Study
of medicine 443
When the discoverer of Christian Science is
consulted by her followers as to the propriety, advantage, and consistency of
systematic medical study, she tries to show them that under ordinary
circumstances a resort to faith in corporeal means tends to deter those, who
make such a compromise, from entire confidence in omnipotent Mind as really
possessing all power. While a course of medical study is at times severely
condemned by some Scientists, she feels, as she always has felt, that all are
privileged to work out their own salvation according to their light, and that
our motto should be the Master's counsel, "Judge not, that ye be not
judged."
Failure's
lessons 443
If patients fail to experience the healing
power of Christian Science, and think they can be benefited by certain
ordinary physical methods of medical treatment, then the Mind-physician should
give up such cases, and leave invalids free to resort to whatever other
systems they fancy will afford relief. Thus such invalids may learn the value
of the apostolic precept: "Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine." If the sick find these material expedients unsatisfactory,
and they receive no help from them, these very failures may open their blind
eyes. In some way, sooner or later, all must rise superior to materiality, and
suffering is oft the divine agent in this elevation. "All things work
together for good to them that love God," is the dictum of Scripture.
Refuge
and strength 444
If Christian Scientists ever fail to receive
aid from other Scientists, - their brethren upon whom they may call, - God
will still guide them into the right use of temporary and eternal means. Step
by step will those who trust Him find that "God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble."
Charity
to those opposed 444
Students are advised by the author to be
charitable and kind, not only towards differing forms of religion and
medicine, but to those who hold these differing opinions. Let us be faithful
in pointing the way through Christ, as we understand it, but let us also be
careful always to "judge righteous judgment," "and never to
condemn rashly. "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also." That is, Fear not that he will smite thee again for
thy forbearance. If ecclesiastical sects or medical schools turn a deaf ear to
the teachings of Christian Science, then part from these opponents as did
Abraham when he parted from Lot, and say in thy heart: "Let there be no
strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy
herdmen; for we be brethren." Immortals, or God's children in divine
Science, are one harmonious family; but mortals, or the "children of
men" in material sense, are discordant and ofttimes false brethren.
Conforming
to explicit rules 444
The teacher must make clear to students the
Science of healing, especially its ethics, - that all is Mind, and that the
Scientist must conform to God's requirements. Also the teacher must thoroughly
fit his students to defend themselves against sin, and to guard against the
attacks of the would-be mental assassin,
who attempts to kill morally and physically. No hypothesis as to the existence
of another power should interpose a doubt or fear to hinder the demonstration
of Christian Science. Unfold the latent energies and capacities for good in
your pupil. Teach the great possibilities of man endued with divine Science.
Teach the dangerous possibility of dwarfing the spiritual understanding and
demonstration of Truth by sin, or by recourse to material means for healing.
Teach the meekness and might of life "hid with Christ in God," and
there will be no desire for other healing methods. You render the divine law
of healing obscure and void, when you weigh the human in the scale with the
divine, or limit in any direction of thought the omnipresence and omnipotence
of God.
Divine
energy 445
Christian Science silences human will, quiets
fear with Truth and Love, and illustrates the unlabored motion of the divine
energy in healing the sick. Self-seeking, envy, passion, pride, hatred, and
revenge are cast out by the divine Mind which heals disease. The human will
which maketh and worketh a lie, hiding the divine Principle of harmony, is
destructive to health, and is the cause of disease rather than its cure.
Blight
of avarice 445
There is great danger in teaching Mind-healing
indiscriminately, thus disregarding the morals of the student and caring only
for the fees. Recalling Jefferson's 'words about slavery, "I tremble,
when I remember that God is just," the author trembles whenever she sees
a man, for the petty consideration of money, teaching his slight knowledge of
Mind-power, - perhaps communicating his own bad morals, and in this way
dealing pitilessly with a community unprepared for self-defence.
A thorough perusal of the author's publications
heals sickness. If patients sometimes seem worse while reading this book, the
change may either arise from the alarm of the physician, or it may mark the
crisis of the disease. Perseverance in the perusal of the book has generally
completely healed such cases.
Exclusion
of malpractice 446
Whoever practises the Science the author
teaches, through which Mind pours light and healing upon this generation, can
practise on no one from sinister or malicious motives without destroying his
own power to heal and his own health. Good must dominate in the thoughts of
the healer, or his demonstration is protracted, dangerous, and impossible in
Science. A wrong motive involves defeat. In the Science of Mind-healing, it is
imperative to be honest, for victory rests on the side of immutable right. To
understand God strengthens hope, enthrones faith in Truth, and verifies Jesus'
word: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Iniquity
overcome 446
Resisting evil, you overcome it and prove its
nothingness. Not human platitudes, but divine beatitudes, reflect the
spiritual light and might which heal the sick. The exercise of will brings on
a hypnotic state, detrimental to health and integrity of thought. This must
therefore be watched and guarded against. Covering iniquity will prevent
prosperity and the ultimate triumph of any cause. Ignorance of the error to be
eradicated oftentimes subjects you to its abuse.
No
trespass on human rights 447
The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon
man's individual right of self-government. We have no authority in Christian
Science and no moral right to attempt to influence the thoughts of others,
except it be to benefit them. In mental practice you must not forget that
erring human opinions, conflicting selfish motives, and ignorant attempts to
do good may render you incapable of knowing or judging accurately the need of
your fellow-men. Therefore the rule is, heal the sick when called upon for
aid, and save the victims of the mental assassins.
Expose
sin without believing in it 447
Ignorance, subtlety, or false charity does not
forever conceal error; evil will in time disclose and punish itself. The
recuperative action of the system, when mentally sustained by Truth, goes on
naturally. When sin or sickness - the reverse of harmony - seems true to
material sense, impart without frightening or discouraging the patient the
truth and spiritual understanding, which destroy disease. Expose and denounce
the claims of evil and disease in all their forms, but realize no reality in
them. A sinner is not reformed merely by assuring him that he cannot be a
sinner because there is no sin. To put down the claim of sin, you must detect
it, remove the mask, point out the illusion, and thus get the victory over sin
and so prove its unreality. The sick are not healed merely by declaring there
is no sickness, but by knowing that there is none.
Wicked
evasions 447
A sinner is afraid to cast the first stone. He
may say, as a subterfuge, that evil is unreal, but to know it, he must
demonstrate his statement. To assume that there are no claims of evil and yet
to indulge them, is a moral offence. Blindness and self-righteousness cling
fast to iniquity. When the Publican's wail went out to the great heart of
Love, it won his humble desire. Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, but
which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is
undenied and nurtured. Under such circumstances, to say that there is no evil,
is an evil in itself. When needed tell the truth concerning the lie. Evasion
of Truth cripples integrity, and casts thee down from the pinnacle.
Truth's
great results 448
Christian Science rises above the evidence of
the corporeal senses; but if you have not risen above sin yourself, do not
congratulate yourself upon your blindness to evil or upon the good you know
and do not. A dishonest
position is far from Christianly scientific. "He that covereth his sins
shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy." Try to leave on every student's mind the strong impress of divine
Science, a high sense of the moral and spiritual qualifications requisite for
healing, well knowing it to be impossible for error, evil, and hate to
accomplish the grand results of Truth and Love. The reception or pursuit of
instructions opposite to absolute Christian Science must always hinder
scientific demonstration.
Adherence
to righteousness 448
If the student adheres strictly to the
teachings of Christian Science and ventures not to break its rules, he cannot
fail of success in healing. It is Christian Science to do right, and nothing
short of right-doing has any claim to the name. To talk the right and live the
wrong is foolish deceit, doing one's self the most harm. Fettered by sin
yourself, it is difficult to free another from the fetters of disease. With
your own wrists manacled, it is hard to break another's chains. A little
leaven causes the whole mass to ferment. A grain of Christian Science does
wonders for mortals, so omnipotent is Truth, but more of Christian Science
must be gained in order to continue in well doing.
Right
adjusts the balance 449
The wrong done another reacts most heavily
against one's self. Right adjusts the balance sooner or later. Think it
"easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," than for you
to benefit yourself by injuring others. Man's moral mercury, rising or
falling, registers his healing ability and fitness to teach. You should
practise well what you know, and you will then advance in proportion to your
honesty and fidelity, - qualities which insure success in this Science; but it
requires a higher understanding to teach this subject properly and correctly
than it does to heal the most difficult case.
Inoculation
of thought 449
The baneful effect of evil associates is less
seen than felt. The inoculation of evil human thoughts ought to be understood
and guarded against. The first impression, made on a mind which is attracted
or repelled according to personal merit or demerit, is a good detective of
individual character. Certain minds meet only to separate through simultaneous
repulsion. They are enemies without the preliminary offence. The impure are at
peace with the impure. Only virtue is a rebuke to vice. A proper teacher of
Christian Science improves the health and the morals of his student if the
student practises what he is taught, and unless this result follows, the
teacher is a Scientist only in name.
Three
classes of neophytes 450
There is a large class of thinkers whose
bigotry and conceit twist every fact to suit themselves. Their creed teaches
belief in a mysterious, supernatural God, and in a natural, all-powerful
devil. Another class, still more unfortunate, are so depraved that they appear
to be innocent. They utter a falsehood, while looking you blandly in the face,
and they never fail to stab their benefactor in the back. A third class of
thinkers build with solid masonry. They are sincere, generous, noble, and are
therefore open to the approach and recognition of Truth. To teach Christian
Science to such as these is no task. They do not incline longingly to error,
whine over the demands of Truth, nor play the traitor for place and power.
Touchstone
of Science 450
Some people yield slowly to the touch of Truth.
Few yield without a struggle, and many are reluctant to acknowledge that they
have yielded; but unless this admission is made, evil will boast itself above
good. The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death;
and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness
of God, or good. Sickness to him is no less a temptation than is sin, and he
heals them both by understanding God's power over them. The Christian
Scientist knows that they are errors of belief, which Truth can and will
destroy.
False
claims annihilated 450
Who, that has felt the perilous beliefs in
life, substance, and intelligence separated from God, can say that there is no
error of belief? Knowing the claim of animal magnetism, that all evil combines
in the belief of life, substance, and intelligence in matter, electricity,
animal nature, and organic life, who will deny that these are the errors which
Truth must and will annihilate? Christian Scientists must live under the
constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world
and be separate. They must renounce aggression, oppression and the pride of
power. Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen
of life.
Treasure
in heaven 451
Students of Christian Science, who start with
its letter and think to succeed without the spirit, will either make shipwreck
of their faith or be turned sadly awry. They must not only seek, but strive,
to enter the narrow path of Life, for "wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat."
Man walks in the direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure is,
there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affections are spiritual, they
come from above, not from beneath, and they bear as of old the fruits of the
Spirit.
Obligations
of teachers 451
Every Christian Scientist, every conscientious
teacher of the Science of Mind-healing, knows that human will is not Christian
Science, and he must recognize this in order to defend himself from the
influence of human will. He feels morally obligated to open the eyes of his
students that they may perceive the nature and methods of error of every sort,
especially any subtle degree of evil, deceived and deceiving. All mental
malpractice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It is the injurious
action of one mortal mind controlling another from wrong motives, and it is
practised either with a mistaken or a wicked purpose.
Indispensable
defence 451
Show your student that mental malpractice tends
to blast moral sense, health, and the human life. Instruct him how to bar the
door of his thought against this seeming power, - a task not difficult, when
one understands that evil has in reality no power. Incorrect reasoning leads
to practical error. The wrong thought should be arrested before it has a
chance to manifest itself.
Egotistic
darkness 452
Walking in the light, we are accustomed to the
light and require it; we cannot see in darkness. But eyes accustomed to
darkness are pained by the light. When outgrowing the old, you should not fear
to put on the new. Your advancing course may provoke envy, but it will also
attract respect. When error confronts you, withhold not the rebuke or the
explanation which destroys error. Never breathe an immoral atmosphere, unless
in the attempt to purify it. Better is the frugal intellectual repast with
contentment and virtue, than the luxury of learning with egotism and vice.
Unwarranted
expectations 452
Right is radical. The teacher must know the
truth himself. He must live it and love it, or he cannot impart it to others.
We soil our garments with conservatism, and afterwards we must wash them
clean. When the spiritual sense of Truth unfolds its harmonies, you take no
risks in the policy of error. Expect to heal simply by repeating the author's
words, by right talking and wrong acting, and you will be disappointed. Such a
practice does not demonstrate the Science by which divine Mind heals the sick.
Reliable
authority 452
Acting from sinful motives destroys your power
of healing from the right motive. On the other hand, if you had the
inclination or power to practise wrongly and then should adopt Christian
Science, the wrong power would be destroyed. You do not deny the
mathematician's right to distinguish the correct from the incorrect among the
examples on the blackboard, nor disbelieve the musician when he distinguishes
concord from discord. In like manner it should be granted that the author
understands what she is saying.
Winning
the field 453
Right and wrong, truth and error, will be at
strife in the minds of students, until victory rests on the side of invincible
truth. Mental chemicalization follows the explanation of Truth, and a higher
basis is thus won; but with some individuals the morbid moral or physical
symptoms constantly reappear. I have never witnessed so decided effects from
the use of material remedies as from the use of spiritual.
Knowledge
and honesty 453
Teach your student that he must know himself
before he can know others and minister to human needs. Honesty is spiritual
power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help. You uncover
sin, not in order to injure, but in order to bless the corporeal man; and a
right motive has its reward. Hidden sin is spiritual wickedness in high
places. The masquerader in this Science thanks God that there is no evil, yet
serves evil in the name of good.
Metaphysical
treatment 453
You should treat sickness mentally just as you
would sin, except that you must not tell the patient that he is sick nor give
names to diseases, for such a course increases fear, the foundation of
disease, and impresses more deeply the wrong mind-picture. A Christian
Scientist's medicine is Mind, the divine Truth that makes man free. A
Christian Scientist never recommends material hygiene, never manipulates. He
does not trespass on the rights of mind nor can he practise animal magnetism
or hypnotism. It need not be added that the use of tobacco or intoxicating
drinks is not in harmony with Christian Science.
Impotence
of hate 454
Teach your students the omnipotence of Truth,
which illustrates the impotence of error. The understanding, even in a degree,
of the divine All-power destroys fear, and plants the feet in the true path, -
the path which leads to the house built without hands "eternal in the
heavens." Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no kingdom. Love is
enthroned. That evil or matter has neither intelligence nor power, is the
doctrine of absolute Christian Science, and this is the great truth which
strips all disguise from error.
He, who understands in a sufficient degree the
Principle of Mind-healing, points out to his student error as well as truth,
the wrong as well as the right practice. Love for God and man is the true
incentive in both healing and teaching. Love inspires, illumines, designates,
and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and
freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait
patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the
perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect work."
Continuity
of interest 454
Do not dismiss students at the close of a class
term, feeling that you have no more to do for them. Let your loving care and
counsel support all their feeble footsteps, until your students tread firmly
in the straight and narrow way. The superiority of spiritual power over
sensuous is the central point of Christian Science. Remember that the letter
and mental argument are only human auxiliaries to aid in bringing thought into
accord with the spirit of Truth and Love, which heals the sick and the sinner.
A mental state of self-condemnation and guilt
or a faltering and doubting trust in Truth are unsuitable conditions for
healing the sick. Such mental states indicate weakness instead of strength.
Hence the necessity of being right yourself in order to teach this Science of
healing. You must utilize the moral might of Mind in order to walk over the
waves of error and support your claims by demonstration. If you are yourself
lost in the belief and fear of disease or sin, and if, knowing the remedy, you
fail to use the energies of Mind in your own behalf, you can exercise little
or no power for others' help. "First cast out the beam out of thine own
eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's
eye."
The
trust of the All-wise 455
The student, who receives his knowledge of
Christian Science, or metaphysical healing, from a human teacher, may be
mistaken in judgment and demonstration, but God cannot mistake. God selects
for the highest service one who has grown into such a fitness for it as
renders any abuse of the mission an impossibility. The All-wise does not
bestow His highest trusts upon the unworthy. When He commissions a messenger,
it is one who is spiritually near Himself. No person can misuse this mental
power, if he is taught of God to discern it.
Integrity
assured 455
This strong point in Christian Science is not
to be overlooked, - that the same fountain cannot send forth both sweet waters
and bitter. The higher your attainment in the Science of mental healing and
teaching, the more impossible it will become for you intentionally to
influence mankind adverse to its highest hope and achievement.
Chicanery
impossible 456
Teaching or practising in the name of Truth,
but contrary to its spirit or rules, is most dangerous quackery. Strict
adherence to the divine Principle and rules of the scientific method has
secured the only success of the students of Christian Science. This alone
entitles them to the high standing which most of them hold in the community, a
reputation experimentally justified by their efforts. Whoever affirms that
there is more than one Principle and method of demonstrating Christian Science
greatly errs, ignorantly or intentionally, and separates himself from the true
conception of Christian Science healing and from its possible demonstration.
No
dishonest concessions 456
Any dishonesty in your theory and practice
betrays a gross ignorance of the method of the Christ-cure. Science makes no
concessions to persons or opinions. One must abide in the morale
of truth or he cannot demonstrate the divine Principle. So long as matter is
the basis of practice, illness cannot be efficaciously treated by the
metaphysical process. Truth does the work, and you must both understand and
abide by the divine Principle of your demonstration.
This
volume indispensable 456
A Christian Scientist requires my work SCIENCE
AND HEALTH for his textbook, and so do all his students and patients. Why? First:
Because it is the voice of Truth to this age, and contains the full statement
of Christian Science, or the Science of healing through Mind. Second:
Because it was the first book known, containing a thorough statement of
Christian Science. Hence it gave the first rules for demonstrating this
Science, and registered the revealed Truth uncontaminated by human hypotheses.
Other works, which have borrowed from this book without giving it credit, have
adulterated the Science. Third:
Because this book has done more for teacher and student, for healer and
patient, than has been accomplished by other books.
Purity
of science 457
Since the divine light of Christian Science
first dawned upon the author, she has never used this newly discovered power
in any direction which she fears to have fairly understood. Her prime object,
since entering this field of labor, has been to prevent suffering, not to
produce it. That we cannot scientifically both cure and cause disease is
self-evident. In the legend of the shield, which led to a quarrel between two
knights because each of them could see but one face of it, both sides were
beautiful according to their degree; but to mental malpractice, prolific of
evil, there is no good aspect, either silvern or golden.
Backsliders
and mistakes 457
Christian Science is not an exception to the
general rule, that there is no excellence without labor in a direct line. One
cannot scatter his fire, and at the same time hit the mark. To pursue other
vocations and advance rapidly in the demonstration of this Science, is not
possible. Departing from Christian Science, some learners commend diet and
hygiene. They even practise these, intending thereby to initiate the cure
which they mean to complete with Mind, as if the non-intelligent could aid
Mind! The Scientist's demonstration rests on one Principle, and there must and
can be no opposite rule. Let this Principle be applied to the cure of disease
without exploiting other means.
Mental
charlatanism 458
Mental quackery rests on the same platform as
all other quackery. The chief plank in this platform is the doctrine that
Science has two principles in partnership, one good and the other evil, - one
spiritual, the other material, - and that these two may be simultaneously at
work on the sick. This theory is supposed to favor practice from both a mental
and a material standpoint. Another plank in the platform is this, that error
will finally have the same effect as truth.
Divinity
ever ready 458
It is anything but scientifically Christian to
think of aiding the divine Principle of healing or of trying to sustain the
human body until the divine Mind is ready to take the case. Divinity is always
ready. Semper paratus
is Truth's motto. Having seen so much suffering from quackery, the author
desires to keep it out of Christian Science. The two-edged sword of Truth must
turn in every direction to guard "the tree of life."
The
panoply of wisdom 458
Sin makes deadly thrusts at the Christian
Scientist as ritualism and creed are summoned to give place to higher law, but
Science will ameliorate mortal malice. The Christianly scientific man reflects
the divine law, thus becoming a law unto himself. He does violence to no man.
Neither is he a false accuser. The Christian Scientist wisely shapes his
course, and is honest and consistent in following the leadings of divine Mind.
He must prove, through living as well as healing and teaching, that Christ's
way is the only one by which mortals are radically saved from sin and
sickness.
Advancement
by sacrifice 458
Christianity causes men to turn naturally from
matter to Spirit, as the flower turns from darkness to light. Man then
appropriates those things which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard."
Paul and John had a clear apprehension that, as mortal man achieves no worldly
honors except by sacrifice, so he must gain heavenly riches by forsaking all
worldliness. Then he will have nothing in common with the worldling's
affections, motives, and aims. Judge not the future advancement of Christian
Science by the steps already taken, lest you yourself be condemned for failing
to take the first step.
Dangerous
knowledge 459
Any attempt to heal mortals with erring mortal
mind, instead of resting on the omnipotence of the divine Mind, must prove
abortive. Committing the bare process of mental healing to frail mortals,
untaught and unrestrained by Christian Science, is like putting a sharp knife
into the hands of a blind man or a raging maniac, and turning him loose in the
crowded streets of a city. Whether animated by malice or ignorance, a false
practitioner will work mischief, and ignorance is more harmful than wilful
wickedness, when the latter is distrusted and thwarted in its incipiency.
Certainty
of results 459
To mortal sense Christian Science seems
abstract, but the process is simple and the results are sure if the Science is
understood. The tree must be good, which produces good fruit. Guided by divine
Truth and not guesswork, the theologus
(that is, the student - the Christian and scientific expounder - of the divine
law) treats disease with more certain results than any other healer on the
globe. The Christian Scientist should understand and adhere strictly to the
rules of divine metaphysics as laid down in this work, and rest his
demonstration on this sure basis.
Ontology
defined 460
Ontology is defined as "the science of the
necessary constituents and relations of all beings," and it underlies all
metaphysical practice. Our system of Mind-healing rests on the apprehension of
the nature and essence of all being, - on the divine Mind and Love's essential
qualities. Its pharmacy is moral, and its medicine is intellectual and
spiritual, though used for physical healing. Yet this most fundamental part of
metaphysics is the one most difficult to understand and demonstrate, for to
the material thought all is material, till such thought is rectified by
Spirit.
Mischievous
imagination 460
Sickness is neither imaginary nor unreal, -
that is, to the frightened, false sense of the patient. Sickness is more than
fancy; it is solid conviction. It is therefore to be dealt with through right
apprehension of the truth of being. If Christian healing is abused by mere
smatterers in Science, it becomes a tedious mischief-maker. Instead of
scientifically effecting a cure, it starts a petty crossfire over every
cripple and invalid, buffeting them with the superficial and cold assertion,
"Nothing ails you."
Author's
early instructions 460
When the Science of Mind was a fresh revelation
to the author, she had to impart, while teaching its grand facts, the hue of
spiritual ideas from her own spiritual condition, and she had to do this
orally through the meagre channel afforded by language and by her manuscript
circulated among the students. As former beliefs were gradually expelled from
her thought, the teaching became clearer, until finally the shadow of old
errors was no longer cast upon divine Science.
Proof by
induction 461
I do not maintain that anyone can exist in the
flesh without food and raiment; but I do believe that the real man is immortal
and that he lives in Spirit, not matter. Christian Science must be accepted at
this period by induction. We admit the whole, because a part is proved and
that part illustrates and proves the entire Principle. Christian Science can
be taught only by those who are morally advanced and spiritually endowed, for
it is not superficial, nor is it discerned from the standpoint of the human
senses. Only by the illumination of the spiritual sense, can the light of
understanding be thrown upon this Science, because Science reverses the
evidence before the material senses and furnishes the eternal interpretation
of God and man.
If you believe that you are sick, should you
say, "I am sick"? No, but you should tell your belief sometimes, if
this be requisite to protect others. If you commit a crime, should you
acknowledge to yourself that you are a criminal? Yes. Your responses should
differ because of the different effects they produce. Usually to admit that
you are sick, renders your case less curable, while to recognize your sin,
aids in destroying it. Both sin and sickness are error, and Truth is their
remedy. The truth regarding error is, that error is not true, hence it is
unreal. To prove scientifically the error or unreality of sin, you must first
see the claim of sin, and then destroy it. Whereas, to prove scientifically
the error or unreality of disease, you must mentally unsee the disease; then
you will not feel it, and it is destroyed.
Rapidity
of assimilation 461
Systematic teaching and the student's spiritual
growth and experience in practice are requisite for a thorough comprehension
of Christian Science. Some individuals assimilate truth more readily than
others, but any student, who adheres to the divine rules of Christian Science
and imbibes the spirit of Christ, can demonstrate Christian Science, cast out
error, heal the sick, and add continually to his store of spiritual
understanding, potency, enlightenment, and success.
Divided
loyalty 462
If the student goes away to practise Truth's
teachings only in part, dividing his interests between God and mammon and
substituting his own views for Truth, he will inevitably reap the error he
sows. Whoever would demonstrate the healing of Christian Science must abide
strictly by its rules, heed every statement, and advance from the rudiments
laid down. There is nothing difficult nor toilsome in this task, when the way
is pointed out; but self-denial, sincerity, Christianity, and persistence
alone win the prize, as they usually do in every department of life.
Anatomy
defined 462
Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is
mental self-knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to discover
their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the
important question. This branch of study is indispensable to the excision of
error. The anatomy of Christian Science teaches when and how to probe the
self-inflicted wounds of selfishness, malice, envy, and hate. It teaches the
control of mad ambition. It unfolds the hallowed influences of unselfishness,
philanthropy, spiritual love. It urges the government of the body both in
health and in sickness. The Christian Scientist, through understanding mental
anatomy, discerns and deals with the real cause of disease. The material
physician gropes among phenomena, which fluctuate every instant under
influences not embraced in his diagnosis, and so he may stumble and fall in
the darkness.
Scientific
obstetrics 463
Teacher and student should also be familiar
with the obstetrics taught by this Science. To attend properly the birth of
the new child, or divine idea, you should so detach mortal thought from its
material conceptions, that the birth will be natural and safe. Though
gathering new energy, this idea cannot injure its useful surroundings in the
travail of spiritual birth. A spiritual idea has not a single element of
error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive. The new idea,
conceived and born of Truth and Love, is clad in white garments. Its beginning
will be meek, its growth sturdy, and its maturity undecaying. When this new
birth takes place, the Christian Science infant is born of the Spirit, born of
God, and can cause the mother no more suffering. By this we know that Truth is
here and has fulfilled its perfect work.
Unhesitating
decision 463
To decide quickly as to the proper treatment of
error - whether error is manifested in forms of sickness, sin, or death - is
the first step towards destroying error. Our Master treated error through
Mind. He never enjoined obedience to the laws of nature, if by these are meant
laws of matter, nor did he use drugs. There is a law of God applicable to
healing, and it is a spiritual law instead of material. The sick are not
healed by inanimate matter or drugs, as they believe that they are. Such
seeming medical effect or action is that of socalled mortal mind.
Seclusion
of the author 463
It has been said to the author, "The world
is benefited by you, but it feels your influence without seeing you. Why do
you not make yourself more widely known?" Could her friends know how
little time the author has had, in which to make herself outwardly known
except through her laborious publications, - and how much time and toil are
still required to establish the stately operations of Christian Science, -
they would understand why she is so secluded. Others could not take her place,
even if willing so to do. She therefore remains unseen at her post, seeking no
self-aggrandizement but praying, watching, and working for the redemption of
mankind.
If from an injury or from any cause, a
Christian Scientist were seized with pain so violent that he could not treat
himself mentally, - and the Scientists had failed to relieve him, - the
sufferer could call a surgeon, who would give him a hypodermic injection,
then, when the belief of pain was lulled, he could handle his own case
mentally. Thus it is that we "prove all things; [and] hold fast that
which is good."
The
right motive and its reward 464
In founding a pathological system of
Christianity, the author has labored to expound divine Principle, and not to
exalt personality. The weapons of bigotry, ignorance, envy, fall before an
honest heart. Adulterating Christian Science, makes it void. Falsity has no
foundation. "The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth
not for the sheep." Neither dishonesty nor ignorance ever founded, nor
can they overthrow a scientific system of ethics.
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