Chapter VI - Science, Theology, Medicine
Mythology and materia medica
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It is recorded that the profession of medicine originated
It is recorded that the profession of medicine originated
in idolatry with pagan priests, who besought the gods to
heal the sick and designated Apollo as "the god
of medicine." He was supposed to have dic-
tated the first prescription, according to the
"History of Four Thousand Years of Medicine." It is
here noticeable that Apollo was also regarded as the sender
of disease, "the god of pestilence." Hippocrates turned
from image-gods to vegetable and mineral drugs for heal-
ing. This was deemed progress in medicine; but
what we need is the truth which heals both mind and
body. The future history of material medicine may
correspond with that of its material god, Apollo, who was
banished from heaven and endured great sufferings
upon earth.
Footsteps to intemperance
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Drugs, cataplasms, and whiskey are stupid substitutes
Drugs, cataplasms, and whiskey are stupid substitutes
for the dignity and potency of divine Mind and its effi-
cacy to heal. It is pitiful to lead men into
temptation through the byways of this wil-
derness world, – to victimize the race with intoxicating
prescriptions for the sick, until mortal mind acquires an
educated appetite for strong drink, and men and women
become loathsome sots.
Advancing degrees
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Evidences of progress and of spiritualization greet us
Evidences of progress and of spiritualization greet us
on every hand. Drug-systems are quitting their hold on
matter and so letting in matter's higher stra-
tum, mortal mind. Homoeopathy, a step in
advance of allopathy, is doing this. Matter is going out
of medicine; and mortal mind, of a higher attenuation
than the drug, is governing the pellet.
Effects of fear
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A woman in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts, was
A woman in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts, was
etherized and died in consequence, although her physi-
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cians insisted that it would be unsafe to perform a needed
cians insisted that it would be unsafe to perform a needed
surgical operation without the ether. After the autopsy,
her sister testified that the deceased protested
against inhaling the ether and said it would kill
her, but that she was compelled by her physicians to take
it. Her hands were held, and she was forced into sub-
mission. The case was brought to trial. The evidence
was found to be conclusive, and a verdict was returned that
death was occasioned, not by the ether, but by fear of
inhaling it.
Mental conditions to be heeded
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Is it skilful or scientific surgery to take no heed of men-
Is it skilful or scientific surgery to take no heed of men-
tal conditions and to treat the patient as if she were so
much mindless matter, and as if matter were
the only factor to be consulted? Had these
unscientific surgeons understood metaphysics,
they would have considered the woman's state of mind,
and not have risked such treatment. They would either
have allayed her fear or would have performed the opera-
tion without ether.
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The sequel proved that this Lynn woman died from
The sequel proved that this Lynn woman died from
effects produced by mortal mind, and not from the disease
or the operation.
False source of knowledge
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The medical schools would learn the state of man
The medical schools would learn the state of man
from matter instead of from Mind. They examine the
lungs, tongue, and pulse to ascertain how
much harmony, or health, matter is permit-
ting to matter, – how much pain or pleasure, action or
stagnation, one form of matter is allowing another form
of matter.
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Ignorant of the fact that a man's belief produces dis-
Ignorant of the fact that a man's belief produces dis-
ease and all its symptoms, the ordinary physician is
liable to increase disease with his own mind, when he
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should address himself to the work of destroying it through
should address himself to the work of destroying it through
the power of the divine Mind.
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The systems of physics act against metaphysics, and
The systems of physics act against metaphysics, and
vice versa. When mortals forsake the material for the
spiritual basis of action, drugs lose their healing force,
for they have no innate power. Unsupported by the
faith reposed in it, the inanimate drug becomes
powerless.
Obedient muscles
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The motion of the arm is no more dependent upon the
The motion of the arm is no more dependent upon the
direction of mortal mind, than are the organic action and
secretion of the viscera. When this so-called
mind quits the body, the heart becomes as tor-
pid as the hand.
Anatomy and mind
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Anatomy finds a necessity for nerves to convey the man-
Anatomy finds a necessity for nerves to convey the man-
date of mind to muscle and so cause action; but what does
anatomy say when the cords contract and be-
come immovable? Has mortal mind ceased
speaking to them, or has it bidden them to be impotent?
Can muscles, bones, blood, and nerves rebel against mind
in one instance and not in another, and become cramped
despite the mental protest?
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Unless muscles are self-acting at all times, they are
Unless muscles are self-acting at all times, they are
never so, – never capable of acting contrary to mental
direction. If muscles can cease to act and become rigid
of their own preference, – be deformed or symmetrical,
as they please or as disease directs, – they must be self‑
directing. Why then consult anatomy to learn how mor-
tal mind governs muscle, if we are only to learn from
anatomy that muscle is not so governed?
Mind over matter
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Is man a material fungus without Mind
Is man a material fungus without Mind
to help him? Is a stiff joint or a contracted
muscle as much a result of law as the supple and
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elastic condition of the healthy limb, and is God the
elastic condition of the healthy limb, and is God the
lawgiver?
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You say, "I have burned my finger." This is an
You say, "I have burned my finger." This is an
exact statement, more exact than you suppose; for mor-
tal mind, and not matter, burns it. Holy inspiration
has created states of mind which have been able to nullify
the action of the flames, as in the Bible case of the three
young Hebrew captives, cast into the Babylonian furnace;
while an opposite mental state might produce spontaneous
combustion.
Restrictive regulations
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In 1880, Massachusetts put her foot on a proposed
In 1880, Massachusetts put her foot on a proposed
tyrannical law, restricting the practice of medicine. If
her sister States follow this example in har-
mony with our Constitution and Bill of Rights,
they will do less violence to that immortal sentiment of the
Declaration, "Man is endowed by his Maker with certain
inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness."
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The oppressive state statutes touching medicine re-
The oppressive state statutes touching medicine re-
mind one of the words of the famous Madame Roland,
as she knelt before a statue of Liberty, erected near the
guillotine: "Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy
name!"
Metaphysics challenges physics
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The ordinary practitioner, examining bodily symptoms,
The ordinary practitioner, examining bodily symptoms,
telling the patient that he is sick, and treating the case ac-
cording to his physical diagnosis, would natu-
rally induce the very disease he is trying to cure,
even if it were not already determined by mor-
tal mind. Such unconscious mistakes would not occur, if
this old class of philanthropists looked as deeply for cause
and effect into mind as into matter. The physician agrees
with his "adversary quickly," but upon different terms
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than does the metaphysician; for the matter-physician
than does the metaphysician; for the matter-physician
agrees with the disease, while the metaphysician agrees
only with health and challenges disease.
Truth an alterative
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Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of
Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of
Truth, which invigorates and purifies. Christian Science
acts as an alterative, neutralizing error with
Truth. It changes the secretions, expels hu-
mors, dissolves tumors, relaxes rigid muscles, restores
carious bones to soundness. The effect of this Science is
to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it
may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind.
Practical success
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Experiments have favored the fact that Mind governs
Experiments have favored the fact that Mind governs
the body, not in one instance, but in every instance. The
indestructible faculties of Spirit exist without
the conditions of matter and also without the
false beliefs of a so-called material existence. Working
out the rules of Science in practice, the author has re-
stored health in cases of both acute and chronic disease in
their severest forms. Secretions have been changed, the
structure has been renewed, shortened limbs have been
elongated, ankylosed joints have been made supple, and
carious bones have been restored to healthy conditions. I
have restored what is called the lost substance of lungs, and
healthy organizations have been established where disease
was organic. Christian Science heals organic disease as
surely as it heals what is called functional, for it requires
only a fuller understanding of the divine Principle of
Christian Science to demonstrate the higher rule.
Testimony of medical teachers
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With due respect for the faculty, I kindly
With due respect for the faculty, I kindly
quote from Dr. Benjamin Rush, the famous
Philadelphia teacher of medical practice. He
declared that "it is impossible to calculate the mischief
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which Hippocrates has done, by first marking Nature
which Hippocrates has done, by first marking Nature
with his name, and afterward letting her loose upon sick
people."
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Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Professor in Harvard Uni-
Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Professor in Harvard Uni-
versity, declared himself "sick of learned quackery."
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Dr. James Johnson, Surgeon to William IV, King Of
Dr. James Johnson, Surgeon to William IV, King Of
England, said:
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"I declare my conscientious opinion, founded on long
"I declare my conscientious opinion, founded on long
observation and reflection, that if there were not a single
physician, surgeon, apothecary, man-midwife, chemist,
druggist, or drug on the face of the earth, there would be
less sickness and less mortality."
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Dr. Mason Good, a learned Professor in London,
Dr. Mason Good, a learned Professor in London,
said:
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"The effects of medicine on the human system are in
"The effects of medicine on the human system are in
the highest degree uncertain; except, indeed, that it has
already destroyed more lives than war, pestilence, and
famine, all combined."
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Dr. Chapman, Professor of the Institutes and Practice
Dr. Chapman, Professor of the Institutes and Practice
of Physic in the University of Pennsylvania, in a published
essay said:
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"Consulting the records of our science, we cannot
"Consulting the records of our science, we cannot
help being disgusted with the multitude of hypotheses
obtruded upon us at different times. Nowhere is the
imagination displayed to a greater extent; and perhaps
so ample an exhibition of human invention might gratify
our vanity, if it were not more than compensated by the
humiliating view of so much absurdity, contradiction,
and falsehood. To harmonize the contrarieties of med-
ical doctrines is indeed a task as impracticible as to
arrange the fleeting vapors around us, or to reconcile the
fixed and repulsive antipathies of nature. Dark and
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perplexed, our devious career resembles the groping of
perplexed, our devious career resembles the groping of
Homer's Cyclops around his cave."
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Sir John Forbes, M.D., F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal
Sir John Forbes, M.D., F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians, London, said:
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"No systematic or theoretical classification of diseases
"No systematic or theoretical classification of diseases
or of therapeutic agents, ever yet promulgated, is true, or
anything like the truth, and none can be adopted as a safe
guidance in practice."
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It is just to say that generally the cultured class of medi-
It is just to say that generally the cultured class of medi-
cal practitioners are grand men and women, therefore
they are more scientific than are false claimants to Chris-
tian Science. But all human systems based on material
premises are minus the unction of divine Science. Much
yet remains to be said and done before all mankind is
saved and all the mental microbes of sin and all diseased
thought-germs are exterminated.
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If you or I should appear to die, we should not be
If you or I should appear to die, we should not be
dead. The seeming decease, caused by a majority of
human beliefs that man must die, or produced by mental
assassins, does not in the least disprove Christian Science;
rather does it evidence the truth of its basic proposition
that mortal thoughts in belief rule the materiality mis‑
called life in the body or in matter. But the forever fact
remains paramount that Life, Truth, and Love save from
sin, disease, and death. "When this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality [divine Science], then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory" (St. Paul).
Chapter VII
Physiology
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? – JESUS.
He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their
destructions. – PSALMS.
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PHYSIOLOGY is one of the apples from "the tree
PHYSIOLOGY is one of the apples from "the tree
of knowledge." Evil declared that eating this fruit
would open man's eyes and make him as a god. Instead
of so doing, it closed the eyes of mortals to man's God‑
given dominion over the earth.
Man not structural
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To measure intellectual capacity by the size of the
To measure intellectual capacity by the size of the
brain and strength by the exercise of muscle, is to
subjugate intelligence, to make mind mor-
tal, and to place this so-called mind at the
mercy of material organization and non-intelligent
matter.
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Obedience to the so-called physical laws of health has
Obedience to the so-called physical laws of health has
not checked sickness. Diseases have multiplied, since
man-made material theories took the place of spiritual
truth.
Causes of sickness
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You say that indigestion, fatigue, sleeplessness, cause
You say that indigestion, fatigue, sleeplessness, cause
distressed stomachs and aching heads. Then
you consult your brain in order to remember
what has hurt you, when your remedy lies in forgetting
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the whole thing; for matter has no sensation of its own,
the whole thing; for matter has no sensation of its own,
and the human mind is all that can produce pain.
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As a man thinketh, so is he. Mind is all that feels,
As a man thinketh, so is he. Mind is all that feels,
acts, or impedes action. Ignorant of this, or shrinking
from its implied responsibility, the healing effort is made
on the wrong side, and thus the conscious control over the
body is lost.
Delusions pagan and medical
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The Mohammedan believes in a pilgrimage to Mecca
The Mohammedan believes in a pilgrimage to Mecca
for the salvation of his soul. The popular doctor believes
in his prescription, and the pharmacist believes
in the power of his drugs to save a man's
life. The Mohammedan's belief is a religious
delusion; the doctor's and pharmacist's is a medical
mistake.
Health from reliance on spirituality
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The erring human mind is inharmonious in itself.
The erring human mind is inharmonious in itself.
From it arises the inharmonious body. To ignore
God as of little use in sickness is a mistake.
Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of
bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of
strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn
that He can do all things for us in sickness as in
health.
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Failing to recover health through adherence to physi-
Failing to recover health through adherence to physi-
ology and hygiene, the despairing invalid often drops
them, and in his extremity and only as a last resort, turns
to God. The invalid's faith in the divine Mind is less
than in drugs, air, and exercise, or he would have resorted
to Mind first. The balance of power is conceded to be
with matter by most of the medical systems; but when
Mind at last asserts its mastery over sin, disease, and
death, then is man found to be harmonious and
immortal.
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Should we implore a corporeal God to heal the sick
Should we implore a corporeal God to heal the sick
out of His personal volition, or should we understand the
infinite divine Principle which heals? If we rise no higher
than blind faith, the Science of healing is not attained, and
Soul-existence, in the place of sense-existence, is not com-
prehended. We apprehend Life in divine Science only
as we live above corporeal sense and correct it. Our pro-
portionate admission of the claims of good or of evil de-
termines the harmony of our existence, – our health, our
longevity, and our Christianity.
The two masters
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We cannot serve two masters nor perceive divine Sci-
We cannot serve two masters nor perceive divine Sci-
ence with the material senses. Drugs and hygiene cannot
successfully usurp the place and power of the
divine source of all health and perfection. If
God made man both good and evil, man must remain
thus. What can improve God's work? Again, an error
in the premise must appear in the conclusion. To have
one God and avail yourself of the power of Spirit, you
must love God supremely.
Half-way success
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The "flesh lusteth against the Spirit." The flesh and
The "flesh lusteth against the Spirit." The flesh and
Spirit can no more unite in action, than good can coin-
cide with evil. It is not wise to take a halt-
ing and half-way position or to expect to work
equally with Spirit and matter, Truth and error. There,
is but one way – namely, God and His idea – which
leads to spiritual being. The scientific government of the
body must be attained through the divine Mind. It is im-
possible to gain control over the body in any other way.
On this fundamental point, timid conservatism is abso-
lutely inadmissible. Only through radical reliance on
Truth can scientific healing power be realized.
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Substituting good words for a good life, fair seeming
Substituting good words for a good life, fair seeming
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for straightforward character, is a poor shift for the weak
for straightforward character, is a poor shift for the weak
and worldly, who think the standard of Christian Science
too high for them.
Belief on the wrong side
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If the scales are evenly adjusted, the removal of a single
If the scales are evenly adjusted, the removal of a single
weight from either scale gives preponderance to the oppo-
site. Whatever influence you cast on the side
of matter, you take away from Mind, which
would otherwise outweigh all else. Your belief militates
against your health, when it ought to be enlisted on the
side of health. When sick (according to belief) you rush
after drugs, search out the material so-called laws of
health, and depend upon them to heal you, though you
have already brought yourself into the slough of disease
through just this false belief.
The divine authority
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Because man-made systems insist that man becomes
Because man-made systems insist that man becomes
sick and useless, suffers and dies, all in consonance with
the laws of God, are we to believe it? Are
we to believe an authority which denies God's
spiritual command relating to perfection, – an authority
which Jesus proved to be false? He did the will of the
Father. He healed sickness in defiance of what is called
material law, but in accordance with God's law, the law
of Mind.
Disease foreseen
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I have discerned disease in the human mind, and rec-
I have discerned disease in the human mind, and rec-
ognized the patient's fear of it, months before the so-called
disease made its appearance in the body. Dis-
ease being a belief, a latent illusion of mortal
mind, the sensation would not appear if the error of belief
was met and destroyed by truth.
Changed mentality
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Here let a word be noticed which will be
Here let a word be noticed which will be
better understood hereafter, – chemicalization.
By chemicalization I mean the process which mortal
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mind and body undergo in the change of belief from a
mind and body undergo in the change of belief from a
material to a spiritual basis.
Scientific foresight
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Whenever an aggravation of symptoms has occurred
Whenever an aggravation of symptoms has occurred
through mental chemicalization, I have seen the mental
signs, assuring me that danger was over, before
the patient felt the change; and I have said
to the patient, "You are healed," – sometimes to his dis-
comfiture, when he was incredulous. But it always came
about as I had foretold.
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I name these facts to show that disease has a mental,
I name these facts to show that disease has a mental,
mortal origin, – that faith in rules of health or in drugs
begets and fosters disease by attracting the mind to the
subject of sickness, by exciting fear of disease, and by dos-
ing the body in order to avoid it. The faith reposed in
these things should find stronger supports and a higher
home. If we understood the control of Mind over body,
we should put no faith in material means.
Mind the only healer
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Science not only reveals the origin of all disease as
Science not only reveals the origin of all disease as
mental, but it also declares that all disease is cured by
divine Mind. There can be no healing ex-
cept by this Mind, however much we trust
a drug or any other means towards which human faith
or endeavor is directed. It is mortal mind, not mat-
ter, which brings to the sick whatever good they may
seem to receive from materiality. But the sick are never
really healed except by means of the divine power.
Only the action of Truth, Life, and Love can give
harmony.
Modes of matter
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Whatever teaches man to have other laws and to
Whatever teaches man to have other laws and to
acknowledge other powers than the divine
Mind, is anti-Christian. The good that a
poisonous drug seems to do is evil, for it robs man of
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reliance on God, omnipotent Mind, and according to be-
reliance on God, omnipotent Mind, and according to be-
lief, poisons the human system. Truth is not the basis of
theogony. Modes of matter form neither a moral nor a
spiritual system. The discord which calls for material
methods is the result of the exercise of faith in material
modes, – faith in matter instead of in Spirit.
Physiology unscientific
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Did Jesus understand the economy of man less than
Did Jesus understand the economy of man less than
Graham or Cutter? Christian ideas certainly present
what human theories exclude – the Principle
of man's harmony. The text, "Whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die," not only con-
tradicts human systems, but points to the self-sustaining
and eternal Truth.
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The demands of Truth are spiritual, and reach the
The demands of Truth are spiritual, and reach the
body through Mind. The best interpreter of man's needs
said: "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink."
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If there are material laws which prevent disease, what
If there are material laws which prevent disease, what
then causes it? Not divine law, for Jesus healed the
sick and cast out error, always in opposition, never in
obedience, to physics.
Causation considered
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Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered,
Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered,
for more than all others spiritual causation relates to
human progress. The age seems ready to
approach this subject, to ponder somewhat
the supremacy of Spirit, and at least to touch the hem
of Truth's garment.
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The description of man as purely physical, or as both
The description of man as purely physical, or as both
material and spiritual, – but in either case dependent
upon his physical organization, – is the Pandora box,
from which all ills have gone forth, especially despair.
Matter, which takes divine power into its own hands and
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claims to be a creator, is a fiction, in which paganism and
claims to be a creator, is a fiction, in which paganism and
lust are so sanctioned by society that mankind has caught
their moral contagion.
Paradise regained
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Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of ma-
Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of ma-
teriality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will
reopen with the key of divine Science the gates
of Paradise which human beliefs have closed,
and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free,
not needing to consult almanacs for the probabilities either
of his life or of the weather, not needing to study brain‑
ology to learn how much of a man he is.
A closed question
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Mind's control over the universe, including man, is
Mind's control over the universe, including man, is
no longer an open question, but is demonstrable Science.
Jesus illustrated the divine Principle and the
power of immortal Mind by healing sickness
and sin and destroying the foundations of death.
Matter versus Spirit
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Mistaking his origin and nature, man believes himself to
Mistaking his origin and nature, man believes himself to
be combined matter and Spirit. He believes that Spirit
is sifted through matter, carried on a nerve, ex-
posed to ejection by the operation of matter.
The intellectual, the moral, the spiritual, – yea, the image
of infinite Mind, – subject to non-intelligence!
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No more sympathy exists between the flesh and Spirit
No more sympathy exists between the flesh and Spirit
than between Belial and Christ.
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The so-called laws of matter are nothing but false be-
The so-called laws of matter are nothing but false be-
liefs that intelligence and life are present where Mind
is not. These false beliefs are the procuring cause of all
sin and disease. The opposite truth, that intelligence and
life are spiritual, never material, destroys sin, sickness,
and death.
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The fundamental error lies in the supposition that man
The fundamental error lies in the supposition that man
is a material outgrowth and that the cognizance of good
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or evil, which he has through the bodily senses, con-
or evil, which he has through the bodily senses, con-
stitutes his happiness or misery.
Godless Evolution
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Theorizing about man's development from mushrooms
Theorizing about man's development from mushrooms
to monkeys and from monkeys into men
amounts to nothing in the right direction and
very much in the wrong.
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Materialism grades the human species as rising from
Materialism grades the human species as rising from
matter upward. How then is the material species main-
tained, if man passes through what we call death and
death is the Rubicon of spirituality? Spirit can form
no real link in this supposed chain of material being.
But divine Science reveals the eternal chain of existence
as uninterrupted and wholly spiritual; yet this can be
realized only as the false sense of being disappears.
Degrees of development
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If man was first a material being, he must have passed
If man was first a material being, he must have passed
through all the forms of matter in order to become man.
If the material body is man, he is a portion of
matter, or dust. On the contrary, man is the
image and likeness of Spirit; and the belief that there is
Soul in sense or Life in matter obtains in mortals, alias
mortal mind, to which the apostle refers when he says
that we must "put off the old man."
Identity not lost
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What is man? Brain, heart, blood, bones, etc., the
What is man? Brain, heart, blood, bones, etc., the
material structure? If the real man is in the material
body, you take away a portion of the man when
you amputate a limb; the surgeon destroys
manhood, and worms annihilate it. But the loss of a limb
or injury to a tissue is sometimes the quickener of manli-
ness; and the unfortunate cripple may present more no-
bility than the statuesque athlete, – teaching us by his
very deprivations, that "a man's a man, for a' that."
When man is man
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When we admit that matter (heart, blood, brain, acting
When we admit that matter (heart, blood, brain, acting
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through the five physical senses) constitutes man, we fail
through the five physical senses) constitutes man, we fail
to see how anatomy can distinguish between
humanity and the brute, or determine when
man is really man and has progressed farther than his
animal progenitors.
Individualization
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When the supposition, that Spirit is within what it
When the supposition, that Spirit is within what it
creates and the potter is subject to the clay,
is individualized, Truth is reduced to the level
of error, and the sensible is required to be made manifest
through the insensible.
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What is termed matter manifests nothing but a material
What is termed matter manifests nothing but a material
mentality. Neither the substance nor the manifestation
of Spirit is obtainable through matter. Spirit is positive.
Matter is Spirit's contrary, the absence of Spirit. For
positive Spirit to pass through a negative condition
would be Spirit's destruction.
Man not structural
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Anatomy declares man to be structural. Physiology
Anatomy declares man to be structural. Physiology
continues this explanation, measuring human
strength by bones and sinews, and human life
by material law. Man is spiritual, individual, and eter-
nal; material structure is mortal.
Phrenology makes man knavish or honest according to
the development of the cranium; but anatomy, physiology,
phrenology, do not define the image of God, the real im-
mortal man.
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Human reason and religion come slowly to the recogni-
Human reason and religion come slowly to the recogni-
tion of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon
matter to remove the error which the human mind alone
has created.
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The idols of civilization are far more fatal to health
The idols of civilization are far more fatal to health
and longevity than are the idols of barbarism. The idols
of civilization call into action less faith than Buddhism
174:1
in a supreme governing intelligence. The Esquimaux
in a supreme governing intelligence. The Esquimaux
restore health by incantations as consciously as do civi-
lized practitioners by their more studied methods.
174:4
Is civilization only a higher form of idolatry, that
Is civilization only a higher form of idolatry, that
man should bow down to a flesh-brush, to flannels, to
baths, diet, exercise, and air? Nothing save divine
power is capable of doing so much for man as he can
do for himself.
Rise of thought
174:9
The footsteps of thought, rising above material stand-
The footsteps of thought, rising above material stand-
points, are slow, and portend a long night to the traveller;
but the angels of His presence – the spiritual
intuitions that tell us when "the night is far
spent, the day is at hand" – are our guardians in the
gloom. Whoever opens the way in Christian Science is
a pilgrim and stranger, marking out the path for gen-
erations yet unborn.
174:17
The thunder of Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount
The thunder of Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount
are pursuing and will overtake the ages, rebuking in
their course all error and proclaiming the kingdom of
heaven on earth. Truth is revealed. It needs only to
be practised.
Medical errors
174:22
Mortal belief is all that enables a drug to cure mortal
Mortal belief is all that enables a drug to cure mortal
ailments. Anatomy admits that mind is somewhere in
man, though out of sight. Then, if an indi-
vidual is sick, why treat the body alone and
administer a dose of despair to the mind? Why declare
that the body is diseased, and picture this disease to the
mind, rolling it under the tongue as a sweet morsel and
holding it before the thought of both physician and pa-
tient? We should understand that the cause of disease
obtains in the mortal human mind, and its cure comes
from the immortal divine Mind. We should prevent the