Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures Part 21

Anthropomorphism

The Jewish tribal Jehovah was a man-projected G.o.d, 140:24 liable to wrath, repentance, and human changeableness.

The Christian Science G.o.d is universal, eter- nal, divine love, which changeth not and caus- 140:27 eth no evil, disease, nor death. It is indeed mournfully true that the older Scripture is reversed. In the begin- ing G.o.d created man in His, G.o.d's, image; but mor- 140:30 tals would procreate man, and make G.o.d in their own human image. What is the G.o.d of a mortal, but a mortal magnified?

More than profession required

141:1 This indicates the distance between the theological and ritualistic religion of the ages and the truth preached by 141:3 Jesus. More than profession is requisite for Christian demonstration. Few understand or adhere to Jesus' divine precepts for living and 141:6 healing. Why? Because his precepts require the disci- ple to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye, - that is, to set aside even the most cherished beliefs 141:9 and practices, to leave all for Christ.

No ecclesiastical monopoly

All revelation (such is the popular thought!) must come from the schools and along the line of scholarly and eccle- 141:12 siastical descent, as kings are crowned from a royal dynasty. In healing the sick and sinning, Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect 141:15 followed the understanding of the divine Principle and of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus.

For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical 141:18 monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sover- eignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man. The Bible declares that all believers are made "kings and 141:21 priests unto G.o.d." The outsiders did not then, and do not now, understand this ruling of the Christ; there- fore they cannot demonstrate G.o.d's healing power.

141:24 Neither can this manifestation of Christ be com- prehended, until its divine Principle is scientifically understood.

A change demanded

141:27 The adoption of scientific religion and of divine heal- ing will ameliorate sin, sickness, and death. Let our pulpits do justice to Christian Science. Let 141:30 it have fair representation by the press. Give to it the place in our inst.i.tutions of learning now occu- pied by scholastic theology and physiology, and it will 142:1 eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems, devised for subduing them, have required for self-estab- 142:3 lishment and propagation.

Two claims omitted

Anciently the followers of Christ, or Truth, measured Christianity by its power over sickness, sin, and death; 142:6 but modern religions generally omit all but one of these powers, - the power over sin. We must seek the undivided garment, the whole Christ, as our 142:9 first proof of Christianity, for Christ, Truth, alone can furnish us with absolute evidence.

Selfishness and loss

If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and archi- 142:12 tectural skill, making dome and spire tremulous with beauty, turn the poor and the stranger from the gate, they at the same time shut the door on 142:15 progress. In vain do the manger and the cross tell their story to pride and fustian. Sensuality palsies the right hand, and causes the left to let go its grasp on the divine.

Temple cleansed

142:18 As in Jesus' time, so to-day, tyranny and pride need to be whipped out of the temple, and humility and divine Sci- ence to be welcomed in. The strong cords of 142:21 scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their vain traffic in worldly wors.h.i.+p and to make them meet 142:24 dwelling-places for the Most High.

MEDICINE

Question of precedence

Which was first, Mind or medicine? If Mind was 142:27 first and self-existent, then Mind, not matter, must have been the first medicine. G.o.d being All-in- all, He made medicine; but that medicine was 142:30 Mind. It could not have been matter, which departs from the nature and character of Mind, G.o.d. Truth 143:1 is G.o.d's remedy for error of every kind, and Truth de- stroys only what is untrue. Hence the fact that, to-day, 143:3 as yesterday, Christ casts out evils and heals the sick.

Methods rejected

It is plain that G.o.d does not employ drugs or hygiene, 143:6 nor provide them for human use; else Jesus would have recommended and employed them in his heal- ing. The sick are more deplorably lost than 143:9 the sinning, if the sick cannot rely on G.o.d for help and the sinning can. The divine Mind never called matter _medicine_, and matter required a material and human be- 143:12 lief before it could be considered as medicine.

Error not curative

Sometimes the human mind uses one error to medi- cine another. Driven to choose between two difficulties, 143:15 the human mind takes the lesser to relieve the greater. On this basis it saves from starva- tion by theft, and quiets pain with anodynes. You 143:18 admit that mind influences the body somewhat, but you conclude that the stomach, blood, nerves, bones, etc., hold the preponderance of power. Controlled by 143:21 this belief, you continue in the old routine. You lean on the inert and unintelligent, never discerning how this de- prives you of the available superiority of divine Mind.

143:24 The body is not controlled scientifically by a negative mind.

Impossible coalescence

Mind is the grand creator, and there can be no power 143:27 except that which is derived from Mind. If Mind was first chronologically, is first potentially, and must be first eternally, then give to Mind the 143:30 glory, honor, dominion, and power everlastingly due its holy name. Inferior and unspiritual methods of healing may try to make Mind and drugs coalesce, but the two will 144:1 not mingle scientifically. Why should we wish to make them do so, since no good can come of it?

144:3 If Mind is foremost and superior, let us rely upon Mind, which needs no cooperation from lower powers, even if these so-called powers are real.

144:6 Naught is the squire, when the king is nigh; Withdraws the star, when dawns the sun's brave light.

Soul and sense

The various mortal beliefs formulated in human philoso- 144:9 phy, physiology, hygiene, are mainly predicated of matter, and afford faint gleams of G.o.d, or Truth.

The more material a belief, the more obstinately 144:12 tenacious its error; the stronger are the manifestations of the corporeal senses, the weaker the indications of Soul.

Will-power detrimental

Human will-power is not Science. Human will belongs 144:15 to the so-called material senses, and its use is to be con- demned. Willing the sick to recover is not the metaphysical practice of Christian Science, but 144:18 is sheer animal magnetism. Human will-power may in- fringe the rights of man. It produces evil continually, and is not a factor in the realism of being. Truth, and 144:21 not corporeal will, is the divine power which says to disease, "Peace, be still."

Conservative antagonism

Because divine Science wars with so-called physical 144:24 science, even as Truth wars with error, the old schools still oppose it. Ignorance, pride, or prejudice closes the door to whatever is not stereotyped.

144:27 When the Science of being is universally understood, every man will be his own physician, and Truth will be the universal panacea.

Ancient healers

144:30 It is a question to-day, whether the ancient inspired healers understood the Science of Christian healing, or 145:1 whether they caught its sweet tones, as the natural musician catches the tones of harmony, without being 145:3 able to explain them. So divinely imbued were they with the spirit of Science, that the lack of the letter could not hinder their work; and that 145:6 letter, without the spirit, would have made void their practice.

The struggle and victory

The struggle for the recovery of invalids goes on, not 145:9 between material methods, but between mortal minds and immortal Mind. The victory will be on the patient's side only as immortal Mind 145:12 through Christ, Truth, subdues the human belief in disease. It matters not what material method one may adopt, whether faith in drugs, trust in hygiene, or reliance 145:15 on some other minor curative.

Mystery of G.o.dliness

Scientific healing has this advantage over other meth- ods, - that in it Truth controls error. From this fact 145:18 arise its ethical as well as its physical ef- fects. Indeed, its ethical and physical effects are indissolubly connected. If there is any mystery 145:21 in Christian healing, it is the mystery which G.o.dliness always presents to the unG.o.dly, - the mystery always arising from ignorance of the laws of eternal and unerr- 145:24 ing Mind.

Matter _versus_ matter

Other methods undertake to oppose error with error, and thus they increase the antagonism of one form of 145:27 matter towards other forms of matter or error, and the warfare between Spirit and the flesh goes on. By this antagonism mortal mind must con- 145:30 tinually weaken its own a.s.sumed power.

How healing was lost

The theology of Christian Science includes healing the sick. Our Master's first article of faith propounded 146:1 to his students was healing, and he proved his faith by his works. The ancient Christians were healers. Why 146:3 has this element of Christianity been lost?

Because our systems of religion are governed more or less by our systems of medicine. The first idol- 146:6 atry was faith in matter. The schools have rendered faith in drugs the fas.h.i.+on, rather than faith in Deity. By trusting matter to destroy its own discord, health and 146:9 harmony have been sacrificed. Such systems are barren of the vitality of spiritual power, by which material sense is made the servant of Science and religion becomes 146:12 Christlike.

Drugs and divinity

Material medicine subst.i.tutes drugs for the power of G.o.d - even the might of Mind - to heal the body.

146:15 Scholasticism clings for salvation to the per- son, instead of to the divine Principle, of the man Jesus; and his Science, the curative agent of G.o.d, 146:18 is silenced. Why? Because truth divests material drugs of their imaginary power, and clothes Spirit with suprem- acy. Science is the "stranger that is within thy gates,"

146:21 remembered not, even when its elevating effects prac- tically prove its divine origin and efficacy.

Christian Science as old as G.o.d

Divine Science derives its sanction from the Bible, 146:24 and the divine origin of Science is demonstrated through the holy influence of Truth in healing sick- ness and sin. This healing power of Truth 146:27 must have been far anterior to the period in which Jesus lived. It is as ancient as "the Ancient of days." It lives through all Life, and extends throughout 146:30 all s.p.a.ce.

Reduction to system