOVE] leadeth me beside the still waters.
"[LOVE] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [LOVE] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [LOVE] is with me; [LOVE'S] rod and [LOVE'S] staff they comfort me.
"[LOVE] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [LOVE] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever."
[Delivered Oct. 6, 1949, at the High School auditorium under the auspices of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Silver Creek, New York and published in The Lake Shore News of Silver Creek, Oct. 13, 1949.]