Article January 18, 1908 Issue

DYNAMIC CHRISTIANITY

RICHARD P. VERRALL.

Webster defines "dynamics" as "the science of moving forces," and the Standard Dictionary distinguishes between the common acceptation of the term and its deeper and more spiritual meaning, citing as an instance "spiritual dynamics." In view of this latter meaning, the gospel of Christ may fittingly be termed a dynamic dispensation, for its ministry was fraught, even to human sense, with signs of power.

Christian Science has now come to explain the dynamics of Jesus, and to restore the lost element of spiritual healing. Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of this Science of healing, shows us that it was his understanding of the power of Mind which enabled Jesus to speak to the multitudes "as one having authority, and not as the scribes." When the gospel was preached to the Greeks and Romans in the apostolic days, it was hailed as a subject for academic discussion. The stoics and philosophers became more interested in theorizing about Christianity than in living its truths, while Hellenic erudition and Latin culture soon wove about it a tangled web of materialistic concepts, obscuring for a time its primitive purpose.

The wisdom of Mrs. Eddy in disentangling the spirit of Jesus' teachings form the tradition of men, is especially marked in her careful protection of the letter of Christian Science from human opinion. She discourages excessive talking or theorizing upon the subject, insisting that "truth is revealed. It needs only to be practised" (Science and Health, p. 174). She says of Jesus that "his words were the offspring of his deeds" (Science and Health, p. 350), and of herself, "All that I have written, taught, or lived, that is good, flowed through crossbearing, self-forgetfulness, and my faith in the right" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 213). All should recognize the importance of faith without works. Religion without healing power is like a body without life. St. James said, "Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." In a word, it is the dynamic rather than the static forces of Christianity that must be evoked if the works of the devil are to be destroyed.

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