Chapter XII - Christian Science Practice
Doubtful evidence
386:1
sion of mortal mind, – one of its dreams. Realize that
sion of mortal mind, – one of its dreams. Realize that
the evidence of the senses is not to be accepted
in the case of sickness, any more than it is in
the case of sin.
Climate and belief
386:5
Expose the body to certain temperatures, and belief
Expose the body to certain temperatures, and belief
says that you may catch cold and have catarrh; but no
such result occurs without mind to demand
it and produce it. So long as mortals declare
that certain states of the atmosphere produce catarrh,
fever, rheumatism, or consumption, those effects will
follow, – not because of the climate, but on account of
the belief. The author has in too many instances healed
disease through the action of Truth on the minds of mor-
tals, and the corresponding effects of Truth on the body,
not to know that this is so.
Erroneous despatch
386:16
A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the
A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the
death of a friend, occasions the same grief that the friend's
real death would bring. You think that your
anguish is occasioned by your loss. Another
despatch, correcting the mistake, heals your grief, and
you learn that your suffering was merely the result of
your belief. Thus it is with all sorrow, sickness, and
death. You will learn at length that there is no cause
for grief, and divine wisdom will then be understood.
Error, not Truth, produces all the suffering on earth.
Mourning causeless
386:26
If a Christian Scientist had said, while you were labor-
If a Christian Scientist had said, while you were labor-
ing under the influence of the belief of grief, "Your sor-
row is without cause," you would not have
understood him, although the correctness of
the assertion might afterwards be proved to you. So,
when our friends pass from our sight and we lament,
that lamentation is needless and causeless. We shall
387:1
perceive this to be true when we grow into the under-
perceive this to be true when we grow into the under-
standing of Life, and know that there is no death.
Mind heals brain-disease
387:3
Because mortal mind is kept active, must it pay the
Because mortal mind is kept active, must it pay the
penalty in a softened brain? Who dares to say that actual
Mind can be overworked? When we reach
our limits of mental endurance, we conclude
that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far;
but when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active,
and that spiritual energies can neither wear out nor can
so-called material law trespass upon God-given powers
and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by
the assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality.
Right never punishable
387:13
Our thinkers do not die early because they faithfully
Our thinkers do not die early because they faithfully
perform the natural functions of being. If printers and
authors have the shortest span of earthly ex-
istence, it is not because they occupy the most
important posts and perform the most vital functions in
society. That man does not pay the severest penalty
who does the most good. By adhering to the realities of
eternal existence, – instead of reading disquisitions on
the inconsistent supposition that death comes in obedience
to the law of life, and that God punishes man for doing
good, – one cannot suffer as the result of any labor of
love, but grows stronger because of it. It is a law of so‑
called mortal mind, misnamed matter, which causes all
things discordant.
Christian history
387:27
The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs
The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs
of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed
on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent
Mind, who gives man faith and understanding
whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but
from bodily suffering.