0.0 – Science & Health by Mary Baker Eddy Chapter 6 – Section 2 of 3 – Science, Theology and Medicine – 1910 Edition

THEOLOGY
At this point the book shows that the divine laws are beginning to pour into our consciousness, leavening, translating and transforming everything. The Science of God and man comes to us as a true theology…"I and my Father are one," as Jesus defined it …

~ DISSOLVING BARRIERS, The Healing Work of Christian Science by John L. Morgan
    

12	THEOLOGY 

  	    Must Christian Science come through the Christian
  	churches as some persons insist? This Science has come
15	already, after the manner of God's appoint-	Churchly
  	ing, but the churches seem not ready to re-	neglect 
  	ceive it, according to the Scriptural saying, "He came
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
21	and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes:  even
  	so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." As afore-
  	time, the spirit of the Christ, which taketh away the cere-
24	monies and doctrines of men, is not accepted until the
  	hearts of men are made ready for it. 
  	    The mission of Jesus confirmed prophecy, and ex-
27	plained the so-called miracles of olden time as natural
  	demonstrations of the divine power, demonstra-	John the
  	tions which were not understood. Jesus' works	Baptist, and
30	established his claim to the Messiahship. In	the Messiah 
  	reply to John's inquiry, "Art thou he that should come,"
 
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 1	Jesus returned an affirmative reply, recounting his works
  	instead of referring to his doctrine, confident that this
 3	exhibition of the divine power to heal would fully an-
  	swer the question. Hence his reply: "Go and show
  	John again those things which ye do hear and see:  the
 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
 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
12	Mind, prove the unity of God, — the divine Principle
  	which brings out all harmony. 
  	    The Pharisees of old thrust the spiritual idea and the
15	man who lived it out of their synagogues, and retained
  	their materialistic beliefs about God. Jesus'	Christ
  	system of healing received no aid nor approval	rejected 
18	from other sanitary or religious systems, from doctrines
  	of physics or of divinity; and it has not yet been gener-
  	ally accepted. To-day, as of yore, unconscious of the
21	reappearing of the spiritual idea, blind belief shuts the
  	door upon it, and condemns the cure of the sick and sin-
  	ning if it is wrought on any but a material and a doctrinal
24	theory. Anticipating this rejection of idealism, of the
  	true idea of God, — this salvation from all error, physi-
  	cal and mental, — Jesus asked, "When the Son of man
27	cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" 
  	    Did the doctrines of John the Baptist confer healing
  	power upon him, or endow him with the truest concep-
30	tion of the Christ? This righteous preacher	John's
  	once pointed his disciples to Jesus as "the	misgivings 
  	Lamb of God;" yet afterwards he seriously questioned
 
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 1	the signs of the Messianic appearing, and sent the inquiry
  	to Jesus, "Art thou he that should come?" 
 3	    Was John's faith greater than that of the Samaritan
  	woman, who said, "Is not this the Christ?" 	Faith according
  	There was also a certain centurion of whose	to works 
 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
 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
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
15	idea, their demoralization began. Even in captivity
  	among foreign nations, the divine Principle wrought
  	wonders for the people of God in the fiery furnace and
18	in kings' palaces. 
  	    Judaism was the antithesis of Christianity, because
  	Judaism engendered the limited form of a national or
21	tribal religion. It was a finite and material	Judaism
  	system, carried out in special theories concern-	antipathetic 
  	ing God, man, sanitary methods, and a religious cultus. 
24	That he made "himself equal with God," was one of the
  	Jewish accusations against him who planted Christianity
  	on the foundation of Spirit, who taught as he was in-
27	spired by the Father and would recognize no life, intelli-
  	gence, nor substance outside of God. 
  	    The Jewish conception of God, as Yawah, Jehovah,
30	or only a mighty hero and king, has not quite	Priestly
  	given place to the true knowledge of God. 	learning 
  	Creeds and rituals have not cleansed their hands of
 
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 1	rabbinical lore. To-day the cry of bygone ages is re-
  	peated, "Crucify him!" At every advancing step, truth
 3	is still opposed with sword and spear. 
  	    The word martyr, from the Greek, means witness; but
  	those who testified for Truth were so often persecuted
 6	unto death, that at length the word martyr	Testimony
  	was narrowed in its significance and so has	of martyrs 
  	come always to mean one who suffers for his convictions. 
 9	The new faith in the Christ, Truth, so roused the hatred
  	of the opponents of Christianity, that the followers of
  	Christ were burned, crucified, and otherwise persecuted;
12	and so it came about that human rights were hallowed
  	by the gallows and the cross. 
  	    Man-made doctrines are waning. They have not waxed
15	strong in times of trouble. Devoid of the Christ-power,
  	how can they illustrate the doctrines of Christ	Absence of
  	or the miracles of grace? Denial of the possi-	Christ-power 
18	bility of Christian healing robs Christianity of the very
  	element, which gave it divine force and its astonishing and
  	unequalled success in the first century. 
21	    The true Logos is demonstrably Christian Science, the
  	natural law of harmony which overcomes discord, — not
  	because this Science is supernatural or pre-	Basis of
24	ternatural, nor because it is an infraction of	miracles 
  	divine law, but because it is the immutable law of God,
  	good. Jesus said: "I knew that Thou hearest me al-
27	ways;" and he raised Lazarus from the dead, stilled the
  	tempest, healed the sick, walked on the water. There
  	is divine authority for believing in the superiority of
30	spiritual power over material resistance. 
  	    A miracle fulfils God's law, but does not violate that
  	law. This fact at present seems more mysterious than
 

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 1	the miracle itself. The Psalmist sang: "What ailed
  	thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan,
 3	that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains,	Lawful
  	that ye skipped like rams, and ye little hills,	wonders 
  	like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the
 6	Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob." The miracle
  	introduces no disorder, but unfolds the primal order,
  	establishing the Science of God's unchangeable law. 
 9	Spiritual evolution alone is worthy of the exercise of
  	divine power. 
  	    The same power which heals sin heals also sickness. 
12	This is "the beauty of holiness," that when Truth heals
  	the sick, it casts out evils, and when Truth	Fear and
  	casts out the evil called disease, it heals the	sickness
15	sick. When Christ cast out the devil of	identical 
  	dumbness, "it came to pass, when the devil was gone out,
  	the dumb spake." There is to-day danger of repeating
18	the offence of the Jews by limiting the Holy One of Israel
  	and asking: "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" 
  	What cannot God do? 
21	    It has been said, and truly, that Christianity must be
  	Science, and Science must be Christianity, else one or the
  	other is false and useless; but neither is unim-	The unity of
24	portant or untrue, and they are alike in demon-	Science and
  	stration. This proves the one to be identical	Christianity 
  	with the other. Christianity as Jesus taught it was not
27	a creed, nor a system of ceremonies, nor a special gift
  	from a ritualistic Jehovah; but it was the demonstration
  	of divine Love casting out error and healing the sick,
30	not merely in the name of Christ, or Truth, but in demon-
  	stration of Truth, as must be the case in the cycles of
  	divine light. 
 
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 1	    Jesus established his church and maintained his mission
  	on a spiritual foundation of Christ-healing. He taught
 3	his followers that his religion had a divine	The
  	Principle, which would cast out error and heal	Christ-mission 
  	both the sick and the sinning. He claimed no intelli-
 6	gence, action, nor life separate from God. Despite the
  	persecution this brought upon him, he used his divine
  	power to save men both bodily and spiritually. 
 9	    The question then as now was, How did Jesus heal the
  	sick? His answer to this question the world rejected. 
  	He appealed to his students: "Whom do	Ancient
12	men say that I, the Son of man, am?" That	spiritualism 
  	is:  Who or what is it that is thus identified with casting
  	out evils and healing the sick? They replied, "Some
15	say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and
  	others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." These prophets
  	were considered dead, and this reply may indicate that
18	some of the people believed that Jesus was a medium,
  	controlled by the spirit of John or of Elias. 
  	    This ghostly fancy was repeated by Herod himself. 
21	That a wicked king and debauched husband should have
  	no high appreciation of divine Science and the great work
  	of the Master, was not surprising; for how could such
24	a sinner comprehend what the disciples did not fully
  	understand? But even Herod doubted if Jesus was con-
  	trolled by the sainted preacher. Hence Herod's asser-
27	tion: "John have I beheaded:  but who is this?" No
  	wonder Herod desired to see the new Teacher. 
  	    The disciples apprehended their Master better than
30	did others; but they did not comprehend all	Doubting
  	that he said and did, or they would not have	disciples 
  	questioned him so often. Jesus patiently persisted in
 

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 1	teaching and demonstrating the truth of being. His stu-
  	dents saw this power of Truth heal the sick, cast out evil,
 3	raise the dead; but the ultimate of this wonderful work
  	was not spiritually discerned, even by them, until after the
  	crucifixion, when their immaculate Teacher stood before
 6	them, the victor over sickness, sin, disease, death, and
  	the grave. 
  	    Yearning to be understood, the Master repeated,
 9	"But whom say ye that I am?" This renewed inquiry
  	meant:  Who or what is it that is able to do the work, so
  	mysterious to the popular mind? In his rejection of the
12	answer already given and his renewal of the question,
  	it is plain that Jesus completely eschewed the narrow
  	opinion implied in their citation of the common report
15	about him. 
  	    With his usual impetuosity, Simon replied for his
  	brethren, and his reply set forth a great fact: "Thou
18	art the Christ, the Son of the living God!" 	A divine
  	That is:  The Messiah is what thou hast de-	response 
  	clared, — Christ, the spirit of God, of Truth, Life, and
21	Love, which heals mentally. This assertion elicited from
  	Jesus the benediction, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-
  	jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
24	but my Father which is in heaven;" that is, Love hath
  	shown thee the way of Life! 
  	    Before this the impetuous disciple had been called
27	only by his common names, Simon Bar-jona, or son of
  	Jona; but now the Master gave him a spir-	The true and
  	itual name in these words: "And I say also	living rock 
30	unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock [the
  	meaning of the Greek word petros, or stone] I will build
  	my church; and the gates of hell [hades, the under-
 

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 1	world, or the grave] shall not prevail against it." In
  	other words, Jesus purposed founding his society, not
 3	on the personal Peter as a mortal, but on the God-
  	power which lay behind Peter's confession of the true
  	Messiah. 
 6	    It was now evident to Peter that divine Life, Truth, and
  	Love, and not a human personality, was the healer of the
  	sick and a rock, a firm foundation in the realm	Sublime
 9	of harmony. On this spiritually scientific basis	summary 
  	Jesus explained his cures, which appeared miraculous to
  	outsiders. He showed that diseases were cast out neither
12	by corporeality, by materia medica, nor by hygiene, but by
  	the divine Spirit, casting out the errors of mortal mind. 
  	The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which
15	Jesus built. His sublime summary points to the religion
  	of Love. 
  	    Jesus established in the Christian era the precedent for
18	all Christianity, theology, and healing. Christians are
  	under as direct orders now, as they were then,	New era
  	to be Christlike, to possess the Christ-spirit, to	in Jesus 
21	follow the Christ-example, and to heal the sick as well as
  	the sinning. It is easier for Christianity to cast out sick-
  	ness than sin, for the sick are more willing to part with
24	pain than are sinners to give up the sinful, so-called pleas-
  	ure of the senses. The Christian can prove this to-day as
  	readily as it was proved centuries ago. 
27	    Our Master said to every follower: "Go ye into all the
  	world, and preach the gospel to every creature! . . . 
  	Heal the sick! . . . Love thy neighbor as	Healthful
30	thyself!" It was this theology of Jesus which	theology 
  	healed the sick and the sinning. It is his theology in this
  	book and the spiritual meaning of this theology, which
 
 
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1	heals the sick and causes the wicked to "forsake his way,
  	and the unrighteous man his thoughts." It was our Mas-
 3	ter's theology which the impious sought to destroy. 
  	    From beginning to end, the Scriptures are full of
  	accounts of the triumph of Spirit, Mind, over matter. 
 6	Moses proved the power of Mind by what men	Marvels and
  	called miracles; so did Joshua, Elijah, and	reformations 
  	Elisha. The Christian era was ushered in with signs and
 9	wonders. Reforms have commonly been attended with
  	bloodshed and persecution, even when the end has been
  	brightness and peace; but the present new, yet old, re-
12	form in religious faith will teach men patiently and wisely
  	to stem the tide of sectarian bitterness, whenever it flows
  	inward. 
15	    The decisions by vote of Church Councils as to what
  	should and should not be considered Holy Writ; the man-
  	ifest mistakes in the ancient versions; the	Science
18	thirty thousand different readings in the Old	obscured 
  	Testament, and the three hundred thousand in the New,
  	 — these facts show how a mortal and material sense stole
21	into the divine record, with its own hue darkening to some
  	extent the inspired pages. But mistakes could neither
  	wholly obscure the divine Science of the Scriptures seen
24	from Genesis to Revelation, mar the demonstration of
  	Jesus, nor annul the healing by the prophets, who foresaw
  	that "the stone which the builders rejected" would be-
27	come "the head of the corner." 
  	    Atheism, pantheism, theosophy, and agnosticism are
  	opposed to Christian Science, as they are to ordinary re-
30	ligion; but it does not follow that the profane	Opponents
  	or atheistic invalid cannot be healed by Chris-	benefited 
  	tian Science. The moral condition of such a man de-
 

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 1	mands the remedy of Truth more than it is needed in most
  	cases; and Science is more than usually effectual in the
 3	treatment of moral ailments. 
  	    That God is a corporeal being, nobody can truly affirm. 
  	The Bible represents Him as saying: "Thou canst not
 6	see My face; for there shall no man see Me,	God invisible
  	and live." Not materially but spiritually we	to the senses 
  	know Him as divine Mind, as Life, Truth, and Love. We
 9	shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the
  	divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no
  	more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence
12	of our God. Religion will then be of the heart and not of
  	the head. Mankind will no longer be tyrannical and pro-
  	scriptive from lack of love, — straining out gnats and
15	swallowing camels. 
  	    We worship spiritually, only as we cease to worship
  	materially. Spiritual devoutness is the soul of Chris-
18	tianity. Worshipping through the medium of	The true
  	matter is paganism. Judaic and other rituals	worship 
  	are but types and shadows of true worship. "The true
21	worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
  	truth." 
  	    The Jewish tribal Jehovah was a man-projected God,
24	liable to wrath, repentance, and human changeableness. 
  	The Christian Science God is universal, eter-	Anthropomorphism 
  	nal, divine Love, which changeth not and caus-
27	eth no evil, disease, nor death. It is indeed mournfully
  	true that the older Scripture is reversed. In the begin-
  	ning God created man in His, God's, image; but mor-
30	tals would procreate man, and make God in their own
  	human image. What is the god of a mortal, but a mortal
  	magnified? 
 
 
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1	    This indicates the distance between the theological and
  	ritualistic religion of the ages and the truth preached by
 3	Jesus. More than profession is requisite for	More than
  	Christian demonstration. Few understand or	profession
  	adhere to Jesus' divine precepts for living and	required 
 6	healing. Why? Because his precepts require the disci-
  	ple to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye,
  	 — that is, to set aside even the most cherished beliefs
 9	and practices, to leave all for Christ. 
  	    All revelation (such is the popular thought!) must come
  	from the schools and along the line of scholarly and eccle-
12	siastical descent, as kings are crowned from a	No
  	royal dynasty. In healing the sick and sinning,	ecclesiastical
  	Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect	monopoly 
15	followed the understanding of the divine Principle and
  	of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus. 
  	For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical
18	monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sover-
  	eignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man. The
  	Bible declares that all believers are made "kings and
21	priests unto God." The outsiders did not then, and
  	do not now, understand this ruling of the Christ; there-
  	fore they cannot demonstrate God's healing power. 
24	Neither can this manifestation of Christ be com-
  	prehended, until its divine Principle is scientifically
  	understood. 
27	    The adoption of scientific religion and of divine heal-
  	ing will ameliorate sin, sickness, and death. Let our
  	pulpits do justice to Christian Science. Let	A change
30	it have fair representation by the press. Give	demanded 
  	to it the place in our institutions of learning now occu-
  	pied by scholastic theology and physiology, and it will
 
 

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1	eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems,
  	devised for subduing them, have required for self-estab-
 3	lishment and propagation. 
  	    Anciently the followers of Christ, or Truth, measured
  	Christianity by its power over sickness, sin, and death;
 6	but modern religions generally omit all but one	Two claims
  	of these powers, — the power over sin. We	omitted 
  	must seek the undivided garment, the whole Christ, as our
 9	first proof of Christianity, for Christ, Truth, alone can
  	furnish us with absolute evidence. 
  	    If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and archi-
12	tectural skill, making dome and spire tremulous with
  	beauty, turn the poor and the stranger from the	Selfishness
  	gate, they at the same time shut the door on	and loss 
15	progress. In vain do the manger and the cross tell their
  	story to pride and fustian. Sensuality palsies the right
  	hand, and causes the left to let go its grasp on the divine. 
18	    As in Jesus' time, so to-day, tyranny and pride need to
  	be whipped out of the temple, and humility and divine Sci-
  	ence to be welcomed in. The strong cords of	Temple
21	scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded	cleansed 
  	by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their
  	vain traffic in worldly worship and to make them meet
24	dwelling-places for the Most High. SHOW ALL