Article August 8, 1914 Issue

Education and Inspiration

LEWIS C. STRANG

In response to the question, "How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science?" a question which instantly arises when the investigator catches a glimpse of the tremendous import of Mrs. Eddy's teaching, there comes the answer, "Study thoroghly the letter and imbibe the spirit" (Science and Health, p. 495). Thus are brought tersely into juxtaposition the two distinct mental processes characteristic of all spiritual development,—the educational and the inspirational.

By the educational process is meant a definite directing of the mental faculties to the work of investigating and comprehending the letter of Christian Science. By inspirational, is meant those vivid flashes of insight into the truth of being, flashes humanly transcendental, but bearing the mark of divine authority in the demonstrations of physical healing and spiritual regeneration that accompany them. A single experience of this sort brings an understand of Jesus' marvelous power which no amount of polemics can convey, and produces a conviction of spiritual reality which years of faultless argument cannot engender.

As the human mind has a tendency to swing from one extreme to another, the Christian Scientist finds himself continually facing the necessity of accurately balancing in his mental activities the educational and the inspirational. On the one side, he is tempted to be satisfied with a speculative familiarity with the Christian Science philosophy and point of view, until he finds them only "dry bones" in time of dire necessity. Then possibly he goes to the opposite excess, into a kind of sentimentalized spiritual transcendentalism, dealing with vague generalities and an indefinite undemonstrated idealism. Between these lies the right road, traveling which the human mind is intelligently educated out of itself and inspiration is found to be the normal and natural status of man.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Education and Inspiration

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access