Chapter XI - Some Objections Answered
Serving two masters
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"The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
"The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh." Who is ready to admit this?
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It is said by one critic, that to verify this wonderful
It is said by one critic, that to verify this wonderful
philosophy Christian Science declares that whatever is
mortal or discordant has no origin, existence, nor real-
ness. Nothing really has Life but God, who is infinite
Life; hence all is Life, and death has no dominion. This
writer infers that if anything needs to be doctored, it
must be the one God, or Mind. Had he stated his syllo-
gism correctly, the conclusion would be that there is noth-
ing left to be doctored.
Essential element of Christianity
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Critics should consider that the so-called mortal man
Critics should consider that the so-called mortal man
is not the reality of man. Then they would behold the
signs of Christ's coming. Christ, as the spir-
itual or true idea of God, comes now as of
old, preaching the gospel to the poor, heal-
ing the sick, and casting out evils. Is it error which
is restoring an essential element of Christianity, –
namely, apostolic, divine healing? No; it is the Science
of Christianity which is restoring it, and is the light
shining in darkness, which the darkness comprehends
not.
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If Christian Science takes away the popular gods, –
If Christian Science takes away the popular gods, –
sin, sickness, and death, – it is Christ, Truth, who de-
stroys these evils, and so proves their nothingness.
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The dream that matter and error are something
The dream that matter and error are something
must yield to reason and revelation. Then mortals
will behold the nothingness of sickness and sin, and
sin and sickness will disappear from consciousness.
The harmonious will appear real, and the inharmo-
nious unreal. These critics will then see that error
is indeed the nothingness, which they chide us for
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naming nothing and which we desire neither to honor
naming nothing and which we desire neither to honor
nor to fear.
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Medical theories virtually admit the nothingness of
Medical theories virtually admit the nothingness of
hallucinations, even while treating them as disease; and
who objects to this? Ought we not, then, to approve
any cure, which is effected by making the disease appear
to be – what it really is – an illusion?
All disease a delusion
348:8
Here is the difficulty: it is not generally understood how
Here is the difficulty: it is not generally understood how
one disease can be just as much a delusion as another. It
is a pity that the medical faculty and clergy
have not learned this, for Jesus established
this foundational fact, when devils, delusions, were cast
out and the dumb spake.
Elimination of sickness
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Are we irreverent towards sin, or imputing too much
Are we irreverent towards sin, or imputing too much
power to God, when we ascribe to Him almighty Life
and Love? I deny His cooperation with evil,
because I desire to have no faith in evil or in
any power but God, good. Is it not well to eliminate from
so-called mortal mind that which, so long as it remains in
mortal mind, will show itself in forms of sin, sickness, and
death? Instead of tenaciously defending the supposed
rights of disease, while complaining of the suffering dis-
ease brings, would it not be well to abandon the defence,
especially when by so doing our own condition can be im-
proved and that of other persons as well?
Full fruitage yet to come
348:26
I have never supposed the world would immediately
I have never supposed the world would immediately
witness the full fruitage of Christian Science, or that sin,
disease, and death would not be believed for
an indefinite time; but this I do aver, that,
as a result of teaching Christian Science, ethics and
temperance have received an impulse, health has been
restored, and longevity increased. If such are the pres-
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ent fruits, what will the harvest be, when this Science is
ent fruits, what will the harvest be, when this Science is
more generally understood?
Law and gospel
349:3
As Paul asked of the unfaithful in ancient days, so
As Paul asked of the unfaithful in ancient days, so
the rabbis of the present day ask concerning our heal-
ing and teaching, "Through breaking the law,
dishonorest thou God?" We have the gospel,
however, and our Master annulled material law by heal-
ing contrary to it. We propose to follow the Master's
example. We should subordinate material law to spirit-
ual law. Two essential points of Christian Science are,
that neither Life nor man dies, and that God is not the
author of sickness.
Language inadequate
349:13
The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine
The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine
Science accurately to human thought lies in this, that like
all other languages, English is inadequate to
the expression of spiritual conceptions and
propositions, because one is obliged to use material terms
in dealing with spiritual ideas. The elucidation of Chris-
tian Science lies in its spiritual sense, and this sense must
be gained by its disciples in order to grasp the meaning of
this Science. Out of this condition grew the prophecy
concerning the Christian apostles, "They shall speak with
new tongues."
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Speaking of the things of Spirit while dwelling on
Speaking of the things of Spirit while dwelling on
a material plane, material terms must be generally em-
ployed. Mortal thought does not at once catch the
higher meaning, and can do so only as thought is edu-
cated up to spiritual apprehension. To a certain extent
this is equally true of all learning, even that which is
wholly material.
Substance spiritual
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In Christian Science, substance is understood to be
In Christian Science, substance is understood to be
Spirit, while the opponents of Christian Science believe
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substance to be matter. They think of matter as some-
substance to be matter. They think of matter as some-
thing and almost the only thing, and of the things which
pertain to Spirit as next to nothing, or as very
far removed from daily experience. Christian
Science takes exactly the opposite view.
Both words and works
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To understand all our Master's sayings as recorded
To understand all our Master's sayings as recorded
in the New Testament, sayings infinitely important,
his followers must grow into that stature of
manhood in Christ Jesus which enables them
to interpret his spiritual meaning. Then they know
how Truth casts out error and heals the sick. His
words were the offspring of his deeds, both of which
must be understood. Unless the works are com-
prehended which his words explained, the words are
blind.
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The Master often refused to explain his words, because
The Master often refused to explain his words, because
it was difficult in a material age to apprehend spiritual
Truth. He said: "This people's heart is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed; lest at any time they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand
with their heart, and should be converted, and I should
heal them."
The divine life-link
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"The Word was made flesh." Divine Truth must be
"The Word was made flesh." Divine Truth must be
known by its effects on the body as well as on the mind,
before the Science of being can be demon-
strated. Hence its embodiment in the incar-
nate Jesus, – that life-link forming the connection through
which the real reaches the unreal, Soul rebukes sense, and
Truth destroys error.
Truth a present help
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In Jewish worship the Word was materially explained,
In Jewish worship the Word was materially explained,
and the spiritual sense was scarcely perceived. The
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religion which sprang from half-hidden Israelitish history
religion which sprang from half-hidden Israelitish history
was pedantic and void of healing power. When we lose
faith in God's power to heal, we distrust the
divine Principle which demonstrates Christian
Science, and then we cannot heal the sick. Neither can
we heal through the help of Spirit, if we plant ourselves
on a material basis.
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The author became a member of the orthodox Con-
The author became a member of the orthodox Con-
gregational Church in early years. Later she learned
that her own prayers failed to heal her as did the prayers
of her devout parents and the church; but when the
spiritual sense of the creed was discerned in the Science
of Christianity, this spiritual sense was a present help. It
was the living, palpitating presence of Christ, Truth, which
healed the sick.
Fatal premises
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We cannot bring out the practical proof of Christianity,
We cannot bring out the practical proof of Christianity,
which Jesus required, while error seems as potent and
real to us as Truth, and while we make a per-
sonal devil and an anthropomorphic God our
starting-points, – especially if we consider Satan as a
being coequal in power with Deity, if not superior to Him.
Because such starting-points are neither spiritual nor
scientific, they cannot work out the Spirit-rule of Christian
healing, which proves the nothingness of error, discord,
by demonstrating the all-inclusiveness of harmonious
Truth.
Fruitless worship
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The Israelites centred their thoughts on the material
The Israelites centred their thoughts on the material
in their attempted worship of the spiritual. To them
matter was substance, and Spirit was shadow.
They thought to worship Spirit from a ma-
terial standpoint, but this was impossible. They might
appeal to Jehovah, but their prayer brought down no
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proof that it was heard, because they did not sufficiently
proof that it was heard, because they did not sufficiently
understand God to be able to demonstrate His power
to heal, – to make harmony the reality and discord the
unreality.
Spirit the tangible
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Our Master declared that his material body was not
Our Master declared that his material body was not
spirit, evidently considering it a mortal and material be-
lief of flesh and bones, whereas the Jews took
a diametrically opposite view. To Jesus, not
materiality, but spirituality, was the reality of man's ex-
istence, while to the rabbis the spiritual was the intangi-
ble and uncertain, if not the unreal.
Ghosts not realities
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Would a mother say to her child, who is frightened at
Would a mother say to her child, who is frightened at
imaginary ghosts and sick in consequence of the fear:
"I know that ghosts are real. They exist,
and are to be feared; but you must not be
afraid of them"?
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Children, like adults, ought to fear a reality which
Children, like adults, ought to fear a reality which
can harm them and which they do not understand, for
at any moment they may become its helpless victims;
but instead of increasing children's fears by declaring
ghosts to be real, merciless, and powerful, thus water-
ing the very roots of childish timidity, children should
be assured that their fears are groundless, that ghosts
are not realities, but traditional beliefs, erroneous and
man-made.
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In short, children should be told not to believe in ghosts,
In short, children should be told not to believe in ghosts,
because there are no such things. If belief in their reality
is destroyed, terror of ghosts will depart and health be re-
stored. The objects of alarm will then vanish into noth-
ingness, no longer seeming worthy of fear or honor. To
accomplish a good result, it is certainly not irrational to
tell the truth about ghosts.
The real and the unreal
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The Christianly scientific real is the sensuous unreal.
The Christianly scientific real is the sensuous unreal.
Sin, disease, whatever seems real to material sense, is un-
real in divine Science. The physical senses
and Science have ever been antagonistic, and
they will so continue, till the testimony of the physical
senses yields entirely to Christian Science.
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How can a Christian, having the stronger evidence of
How can a Christian, having the stronger evidence of
Truth which contradicts the evidence of error, think of
the latter as real or true, either in the form of sickness or
of sin? All must admit that Christ is "the way, the
truth, and the life," and that omnipotent Truth certainly
does destroy error.
Superstition obsolete
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The age has not wholly outlived the sense of ghostly
The age has not wholly outlived the sense of ghostly
beliefs. It still holds them more or less. Time has not
yet reached eternity, immortality, complete
reality. All the real is eternal. Perfection
underlies reality. Without perfection, nothing is wholly
real. All things will continue to disappear, until per-
fection appears and reality is reached. We must give up
the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit
the somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up
all belief in it and be wise. When we learn that error
is not real, we shall be ready for progress, "forgetting
those things which are behind."
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The grave does not banish the ghost of materiality.
The grave does not banish the ghost of materiality.
So long as there are supposed limits to Mind, and those
limits are human, so long will ghosts seem to continue.
Mind is limitless. It never was material. The true idea
of being is spiritual and immortal, and from this it follows
that whatever is laid off is the ghost, some unreal belief.
Mortal beliefs can neither demonstrate Christianity nor
apprehend the reality of Life.
Christian warfare
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Are the protests of Christian Science against the notion
Are the protests of Christian Science against the notion
that there can be material life, substance, or mind "utter
falsities and absurdities," as some aver? Why
then do Christians try to obey the Scriptures
and war against "the world, the flesh, and the devil"?
Why do they invoke the divine aid to enable them to leave
all for Christ, Truth? Why do they use this phraseology,
and yet deny Christian Science, when it teaches precisely
this thought? The words of divine Science find their
immortality in deeds, for their Principle heals the sick
and spiritualizes humanity.
Healing omitted
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On the other hand, the Christian opponents of Chris-
On the other hand, the Christian opponents of Chris-
tian Science neither give nor offer any proofs that their
Master's religion can heal the sick. Surely
it is not enough to cleave to barren and desul-
tory dogmas, derived from the traditions of the elders who
thereunto have set their seals.
Scientific consistency
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Consistency is seen in example more than in precept.
Consistency is seen in example more than in precept.
Inconsistency is shown by words without deeds, which
are like clouds without rain. If our words
fail to express our deeds, God will redeem that
weakness, and out of the mouth of babes He will perfect
praise. The night of materiality is far spent, and with
the dawn Truth will waken men spiritually to hear and
to speak the new tongue.
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Sin should become unreal to every one. It is in itself
Sin should become unreal to every one. It is in itself
inconsistent, a divided kingdom. Its supposed realism
has no divine authority, and I rejoice in the apprehension
of this grand verity.
Spiritual meaning
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The opponents of divine Science must be
The opponents of divine Science must be
charitable, if they would be Christian. If the
letter of Christian Science appears inconsistent, they should
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gain the spiritual meaning of Christian Science, and then
gain the spiritual meaning of Christian Science, and then
the ambiguity will vanish.
Practical arguments
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The charge of inconsistency in Christianly scientific
The charge of inconsistency in Christianly scientific
methods of dealing with sin and disease is met by some-
thing practical, – namely, the proof of the
utility of these methods; and proofs are better
than mere verbal arguments or prayers which evince no
spiritual power to heal.
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As for sin and disease, Christian Science says, in the
As for sin and disease, Christian Science says, in the
language of the Master, "Follow me; and let the dead
bury their dead." Let discord of every name and nature
be heard no more, and let the harmonious and true sense
of Life and being take possession of human consciousness.
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What is the relative value of the two conflicting the-
What is the relative value of the two conflicting the-
ories regarding Christian healing? One, according to
the commands of our Master, heals the sick. The other,
popular religion, declines to admit that Christ's religion
has exercised any systematic healing power since the first
century.
Conditions of criticism
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The statement that the teachings of Christian Sci-
The statement that the teachings of Christian Sci-
ence in this work are "absolutely false, and the most
egregious fallacies ever offered for accept-
ance," is an opinion wholly due to a misap-
prehension both of the divine Principle and practice of
Christian Science and to a consequent inability to demon-
strate this Science. Without this understanding, no one
is capable of impartial or correct criticism, because demon-
stration and spiritual understanding are God's immortal
keynotes, proved to be such by our Master and evidenced
by the sick who are cured and by the sinners who are
reformed.
Weakness of material theories
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Strangely enough, we ask for material theories in sup-
Strangely enough, we ask for material theories in sup-
356:1
port of spiritual and eternal truths, when the two are so
port of spiritual and eternal truths, when the two are so
antagonistic that the material thought must become spir-
itualized before the spiritual fact is attained.
So-called material existence affords no evidence
of spiritual existence and immortality. Sin,
sickness, and death do not prove man's entity or immor-
tality. Discord can never establish the facts of harmony.
Matter is not the vestibule of Spirit.
Irreconciliable differences
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Jesus reasoned on this subject practically, and con-
Jesus reasoned on this subject practically, and con-
trolled sickness, sin, and death on the basis of his spir-
ituality. Understanding the nothingness of
material things, he spoke of flesh and Spirit
as the two opposites, – as error and Truth, not contrib-
uting in any way to each other's happiness and existence.
Jesus knew, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing."
Copartnership impossible
356:17
There is neither a present nor an eternal copartner-
There is neither a present nor an eternal copartner-
ship between error and Truth, between flesh and Spirit.
God is as incapable of producing sin, sick-
ness, and death as He is of experiencing these
errors. How then is it possible for Him to create man
subject to this triad of errors, – man who is made in the
divine likeness?
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Does God create a material man out of Himself, Spirit?
Does God create a material man out of Himself, Spirit?
Does evil proceed from good? Does divine Love com-
mit a fraud on humanity by making man inclined to sin,
and then punishing him for it? Would any one call it
wise and good to create the primitive, and then punish its
derivative?
Two infinite creators absurd
356:30
Does subsequent follow its antecedent? It does.
Does subsequent follow its antecedent? It does.
Was there original self-creative sin? Then there must
have been more than one creator, more than one God.
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In common justice, we must admit that God will not
In common justice, we must admit that God will not
punish man for doing what He created man
capable of doing, and knew from the outset
that man would do. God is "of purer eyes
than to behold evil." We sustain Truth, not by accept-
ing, but by rejecting a lie.
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Jesus said of personified evil, that it was "a liar, and
Jesus said of personified evil, that it was "a liar, and
the father of it." Truth creates neither a lie, a capacity
to lie, nor a liar. If mankind would relinquish the belief
that God makes sickness, sin, and death, or makes man
capable of suffering on account of this malevolent triad,
the foundations of error would be sapped and error's de-
struction ensured; but if we theoretically endow mortals
with the creativeness and authority of Deity, how dare we
attempt to destroy what He hath made, or even to deny
that God made man evil and made evil good?
Anthropomorphism
357:17
History teaches that the popular and false notions
History teaches that the popular and false notions
about the Divine Being and character have originated
in the human mind. As there is in reality but
one God, one Mind, wrong notions about God
must have originated in a false supposition, not in im-
mortal Truth, and they are fading out. They are false
claims, which will eventually disappear, according to the
vision of St. John in the Apocalypse.
One supremacy
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If what opposes God is real, there must be two
If what opposes God is real, there must be two
powers, and God is not supreme and infinite. Can
Deity be almighty, if another mighty and
self-creative cause exists and sways man-
kind? Has the Father "Life in Himself," as the Scrip-
tures say, and, if so, can Life, or God, dwell in evil and
create it? Can matter drive Life, Spirit, hence, and so
defeat omnipotence?
Matter impotent
358:1
Is the woodman's axe, which destroys a tree's so-called
Is the woodman's axe, which destroys a tree's so-called
life, superior to omnipotence? Can a leaden bullet de-
prive a man of Life, – that is, of God, who is
man's Life? If God is at the mercy of matter,
then matter is omnipotent. Such doctrines are "confu-
sion worse confounded." If two statements directly con-
tradict each other and one is true, the other must be false.
Is Science thus contradictory?
Scientific and Biblical facts
358:9
Christian Science, understood, coincides with the
Christian Science, understood, coincides with the
Scriptures, and sustains logically and demonstratively
every point it presents. Otherwise it would
not be Science, and could not present its
proofs. Christian Science is neither made up of contra-
dictory aphorisms nor of the inventions of those who scoff
at God. It presents the calm and clear verdict of Truth
against error, uttered and illustrated by the prophets,
by Jesus, by his apostles, as is recorded throughout the
Scriptures.
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Why are the words of Jesus more frequently cited
Why are the words of Jesus more frequently cited
for our instruction than are his remarkable works? Is
it not because there are few who have gained a true
knowledge of the great import to Christianity of those
works?
Personal confidence
358:24
Sometimes it is said; "Rest assured that whatever
Sometimes it is said; "Rest assured that whatever
effect Christian Scientists may have on the sick, comes
through rousing within the sick a belief
that in the removal of disease these healers
have wonderful power, derived from the Holy Ghost."
Is it likely that church-members have more faith in
some Christian Scientist, whom they have perhaps
never seen and against whom they have been warned,
than they have in their own accredited and orthodox
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pastors, whom they have seen and have been taught
pastors, whom they have seen and have been taught
to love and to trust?
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Let any clergyman try to cure his friends by their
Let any clergyman try to cure his friends by their
faith in him. Will that faith heal them? Yet Scien-
tists will take the same cases, and cures will follow.
Is this because the patients have more faith in the Scien-
tist than in their pastor? I have healed infidels whose
only objection to this method was, that I as a Chris-
tian Scientist believed in the Holy Spirit, while they, the
patients, did not.
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Even though you aver that the material senses are
Even though you aver that the material senses are
indispensable to man's existence or entity, you must
change the human concept of life, and must at length
know yourself spiritually and scientifically. The evi-
dence of the existence of Spirit, Soul, is palpable only to
spiritual sense, and is not apparent to the material senses,
which cognize only that which is the opposite of Spirit.
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True Christianity is to be honored wherever found,
True Christianity is to be honored wherever found,
but when shall we arrive at the goal which that word
implies? From Puritan parents, the discov-
erer of Christian Science early received her
religious education. In childhood, she often listened
with joy to these words, falling from the lips of her
saintly mother, "God is able to raise you up from sick-
ness;" and she pondered the meaning of that Scripture
she so often quotes: "And these signs shall follow them
that believe; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover."
Two different artists
359:29
A Christian Scientist and an opponent are like two
A Christian Scientist and an opponent are like two
artists. One says: "I have spiritual ideals,
indestructible and glorious. When others see
them as I do, in their true light and loveliness, – and
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know that these ideals are real and eternal because drawn
know that these ideals are real and eternal because drawn
from Truth, – they will find that nothing is lost, and all
is won, by a right estimate of what is real."
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The other artist replies: "You wrong my experience.
The other artist replies: "You wrong my experience.
I have no mind-ideals except those which are both mental
and material. It is true that materiality renders these
ideals imperfect and destructible; yet I would not ex-
change mine for thine, for mine give me such personal
pleasure, and they are not so shockingly transcendental.
They require less self-abnegation, and keep Soul well out
of sight. Moreover, I have no notion of losing my old
doctrines or human opinions."
Choose ye to-day
360:13
Dear reader, which mind-picture or externalized thought
Dear reader, which mind-picture or externalized thought
shall be real to you, – the material or the spiritual?
Both you cannot have. You are bringing out
your own ideal. This ideal is either temporal
or eternal. Either Spirit or matter is your model. If you
try to have two models, then you practically have none.
Like a pendulum in a clock, you will be thrown back and
forth, striking the ribs of matter and swinging between the
real and the unreal.
360:22
Hear the wisdom of Job, as given in the excellent trans-
Hear the wisdom of Job, as given in the excellent trans-
lation of the late Rev. George R. Noyes, D.D.: –
360:24
Shall mortal man be more just than God?
Shall mortal man be more just than God?
Shall man be more pure than his Maker?
Behold, He putteth no trust in His ministering spirits,
And His angels He chargeth with frailty.
360:28
Of old, the Jews put to death the Galilean Prophet,
Of old, the Jews put to death the Galilean Prophet,
the best Christian on earth, for the truth he spoke and
demonstrated, while to-day, Jew and Christian can unite
in doctrine and denomination on the very basis of Jesus'
words and works. The Jew believes that the Messiah or
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Christ has not yet come; the Christian believes that
Christ has not yet come; the Christian believes that
Christ is God. Here Christian Science intervenes, ex-
plains these doctrinal points, cancels the disagreement,
and settles the question. Christ, as the true spiritual idea,
is the ideal of God now and forever, here and everywhere.
The Jew who believes in the First Commandment is a
monotheist; he has one omnipresent God. Thus the Jew
unites with the Christian's doctrine that God is come and
is present now and forever. The Christian who believes
in the First Commandment is a monotheist. Thus he
virtually unites with the Jew's belief in one God, and
recognizes that Jesus Christ is not God, as Jesus himself
declared, but is the Son of God. This declaration of
Jesus, understood, conflicts not at all with another of his
sayings: "I and my Father are one," – that is, one in
quality, not in quantity. As a drop of water is one with
the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God
and man, Father and son, are one in being. The Scrip-
ture reads: "For in Him we live, and move, and have
our being."
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I have revised Science and Health only to give a
I have revised Science and Health only to give a
clearer and fuller expression of its original meaning. Spir-
itual ideas unfold as we advance. A human perception of
divine Science, however limited, must be correct in order
to be Science and subject to demonstration. A germ of in-
finite Truth, though least in the kingdom of heaven is the
higher hope on earth, but it will be rejected and reviled
until God prepares the soil for the seed. That which
when sown bears immortal fruit, enriches mankind only
when it is understood, – hence the many readings given
the Scriptures, and the requisite revisions of Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Chapter XII
Christian Science Practice
Why art thou cast down, O my soul [sense]?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him,
Who is the health of my countenance and my God. – PSALMS.
And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they
cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. – JESUS.
A gospel narrative
362:1
IT is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel
IT is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel
that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain
Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike
Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual
incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene
of Oriental festivity. A "strange woman"
came in. Heedless of the fact that she was debarred from
such a place and such society, especially under the stern
rules of rabbinical law, as positively as if she were a Hin-
doo pariah intruding upon the household of a high-caste
Brahman, this woman (Mary Magdalene, as she has
since been called) approached Jesus. According to the
custom of those days, he reclined on a couch with his
head towards the table and his bare feet away from it.
It was therefore easy for the Magdalen to come behind
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the couch and reach his feet. She bore an alabaster jar
the couch and reach his feet. She bore an alabaster jar
containing costly and fragrant oil, – sandal oil perhaps,
which is in such common use in the East. Breaking
the sealed jar, she perfumed Jesus' feet with the oil,
wiping them with her long hair, which hung loosely
about her shoulders, as was customary with women of her
grade.
Parable of the creditor
363:8
Did Jesus spurn the woman? Did he repel her adora-
Did Jesus spurn the woman? Did he repel her adora-
tion? No! He regarded her compassionately. Nor was
this all. Knowing what those around him
were saying in their hearts, especially his host,
– that they were wondering why, being a prophet, the
exalted guest did not at once detect the woman's immoral
status and bid her depart, – knowing this, Jesus rebuked
them with a short story or parable. He described two
debtors, one for a large sum and one for a smaller, who
were released from their obligations by their common
creditor. "Which of them will love him most?" was the
Master's question to Simon the Pharisee; and Simon re-
plied, "He to whom he forgave most." Jesus approved
the answer, and so brought home the lesson to all, follow-
ing it with that remarkable declaration to the woman,
"Thy sins are forgiven."
Divine insight
363:24
Why did he thus summarize her debt to divine Love?
Why did he thus summarize her debt to divine Love?
Had she repented and reformed, and did his insight
detect this unspoken moral uprising? She
bathed his feet with her tears before she
anointed them with the oil. In the absence of other
proofs, was her grief sufficient evidence to warrant the
expectation of her repentance, reformation, and growth
in wisdom? Certainly there was encouragement in the
mere fact that she was showing her affection for a man