Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📖

to found my own, except the teachings

and demonstrations of our great Master and the lives of

prophets and apostles. The Bible has been my only au-126:30 thority. I have had no other guide in “the straight and

narrow way” of Truth.

 

Science and Christianity

 

If Christendom resists the author’s application of the 127:1 word Science to Christianity, or questions her use of the

word Science, she will not therefore lose faith in Chris-127:3 tianity, nor will Christianity lose its hold upon

her. If God, the All-in-all, be the creator of

the spiritual universe, including man, then everything 127:6 entitled to a classification as truth, or Science, must be

comprised in a knowledge or understanding of God, for

there can be nothing beyond illimitable divinity.

 

Scientific terms

127:9 The terms Divine Science, Spiritual Science, Christ

Science or Christian Science, or Science alone, she employs interchangeably, according to the re-127:12 quirements of the context. These synonymous terms stand for everything relating to God, the infinite, supreme, eternal Mind. It may be said, however, 127:15 that the term Christian Science relates especially to

Science as applied to humanity. Christian Science reveals God, not as the author of sin, sickness, and death, 127:18 but as divine Principle, Supreme Being, Mind, exempt

from all evil. It teaches that matter is the falsity, not

the fact, of existence; that nerves, brain, stomach, lungs, 127:21 and so forth, have - as matter - no intelligence, life, nor

sensation.

 

No physical science

 

There is no physical science, inasmuch as all truth 127:24 proceeds from the divine Mind. Therefore truth is not

human, and is not a law of matter, for matter

is not a lawgiver. Science is an emanation of 127:27 divine Mind, and is alone able to interpret God aright.

It has a spiritual, and not a material origin. It is a divine

utterance, - the Comforter which leadeth into all truth. 127:30 Christian Science eschews what is called natural science,

in so far as this is built on the false hypotheses that matter

is its own lawgiver, that law is founded on material con-128:1 ditions, and that these are final and overrule the might of

divine Mind. Good is natural and primitive. It is not 128:3 miraculous to itself.

 

Practical Science

 

The term Science, properly understood, refers only to

the laws of God and to His government of the universe, 128:6 inclusive of man. From this it follows that

business men and cultured scholars have found

that Christian Science enhances their endurance and 128:9 mental powers, enlarges their perception of character,

gives them acuteness and comprehensiveness and an

ability to exceed their ordinary capacity. The human 128:12 mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes

more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes

somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowl-128:15 edge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities

and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of

thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher 128:18 realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight

and perspicacity.

 

An odor becomes beneficent and agreeable only in pro-128:21 portion to its escape into the surrounding atmosphere.

So it is with our knowledge of Truth. If one would

not quarrel with his fellow-man for waking him from 128:24 a cataleptic nightmare, he should not resist Truth, which

banishes - yea, forever destroys with the higher testimony of Spirit - the so-called evidence of matter.

 

Mathematics and scientific logic

128:27 Science relates to Mind, not matter. It rests on fixed

Principle and not upon the judgment of false sensation.

The addition of two sums in mathematics must 128:30 always bring the same result. So is it with

logic. If both the major and the minor propositions of a syllogism are correct, the conclusion, if properly 129:1 drawn, cannot be false. So in Christian Science there

are no discords nor contradictions, because its logic is as 129:3 harmonious as the reasoning of an accurately stated syllogism or of a properly computed sum in arithmetic.

Truth is ever truthful, and can tolerate no error in 129:6 premise or conclusion.

 

Truth by inversion

 

If you wish to know the spiritual fact, you can discover it by reversing the material fable, be the 129:9 fable pro or con, - be it in accord with your

preconceptions or utterly contrary to them.

 

Antagonistic theories

 

Pantheism may be defined as a belief in the intelli-129:12 gence of matter, - a belief which Science overthrows.

In those days there will be “great tribulation

such as was not since the beginning of the 129:15 world;” and earth will echo the cry, “Art thou [Truth]

come hither to torment us before the time?” Animal

magnetism, hypnotism, spiritualism, theosophy, agnos-129:18 ticism, pantheism, and infidelity are antagonistic to true

being and fatal to its demonstration; and so are some

other systems.

 

Ontology needed

129:21 We must abandon pharmaceutics, and take up ontol—

ogy, - “the science of real being.” We must look deep

into realism instead of accepting only the out-129:24 ward sense of things. Can we gather peaches

from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of

being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading 129:27 illusions along the path which Science must tread in its

reformatory mission among mortals. The very name,

illusion, points to nothingness.

 

Reluctant guests

129:30 The generous liver may object to the author’s small

estimate of the pleasures of the table. The sinner sees,

in the system taught in this book, that the demands of 130:1 God must be met. The petty intellect is alarmed by constant appeals to Mind. The licentious disposition is dis-130:3 couraged over its slight spiritual prospects.

When all men are bidden to the feast, the excuses come. One has a farm, another has merchandise, 130:6 and therefore they cannot accept.

 

Excuses for ignorance

 

It is vain to speak dishonestly of divine Science, which

destroys all discord, when you can demonstrate 130:9 the actuality of Science. It is unwise to doubt

if reality is in perfect harmony with God, divine Principle,

- if Science, when understood and demonstrated, will 130:12 destroy all discord, - since you admit that God is omnipotent; for from this premise it follows that good and

its sweet concords have all-power.

 

Children and adults

130:15 Christian Science, properly understood, would dis—

abuse the human mind of material beliefs which war

against spiritual facts; and these material 130:18 beliefs must be denied and cast out to make

place for truth. You cannot add to the contents of a

vessel already full. Laboring long to shake the adult’s 130:21 faith in matter and to inculcate a grain of faith in God, -

an inkling of the ability of Spirit to make the body harmonious, - the author has often remembered our Master’s 130:24 love for little children, and understood how truly such as

they belong to the heavenly kingdom.

 

All evil unnatural

 

If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science 130:27 for the supremacy of God, or Truth, and doubts the supremacy of good, ought we not, contrari—

wise, to be astounded at the vigorous claims 130:30 of evil and doubt them, and no longer think it natural to

love sin and unnatural to forsake it, - no longer imagine

evil to be ever-present and good absent? Truth should 131:1 not seem so surprising and unnatural as error, and error

should not seem so real as truth. Sickness should not seem 131:3 so real as health. There is no error in Science, and our

lives must be governed by reality in order to be in harmony with God, the divine Principle of all being.

 

The error of carnality

131:6 When once destroyed by divine Science, the false evidence before the corporeal senses disappears. Hence the

opposition of sensuous man to the Science of 131:9 Soul and the significance of the Scripture, “The

carnal mind is enmity against God.” The central fact of

the Bible is the superiority of spiritual over physical power.

131:12 THEOLOGY

 

Churchly neglect

 

Must Christian Science come through the Christian

churches as some persons insist? This Science has come 131:15 already, after the manner of God’s appointing, but the churches seem not ready to receive it, according to the Scriptural saying, “He came 131:18 unto his own, and his own received him not.” Jesus once

said: “I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and

earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise 131:21 and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even

so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight.” As aforetime, the spirit of the Christ, which taketh away the cere-131:24 monies and doctrines of men, is not accepted until the

hearts of men are made ready for it.

 

John the Baptist, and the Messiah

 

The mission of Jesus confirmed prophecy, and ex-131:27 plained the so-called miracles of olden time as natural

demonstrations of the divine power, demonstrations which were not understood. Jesus’ works 131:30 established his claim to the Messiahship. In

reply to John’s inquiry, “Art thou he that should come,” 132:1 Jesus returned an affirmative reply, recounting his works

instead of referring to his doctrine, confident that this 132:3 exhibition of the divine power to heal would fully answer the question. Hence his reply: “Go and show

John again those things which ye do hear and see: the 132:6 blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers

are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,

and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And 132:9 blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” In

other words, he gave his benediction to any one who

should not deny that such effects, coming from divine 132:12 Mind, prove the unity of God, - the divine principle

which brings out all harmony.

 

Christ rejected

 

The Pharisees of old thrust the spiritual idea and the 132:15 man who lived it out of their synagogues, and retained

their materialistic beliefs about God. Jesus’

system of healing received no aid nor approval 132:18 from other sanitary or religious systems, from doctrines

of physics or of divinity; and it has not yet been generally accepted. To-day, as of yore, unconscious of the 132:21 reappearing of the spiritual idea, blind belief shuts the

door upon it, and condemns the cure of the sick and sinning if it is wrought on any but a material and a doctrinal 132:24 theory. Anticipating this rejection of idealism, of the

true idea of God, - this salvation from all error, physical and mental, - Jesus asked, “When the Son of man 132:27 cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

 

John’s misgivings

 

Did the doctrines of John the Baptist confer healing

power upon him, or endow him with the truest concep-132:30 tion of the Christ? This righteous preacher

once pointed his disciples to Jesus as “the

Lamb of God;” yet afterwards he seriously questioned 133:1 the signs of the Messianic appearing, and sent the inquiry

to Jesus, “Art thou he that should come?”

 

Faith according to works

133:3 Was John’s faith greater than that of the Samaritan

woman, who said, “Is not this the Christ?”

There was also a certain centurion of whose 133:6 faith Jesus himself declared, “I have not found so great

faith, no, not in Israel.”

 

In Egypt, it was Mind which saved the Israelites from 133:9 belief in the plagues. In the wilderness, streams flowed

from the rock, and manna fell from the sky. The Israelites

looked upon the brazen serpent, and straightway believed 133:12 that they were healed of the poisonous stings of vipers.

In national prosperity, miracles attended the successes of

the Hebrews; but when they departed from the true 133:15 idea, their demoralization began. Even in captivity

among foreign nations, the