0.0 – Christian Science Publication Contents

In a thousand different ways Miscellaneous Writings brings home the message that "God is All, in all" (Mis. 26). All there is to our lives, our bodies, our relationships, is some activity of God. The divine All enters into the minutiae of all because we can never be outside of His allness. Does this mean, then, that God is in material things, or that in God's allness evil exists along with good? Clearly not, according to Christian Science, yet taking some of Mrs Eddy's words out of context might lead to such a misunderstanding, depending on how one approaches this 'all.' From the standpoint of Spirit one can say, "God is All," and that is Christian Science. But if from the standpoint of the material senses one were to say, "all is God," that would be pantheism. When the Boston Herald in 1898 carried criticism of her use of the term 'pantheism' she sent the Editor "a correction" regarding it: "God, Spirit, is All-in-all, therefore there is no matter." To settle the issue conclusively Mrs Eddy composed her annual Communion Message to The Mother Church in 1898 on the subject, "Not Pantheism, but Christian Science." It was the first of these Communion Messages to be printed as a little book, no doubt because of the need to give it wide publicity. The argument runs like this: traditional theistic Christianity has a personal God as one thing and a material man as another thing; it claims that God, Spirit, is the infinite good and then allows evil to be another power. Through these ...inconsistencies it virtually has more than one God, more than one mind. Therefore it is old theology, rather than Christian Science, which is pantheistic. Christian Science, on the contrary, is true monotheism; this infinite Spirit means one spiritual creation, one substance, one law, and no reality in anything else. Furthermore because it is scientific Christianity it demonstrates this proposition through its ability to heal and save. This prosaic summary may show the logic of the book, but to be moved by its inspiration and force one needs Mrs Eddy's own words. 

See  Mary Baker Eddy's Other Writings by John L. Morgan  (1984)



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    Christian Science
  	                   versus Pantheism

 1	PASTOR'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  MOTHER
  	       CHURCH,  ON  THE OCCASION  OF  THE
 3	       JUNE  COMMUNION,  1898 


  	    SUBJECT:  Not Pantheism, but Christian Science 

  	    Beloved brethren, since last you gathered at the
 6	feast of our Passover, the winter winds have come
  	and gone; the rushing winds of March have shrieked and
  	hummed their hymns; the frown and smile of April, the
 9	laugh of May, have fled; and the roseate blush of joyous
  	June is here and ours. 
  	    In unctuous unison with nature, mortals are hoping and
12	working, putting off outgrown, wornout, or soiled gar-
  	ments — the pleasures and pains of sensation and the
  	sackcloth of waiting — for the springtide of Soul. For
15	what a man seeth he hopeth not for, but hopeth for what
  	he hath not seen, and waiteth patiently the appearing
  	thereof. The night is far spent, and day is not distant in
18	the horizon of Truth — even the day when all people
  	shall know and acknowledge one God and one Christianity. 
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  2


 1	            CHRISTIAN SCIENCE NOT PANTHEISM 

  	    At this period of enlightenment, a declaration from the
 3	pulpit that Christian Science is pantheism is anomalous to
  	those who know whereof they speak — who know that
  	Christian Science is Science, and therefore is neither
 6	hypothetical n...or dogmatical, but demonstrable, and
  	looms above the mists of pantheism higher than Mt. 
  	Ararat above the deluge. 


 9	                    ANALYSIS OF "PANTHEISM" 

  	    According to Webster the word "pantheism" is de-
  	rived from two Greek words meaning "all" and "god." 
12	Webster's derivation of the English word "pantheism" is
  	most suggestive. His uncapitalized word "god" gives
  	the meaning of pantheism as a human opinion of "gods
15	many," or mind in matter. "The doctrine that the uni-
  	verse, conceived of as a whole, is God; that there is no
  	God but the combined forces and laws which are mani-
18	fested in the existing universe." 
  	    The Standard Dictionary has it that pantheism is the
  	doctrine of the deification of natural causes, conceived as
21	one personified nature, to which the religious sentiment is
  	directed. 
  	    Pan is a Greek prefix, but it might stand, in the term
24	pantheism, for the mythological deity of that name; and
  	theism for a belief concerning Deity in theology. How-
  	ever, Pan in imagery is preferable to pantheism in theology. 
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  3


 1	The mythical deity may please the fancy, while pantheism
  	suits not at all the Christian sense of religion. Pan, as a
 3	deity, is supposed to preside over sylvan solitude, and is a
  	horned and hoofed animal, half goat and half man, that
  	poorly presents the poetical phase of the genii of forests.¹ 
 6	    My sense of nature's rich glooms is, that loneness lacks
  	but one charm to make it half divine — a friend, with
  	whom to whisper, "Solitude is sweet." Certain moods
 9	of mind find an indefinable pleasure in stillness, soft,
  	silent as the storm's sudden hush; for nature's stillness
  	is voiced with a hum of harmony, the gentle murmur of
12	early morn, the evening's closing vespers, and lyre of bird
  	and brooklet. 

  	     "O sacred solitude! divine retreat!  
15	      Choice of the prudent! envy of the great!  
  	      By thy pure stream, or in thy evening shade,
  	      We court fair wisdom, that celestial maid." 

18	    Theism is the belief in the personality and infinite mind
  	of one supreme, holy, self-existent God, who reveals Him-
  	self supernaturally to His creation, and whose laws are
21	not reckoned as science. In religion, it is a belief in one
  	God, or in many gods. It is opposed to atheism and

  	    ¹In Roman mythology (one of my girlhood studies), Pan stood
24	 for "universal nature proceeding from the divine Mind and provi-
  	 dence, of which heaven, earth, sea, the eternal fire, are so many mem-
  	 bers."  Pan was the god of shepherds and hunters, leader of the
27	 nymphs, president of the mountains, patron of country life, and guar-
  	 dian of flocks and herds. His pipe of seven reeds denotes the celes-
  	 tial harmony of the seven planets; his shepherd's crook, that care and
30	 providence by which he governs the universe; his spotted skin, the
  	 stars; his goat's feet, the solidity of the earth; his man-face, the
  	 celestial world.
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  4


1	monotheism, but agrees with certain forms of pantheism
  	and polytheism. It is the doctrine that the universe owes
 3	its origin and continuity to the reason, intellect, and will of
  	a self-existent divine Being, who possesses all wisdom,
  	goodness, and power, and is the creator and preserver of
 6	man. 
  	    A theistic theological belief may agree with physics and
  	anatomy that reason and will are properly classified as
 9	mind, located in the brain; also, that the functions of
  	these faculties depend on conditions of matter, or brain,
  	for their proper exercise. But reason and will are human;
12	God is divine. In academics and in religion it is patent
  	that will is capable of use and of abuse, of right and wrong
  	action, while God is incapable of evil; that brain is matter,
15	and that there are many so-called minds; that He is the
  	creator of man, but that man also is a creator, making
  	two creators; but God is Mind and one. 


18	GOD — NOT HUMAN DEVICES — THE PRESERVER
  	                                     OF MAN 

  	    God, Spirit, is indeed the preserver of man. Then, in
21	the words of the Hebrew singer, "Why art thou cast down,
  	O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope
  	thou in God:  for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health
24	of my countenance, and my God. . . . Who forgiveth
  	all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." This
  	being the case, what need have we of drugs, hygiene, and
27	medical therapeutics, if these are not man's preservers? 
  	By admitting self-evident affirmations and then contra-
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  5


 1	dicting them, monotheism is lost and pantheism is found
  	in scholastic theology. Can a single quality of God,
 3	Spirit, be discovered in matter? The Scriptures plainly
  	declare, "The Word was God;" and "all things were
  	made by Him," — the Word. What, then, can matter
 6	create, or how can it exist? 


  	                    JESUS' DEFINITION OF EVIL 

  	    Did God create evil? or is evil self-existent, and so
 9	possessed of the nature of God, good? Since evil is not
  	self-made, who or what hath made evil? Our Master
  	gave the proper answer for all time to this hoary query. 
12	He said of evil: "Ye are of your father, the devil, and the
  	lusts of your father ye will do.  He was a murderer from
  	the beginning, and abode not in the truth [God], because
15	there is no truth [reality] in him [evil].  When he speaketh
  	a lie, he speaketh of his own:  for he is a liar, and the father
  	of it [a lie]." 
18	    Jesus' definition of devil (evil) explains evil. It shows
  	that evil is both liar and lie, a delusion and illusion. There-
  	fore we should neither believe the lie, nor believe that it
21	hath embodiment or power; in other words, we should
  	not believe that a lie, nothing, can be something, but deny
  	it and prove its falsity. After this manner our Master cast
24	out evil, healed the sick, and saved sinners. Knowing
  	that evil is a lie, and, as the Scripture declares, brought
  	sin, sickness, and death into the world, Jesus treated the
27	lie summarily. He denied it, cast it out of mortal mind,
  	and thus healed sickness and sin. His treatment of evil
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                 6


 1	and disease, Science will restore and establish, — first,
  	because it was more effectual than all other means; and,
 3	second, because evil and disease will never disappear in
  	any other way. 
  	    Finally, brethren, let us continue to denounce evil as the
 6	illusive claim that God is not supreme, and continue to
  	fight it until it disappears, — but not as one that beateth
  	the mist, but lifteth his head above it and putteth his foot
 9	upon a lie. 


  	        EVIL, AS PERSONIFIED BY THE SERPENT 

  	    Mosaic theism introduces evil, first, in the form of a
12	talking serpent, contradicting the word of God and thereby
  	obtaining social prestige, a large following, and changing
  	the order and harmony of God's creation. But the higher
15	criticism is not satisfied with this theism, and asks, If God
  	is infinite good, what and where is evil? And if Spirit
  	made all that was made, how can matter be an intelligent
18	creator or coworker with God? Again:  Did one Mind,
  	or two minds, enter into the Scriptural allegory, in the
  	colloquy between good and evil, God and a serpent? — and
21	if two minds, what becomes of theism in Christianity? For
  	if God, good, is Mind, and evil also is mind, the Christian
  	religion has at least two Gods. If Spirit is sovereign, how
24	can matter be force or law; and if God, good, is omnipo-
  	tent, what power hath evil? 
  	    It is plain that elevating evil to the altitude of mind gives
27	it power, and that the belief in more than one spirit, if
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                 7


1	Spirit, God, is infinite, breaketh the First Commandment
  	in the Decalogue. 
 3	    Science shows that a plurality of minds, or intelligent
  	matter, signifies more than one God, and thus prevents the
  	demonstration that the healing Christ, Truth, gave and
 6	gives in proof of the omnipotence of one divine, infinite
  	Principle. 
  	    Does not the theism or belief, that after God, Spirit, had
 9	created all things spiritually, a material creation took
  	place, and God, the preserver of man, declared that man
  	should die, lose the character and sovereignty of Jehovah,
12	and hint the gods of paganism? 


  	                              THEISTIC RELIGIONS 

  	    We know of but three theistic religions, the Mosaic, the
15	Christian, and the Mohammedan. Does not each of these
  	religions mystify the absolute oneness and infinity of God,
  	Spirit? 
18	    A close study of the Old and New Testaments in con-
  	nection with the original text indicates, in the third chap-
  	ter of Genesis, a lapse in the Mosaic religion, wherein
21	theism seems meaningless, or a vague apology for con-
  	tradictions. It certainly gives to matter and evil reality
  	and power, intelligence and law, which implies Mind,
24	Spirit, God; and the logical sequence of this error is idol-
  	atry — other gods. 
  	    Again:  The hypothesis of mind in matter, or more than
27	one Mind, lapses into evil dominating good, matter govern-
  	ing Mind, and makes sin, disease, and death inevitable,
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  8


 1	despite of Mind, or by the consent of Mind! Next, it
  	follows that the disarrangement of matter causes a man to
 3	be mentally deranged; and the Babylonian sun god, moon
  	god, and sin god find expression in sun worship, lunacy,
  	sin, and mortality. 
 6	    Does not the belief that Jesus, the man of Galilee, is
  	God, imply two Gods, one the divine, infinite Person, the
  	other a human finite personality? Does not the belief
 9	that Mary was the mother of God deny the self-existence
  	of God? And does not the doctrine that Mohammed is
  	the only prophet of God infringe the sacredness of one
12	Christ Jesus? 


  	    SCIENTIFIC CHRISTIANITY MEANS ONE GOD 

  	    Christianity, as taught and demonstrated in the first
15	century by our great Master, virtually annulled the so-
  	called laws of matter, idolatry, pantheism, and polytheism. 
  	Christianity then had one God and one law, namely,
18	divine Science. It said, "Call no man your father upon
  	the earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven." 
  	Speaking of himself, Jesus said, "My Father is greater
21	than I." Christianity, as he taught and demonstrated it,
  	must ever rest on the basis of the First Commandment and
  	love for man. 
24	    The doctrines that embrace pantheism, polytheism, and
  	paganism are admixtures of matter and Spirit, truth and
  	error, sickness and sin, life and death. They make man
27	the servant of matter, living by reason of it, suffering be-
  	cause of it, and dying in consequence of it. They con-
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                  9


 1	stantly reiterate the belief of pantheism, that mind "sleeps
  	in the mineral, dreams in the animal, and wakes in man." 
 3	    "Infinite Spirit" means one God and His creation, and
  	no reality in aught else. The term "spirits" means more
  	than one Spirit; — in paganism they stand for gods; in
 6	spiritualism they imply men and women; and in Christian-
  	ity they signify a good Spirit and an evil spirit. 
  	    Is there a religion under the sun that hath demonstrated
 9	one God and the four first rules pertaining thereto, namely,
  	"Thou shalt have no other gods before me;" "Love thy
  	neighbor as thyself;" "Be ye therefore perfect, even as
12	your Father which is in heaven is perfect;" "Whosoever
  	liveth and believeth in me shall never die."  (John xi. 26.) 
  	    What mortal to-day is wise enough to do himself no
15	harm, to hinder not the attainment of scientific Chris-
  	tianity? Whoever demonstrates the highest humanity, — 
  	long-suffering, self-surrender, and spiritual endeavor to
18	bless others, — ought to be aided, not hindered, in his
  	holy mission. I would kiss the feet of such a messenger,
  	for to help such a one is to help one's self. The demon-
21	stration of Christianity blesses all mankind. It loves one's
  	neighbor as one's self; it loves its enemies — and this
  	love benefits its enemies (though they believe it not), and
24	rewards its possessor; for, "If ye love them which love you,
  	what reward have ye?" 


  	                  MAN THE TRUE IMAGE OF GOD 

27	    From a material standpoint, the best of people some-
  	times object to the philosophy of Christian Science, on the
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                10


 1	ground that it takes away man's personality and makes
  	man less than man. But what saith the apostle? — even
 3	this: "If a man think himself to be something, when he is
  	nothing, he deceiveth himself." The great Nazarene
  	Prophet said, "By their fruits ye shall know them:" then,
 6	if the effects of Christian Science on the lives of men
  	be thus judged, we are sure the honest verdict of hu-
  	manity will attest its uplifting power, and prevail over the
 9	opposite notion that Christian Science lessens man's in-
  	dividuality. 
  	    The students at the Massachusetts Metaphysical Col-
12	lege, generally, were the average man and woman. But
  	after graduation, the best students in the class averred
  	that they were stronger and better than before it. With
15	twelve lessons or less, the present and future of those stu-
  	dents had wonderfully broadened and brightened before
  	them, thus proving the utility of what they had been taught. 
18	Christian Scientists heal functional, organic, chronic, and
  	acute diseases that M.D.'s have failed to heal; and,
  	better still, they reform desperate cases of intemperance,
21	tobacco using, and immorality, which, we regret to say,
  	other religious teachers are unable to effect. All this is
  	accomplished by the grace of God, — the effect of God
24	understood. A higher manhood is manifest, and never
  	lost, in that individual who finds the highest joy, — there-
  	fore no pleasure in loathsome habits or in sin, and no
27	necessity for disease and death. Whatever promotes
  	statuesque being, health, and holiness does not degrade
  	man's personality. Sin, sickness, appetites, and passions,
30	constitute no part of man, but obscure man. Therefore it
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                11


 1	required the divinity of our Master to perceive the real
  	man, and to cast out the unreal or counterfeit. It caused
 3	St. Paul to write, — "Lie not one to another, seeing that
  	ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put
  	on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after
 6	the image of Him that created him." 
  	    Was our Master mistaken in judging a cause by its
  	effects? Shall the opinions, systems, doctrines, and dog-
 9	mas of men gauge the animus of man? or shall his stature
  	in Christ, Truth, declare him? Governed by the divine
  	Principle of his being, man is perfect. When will the
12	schools allow mortals to turn from clay to Soul for the
  	model? The Science of being, understood and obeyed,
  	will demonstrate man to be superior to the best church-
15	member or moralist on earth, who understands not this
  	Science. If man is spiritually fallen, it matters not what
  	he believes; he is not upright, and must regain his native
18	spiritual stature in order to be in proper shape, as certainly
  	as the man who falls physically needs to rise again. 
  	    Mortals, content with something less than perfection — 
21	the original standard of man — may believe that evil de-
  	velops good, and that whatever strips off evil's disguise be-
  	littles man's personality. But God enables us to know that
24	evil is not the medium of good, and that good supreme de-
  	stroys all sense of evil, obliterates the lost image that
  	mortals are content to call man, and demands man's un-
27	fallen spiritual perfectibility. 
  	    The grand realism that man is the true image of God,
  	not fallen or inverted, is demonstrated by Christian Science. 
30	And because Christ's dear demand, "Be ye therefore
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                12


 1	perfect," is valid, it will be found possible to fulfil it. Then
  	also will it be learned that good is not educed from evil,
 3	but comes from the rejection of evil and its modus operandi. 
  	Our scholarly expositor of the Scriptures, Lyman Abbott,
  	D.D., writes, "God, Spirit, is ever in universal nature." 
 6	Then, we naturally ask, how can Spirit be constantly pass-
  	ing out of mankind by death — for the universe includes
  	man? 


 9	               THE GRANDEUR OF CHRISTIANITY 

  	    This closing century, and its successors, will make strong
  	claims on religion, and demand that the inspired Scriptural
12	commands be fulfilled. The altitude of Christianity open-
  	eth, high above the so-called laws of matter, a door that no
  	man can shut; it showeth to all peoples the way of escape
15	from sin, disease, and death; it lifteth the burden of sharp
  	experience from off the heart of humanity, and so lighteth
  	the path that he who entereth it may run and not weary,
18	and walk, not wait by the roadside, — yea, pass gently on
  	without the alterative agonies whereby the way-seeker
  	gains and points the path. 
21	    The Science of Christianity is strictly monotheism, — 
  	it has ONE GOD. And this divine infinite Principle,
  	noumenon and phenomena, is demonstrably the self-
24	existent Life, Truth, Love, substance, Spirit, Mind, which
  	includes all that the term implies, and is all that is real and
  	eternal. Christian Science is irrevocable — unpierced
27	by bold conjecture's sharp point, by bald philosophy, or
  	by man's inventions. It is divinely true, and every hour
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                13


 1	in time and in eternity will witness more steadfastly to its
  	practical truth. And Science is not pantheism, but Chris-
 3	tian Science. 
  	    Chief among the questions herein, and nearest my
  	heart, is this:  When shall Christianity be demonstrated
 6	according to Christ, in these words: "Neither shall they
  	say, Lo, here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of
  	God is within you"? 


 9	                                      EXHORTATION 

  	    Beloved brethren, the love of our loving Lord was never
  	more manifest than in its stern condemnation of all error,
12	wherever found. I counsel thee, rebuke and exhort one
  	another. Love all Christian churches for the gospel's
  	sake; and be exceedingly glad that the churches are united
15	in purpose, if not in method, to close the war between
  	flesh and Spirit, and to fight the good fight till God's will
  	be witnessed and done on earth as in heaven. 
18	    Sooner or later all shall know Him, recognize the great
  	truth that Spirit is infinite, and find life in Him in whom
  	we do "live, and move, and have our being" — life in
21	Life, all in All. Then shall all nations, peoples, and
  	tongues, in the words of St. Paul, have "one God and
  	Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
24	you all."  (Ephesians iv. 6.) 
  	    Have I wearied you with the mysticism of opposites? 
  	Truly there is no rest in them, and I have only traversed
27	my subject that you may prove for yourselves the unsub-
 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                14


 1	stantial nature of whatever is unlike good, weigh a sigh,
  	and rise into the rest of righteousness with its triumphant
 3	train. 
  	    Once more I write, Set your affections on things above;
  	love one another; commune at the table of our Lord in one
 6	spirit; worship in spirit and in truth; and if daily adoring,
  	imploring, and living the divine Life, Truth, Love, thou
  	shalt partake of the bread that cometh down from heaven,
 9	drink of the cup of salvation, and be baptized in Spirit. 


  	            PRAYER FOR COUNTRY AND CHURCH 

  	    Pray for the prosperity of our country, and for her vic-
12	tory under arms; that justice, mercy, and peace continue
  	to characterize her government, and that they shall rule all
  	nations. Pray that the divine presence may still guide and
15	bless our chief magistrate, those associated with his execu-
  	tive trust, and our national judiciary; give to our congress
  	wisdom, and uphold our nation with the right arm of His
18	righteousness. 
  	    In your peaceful homes remember our brave soldiers,
  	whether in camp or in battle. ¹Oh, may their love of coun-
21	try, and their faithful service thereof, be unto them life-
  	preservers! May the divine Love succor and protect
  	them, as at Manila, where brave men, led by the dauntless
24	Dewey, and shielded by the power that saved them, sailed
  	victoriously through the jaws of death and blotted out the
  	Spanish squadron. 
27	    Great occasion have we to rejoice that our nation, which

  	      ¹This refers to the war between United States and Spain for
  	 the liberty of Cuba.

 
   
Christian Science vs. Pantheism by Mary Baker Eddy                15


1	fed her starving foe, — already murdering her peaceful
  	seamen and destroying millions of her money, — will be
 3	as formidable in war as she has been compassionate in
  	peace. 
  	    May our Father-Mother God, who in times past hath
 6	spread for us a table in the wilderness and "in the midst
  	of our enemies," establish us in the most holy faith, plant
  	our feet firmly on Truth, the rock of Christ, the "substance
 9	of things hoped for" — and fill us with the life and under-
  	standing of God, and good will towards men. 

  	                                                 MARY BAKER EDDY
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