Article May 29, 1909 Issue

It is the teaching of Christian Science that Jesus Christ...

Alfred Farlow

Orangeville (Ont.) Banner

It is the teaching of Christian Science that Jesus Christ is the way out of all evil. It is the mission of Christian Science to bring the Christ to the consciousness of the individual, and thus show mortals how to follow the example of our Lord. Christian Science recognizes the coming of Christ Jesus in the flesh and inculcates a high respect for his teaching and example.

The term good applies to God, not only in Christian Science, but in the Scriptures also. Jesus said, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." Of course the term "good" as well as the term "Principle" must be understood in a divine sense. These terms when used with reference to Deity are not used in the ordinary sense in Christian Science teaching. To say that God is Principle is to say that He is the one infinite creator, the only cause, the foundation or beginning of all that exists, the heavenly Father, the one intelligence which governs the entire universe. In her teaching, Mrs. Eddy declares that God is not person in an anthropomorphic sense, but in an "infinite sense."

A critic declares: "Mrs. Eddy says sin and death are native nothingness." He might have added that Jesus taught the same when he said of Jairus' daughter, "She is not dead, but sleepeth." The Master evidenced an understanding of death differing from that which was known and believed by the people of his time. He said of Lazarus: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth;" but when he discovered that they did not understand his meaning, "then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." These two experiences indicate an understanding that what seemed to be death was simply a dormant mental condition from which its victims could be awakened through divine power, and in both instances Jesus proved the fact by raising the dead. The Christian Scientist does not deny that sin and disease exist in what Solomon called "the error of life," although he adheres faithfully to the teaching that God made only the "very good" things. Consistently with this teaching he recognizes that evil has only a mythical existence, and can therefore be overcome by the power of Truth, by putting "off the old man with his deeds" and putting "on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

It is the teaching of Christian Science that Jesus Christ...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access