Chapter VI - Science, Theology, Medicine
A change demanded
142:1
eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems,
eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems,
devised for subduing them, have required for self-estab-
lishment and propagation.
Two claims omitted
142:4
Anciently the followers of Christ, or Truth, measured
Anciently the followers of Christ, or Truth, measured
Christianity by its power over sickness, sin, and death;
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
first proof of Christianity, for Christ, Truth, alone can
furnish us with absolute evidence.
Selfishness and loss
142:11
If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and archi-
If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and archi-
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
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
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
scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded
by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their
vain traffic in worldly worship and to make them meet
dwelling-places for the Most High.
142:25
MEDICINE
MEDICINE
Question of precedence
142:26
Which was first, Mind or medicine? If Mind was
Which was first, Mind or medicine? If Mind was
first and self-existent, then Mind, not matter, must have
been the first medicine. God being All-in‑
all, He made medicine; but that medicine was
Mind. It could not have been matter, which departs
from the nature and character of Mind, God. Truth
143:1
is God's remedy for error of every kind, and Truth de-
is God's remedy for error of every kind, and Truth de-
stroys only what is untrue. Hence the fact that, to-day,
as yesterday, Christ casts out evils and heals the
sick.
Methods rejected
143:5
It is plain that God does not employ drugs or hygiene,
It is plain that God does not employ drugs or hygiene,
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
the sinning, if the sick cannot rely on God for help and
the sinning can. The divine Mind never called matter
medicine, and matter required a material and human be-
lief before it could be considered as medicine.
Error not curative
143:13
Sometimes the human mind uses one error to medi-
Sometimes the human mind uses one error to medi-
cine another. Driven to choose between two difficulties,
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
admit that mind influences the body somewhat, but
you conclude that the stomach, blood, nerves, bones,
etc., hold the preponderance of power. Controlled by
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.
The body is not controlled scientifically by a negative
mind.
Impossible coalescence
143:26
Mind is the grand creator, and there can be no power
Mind is the grand creator, and there can be no power
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
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