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

>direction, and then walk that way. We must form perfect 248:27 models in thought and look at them continually,

or we shall never carve them out in grand and

noble lives. Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, 248:30 health, holiness, love - the kingdom of heaven - reign

within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until

they finally disappear.

249:1 Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on

sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive 249:3 ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that

one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

 

Renewed selfhood

 

Let the “male and female” of God’s creating appear. 249:6 Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into

newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor

material power as able to destroy. Let us re-249:9 joice that we are subject to the divine “powers that be.”

Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of

Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.

249:12 Mind is not the author of matter, and the creator of

ideas is not the creator of illusions. Either there is no

omnipotence, or omnipotence is the only power. God is 249:15 the infinite, and infinity never began, will never end, and

includes nothing unlike God. Whence then is soulless

matter?

 

Illusive dreams

249:18 Life is, like Christ, “the same yesterday, and to-day,

and forever.” Organization and time have nothing to do

with Life. You say, “I dreamed last night.” 249:21 What a mistake is that! The I is Spirit. God

never slumbers, and His likeness never dreams. Mortals

are the Adam dreamers.

249:24 Sleep and apath are phases of the dream that life, substance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night-dream is sometimes nearer the fact of being than are the 249:27 thoughts of mortals when awake. The night-dream has

less matter as its accompaniment. It throws off some

material fetters. It falls short of the skies, but makes its 249:30 mundane flights quite ethereal.

 

Philosophical blunders

 

Man is the reflection of Soul. He is the direct opposite of material sensation, and there is but one Ego. We 250:1 run into error when we divide Soul into souls, multiply

Mind into minds and suppose error to be mind, then mind 250:3 to be in matter and matter to be a lawgiver,

unintelligence to act like intelligence, and mortality to be the matrix of immortality.

 

Spirit the one Ego

250:6 Mortal existence is a dream; mortal existence has no

real entity, but saith “It is I.” Spirit is the Ego which

never dreams, but understands all things; 250:9 which never errs, and is ever conscious; which

never believes, but knows; which is never born and

never dies. Spiritual man is the likeness of this Ego. 250:12 Man is not God, but like a ray of light which comes from

the sun, man, the outcome of God, reflects God.

 

Mortal existence a dream

 

Mortal body and mind are one, and that one is called 250:15 man; but a mortal is not man, for man is immortal. A

mortal may be weary or pained, enjoy or suffer,

according to the dream he entertains in sleep. 250:18 When that dream vanishes, the mortal finds himself

experiencing none of these dream-sensations. To the

observer, the body lies listless, undisturbed, and sensa-250:21 tionless, and the mind seems to be absent.

 

Now I ask, Is there any more reality in the waking

dream of mortal existence than in the sleeping dream? 250:24 There cannot be, since whatever appears to be a mortal

man is a mortal dream. Take away the mortal mind,

and matter has no more sense as a man than it has as 250:27 a tree. But the spiritual, real man is immortal.

 

Upon this stage of existence goes on the dance of mortal

mind. Mortal thoughts chase one another like snowflakes, 250:30 and drift to the ground. Science reveals Life as not being

at the mercy of death, nor will Science admit that happiness is ever the sport of circumstance.

 

Error self-destroyed

251:1 Error is not real, hence it is not more imperative

as it hastens towards self-destruction. The so-called 251:3 belief of mortal mind apparent as an abscess

should not grow more painful before it suppu—

rates neither should a fever become more severe before 251:6 it ends.

 

Illusion of death

 

Fright is so great at certain stages of mortal belief

as to drive belief into new paths. In the illusion of 251:9 death, mortals wake to the knowledge of two

facts: (1) that they are not dead; (2) that

they have but passed the portals of a new belief. Truth 251:12 works out the nothingness of error in just these ways.

Sickness, as well as sin, is an error that Christ, Truth,

alone can destroy.

 

Mortal mind’s disappearance

251:15 We must learn how mankind govern the body, -

whether through faith in hygiene, in drugs, or in will-power. We should learn whether they govern 251:18 the body through a belief in the necessity of

sickness and death, sin and pardon, or govern

it from the higher understanding that the divine Mind 251:21 makes perfect, acts upon the so-called human mind

through truth, leads the human mind to relinquish all

error, to find the divine Mind to be the only Mind, 251:24 and the healer of sin, disease, death. This process of

higher spiritual understanding improves mankind until

error disappears, and nothing is left which deserves to 251:27 perish or to be punished.

 

Spiritual ignorance

 

Ignorance, like intentional wrong, is not Science.

Ignorance must be seen and corrected before we can at-251:30 tain harmony. Inharmonious beliefs, which

rob Mind, calling it matter, and deify their

own notions, imprison themselves in what they create. 252:1 They are at war with Science, and as our Master said,

“If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom 252:3 cannot stand.”

 

Human ignorance of Mind and of the recuperative

energies of Truth occasions the only skepticism regard-252:6 ing the pathology and theology of Christian Science.

 

Eternal man recognized

 

When false human beliefs learn even a little of their

own falsity, they begin to disappear. A knowledge of 252:9 error and of its operations must precede that

understanding of Truth which destroys error,

until the entire mortal, material error finally disappears, 252:12 and the eternal verity, man created by and of Spirit,

is understood and recognized as the true likeness of his

Maker.

252:15 The false evidence of material sense contrasts strikingly

with the testimony of Spirit. Material sense lifts its voice

with the arrogance of reality and says:

 

Testimony of sense

252:18 I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth it. I can

cheat, lie, commit adultery, rob, murder, and I elude

detection by smooth-tongued villainy. Ani-252:21 mal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment,

fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span

of life one gala day. What a nice thing is sin! How 252:24 sin succeeds, where the good purpose waits! The world

is my kingdom. I am enthroned in the gorgeousness

of matter. But a touch, an accident, the law of God, 252:27 may at any moment annihilate my peace, for all my

fancied joys are fatal. Like bursting lava, I expand but

to my own despair, and shine with the resplendency of 252:30 consuming fire.

 

Testimony of Soul

 

Spirit, bearing opposite testimony, saith:

 

I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my 253:1 likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am

Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, 253:3 imperishable glory, - all are Mine, for I am

God. I give immortality to man, for I am

Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. 253:6 I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am

Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am

the substance of all, because I AM THAT I AM.

 

Heaven-bestowed prerogative

253:9 I hope, dear reader, I am leading you into the understanding of your divine rights, your heaven-bestowed harmony, - that, as you read, you see there is no 253:12 cause (outside of erring, mortal, material sense

which is not power) able to make you sick or

sinful; and I hope that you are conquering this false sense. 253:15 Knowing the falsity of so-called material sense, you can

assert your prerogative to overcome the belief in sin, disease, or death.

 

Right endeavor possible

253:18 If you believe in and practise wrong knowingly, you

can at once change your course and do right. Matter can

make no opposition to right endeavors against 253:21 sin or sickness, for matter is inert, mindless.

Also, if you believe yourself diseased, you can

alter this wrong belief and action without hindrance from 253:24 the body.

 

Do not believe in any supposed necessity for sin, disease, or death, knowing (as you ought to know) that God 253:27 never requires obedience to a so-called material law, for

no such law exists. The belief in sin and death is destroyed by the law of God, which is the law of Life in-253:30 stead of death, of harmony instead of discord, of Spirit

instead of the flesh.

 

Patience and final perfection

 

The divine demand, “Be ye therefore perfect,” is sci-254:1 entific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are

indispensable. Individuals are consistent who, watching 254:3 and praying, can “run, and not be weary; …

walk, and not faint,” who gain good rapidly

and hold their position, or attain slowly and 254:6 yield not to discouragement. God requires perfection,

but not until the battle between Spirit and flesh is fought

and the victory won. To stop eating, drinking, or being 254:9 clothed materially before the spiritual facts of existence

are gained step by step, is not legitimate. When we wait

patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs 254:12 our path. Imperfect mortals grasp the ultimate of spiritual perfection slowly; but to begin aright and to continue the strife of demonstrating the great problem of 254:15 being, is doing much.

 

During the sensual ages, absolute Christian Science

may not be achieved prior to the change called death, 254:18 for we have not the power to demonstrate what we do

not understand. But the human self must be evangel—

ized. This task God demands us to accept lovingly 254:21 to-day, and to abandon so fast as practical the material,

and to work out the spiritual which determines the outward and actual.

254:24 If you venture upon the quiet surface of error and are

in sympathy with error, what is there to disturb the waters?

What is there to strip off error’s disguise?

 

The cross and crown

254:27 If you launch your bark upon the ever-agitated but

healthful waters of truth, you will encounter storms.

Your good will be evil spoken of. This is the 254:30 cross. Take it up and bear it, for through it

you win and wear the crown. Pilgrim on earth, thy home

is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God.