Chapter XII - Christian Science Practice
Sin or fear the root of sickness
405:1
from his destroyers. The basic error is mortal mind.
from his destroyers. The basic error is mortal mind.
Hatred inflames the brutal propensities. The indulgence
of evil motives and aims makes any man, who is above the
lowest type of manhood, a hopeless sufferer.
Mental conspirators
405:5
Christian Science commands man to master the pro-
Christian Science commands man to master the pro-
pensities, – to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness,
to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with
charity, and to overcome deceit with hon-
esty. Choke these errors in their early stages, if you
would not cherish an army of conspirators against
health, happiness, and success. They will deliver you
to the judge, the arbiter of truth against error. The
judge will deliver you to justice, and the sentence of
the moral law will be executed upon mortal mind and
body. Both will be manacled until the last farthing
is paid, – until you have balanced your account with
God. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap." The good man finally can overcome his fear of
sin. This is sin's necessity, – to destroy itself. Im-
mortal man demonstrates the government of God, good,
in which is no power to sin.
Cumulative repentence
405:22
It were better to be exposed to every plague on earth
It were better to be exposed to every plague on earth
than to endure the cumulative effects of a guilty con-
science. The abiding consciousness of wrong‑
doing tends to destroy the ability to do right.
If sin is not regretted and is not lessening, then it is
hastening on to physical and moral doom. You are con-
quered by the moral penalties you incur and the ills they
bring. The pains of sinful sense are less harmful than its
pleasures. Belief in material suffering causes mortals to
retreat from their error, to flee from body to Spirit, and
to appeal to divine sources outside of themselves.
The leaves of healing
406:1
The Bible contains the recipe for all healing. "The
The Bible contains the recipe for all healing. "The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
Sin and sickness are both healed by the same
Principle. The tree is typical of man's divine
Principle, which is equal to every emergency, offering
full salvation from sin, sickness, and death. Sin will
submit to Christian Science when, in place of modes and
forms, the power of God is understood and demonstrated
in the healing of mortals, both mind and body. "Per-
fect Love casteth out fear."
Sickness will abate
406:11
The Science of being unveils the errors of sense, and
The Science of being unveils the errors of sense, and
spiritual perception, aided by Science, reaches Truth.
Then error disappears. Sin and sickness will
abate and seem less real as we approach the
scientific period, in which mortal sense is subdued and
all that is unlike the true likeness disappears. The moral
man has no fear that he will commit a murder, and he
should be as fearless on the question of disease.
Resist to the end
406:19
Resist evil – error of every sort – and it will flee from
Resist evil – error of every sort – and it will flee from
you. Error is opposed to Life. We can, and ultimately
shall, so rise as to avail ourselves in every direc-
tion of the supremacy of Truth over error, Life
over death, and good over evil, and this growth will go
on until we arrive at the fulness of God's idea, and no
more fear that we shall be sick and die. Inharmony of
any kind involves weakness and suffering, – a loss of
control over the body.
Morbid cravings
406:28
The depraved appetite for alcoholic drinks, tobacco,
The depraved appetite for alcoholic drinks, tobacco,
tea, coffee, opium, is destroyed only by Mind's mastery
of the body. This normal control is gained
through divine strength and understanding.
There is no enjoyment in getting drunk, in becoming a