Article May 29, 1915 Issue

Man Not Separate From God

WILLIS F. GROSS

According to the teaching of Christian Science the statement "I and my Father are one" had reference to the real man's unity with God. On one occasion Jesus prayed not only for his immediate disciples "but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." Jesus understood man's relation to God, and when he prayed for the exemplification of this scientific unity he asked no more than would surely follow if his teachings were understood and put into practice. Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 18), "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father." Even the discoveries of natural science contradict sense-testimony and demonstrate that the material concept of things is far from correct, and humanity has lost nothing by learning that the finite sense of things is not to be depended upon. Christian Science demonstrates the falsity of material theories concerning God, man, and the universe, and the greater good revealed far outweighs that which seems to have been taken away. The mortal sense of man is no more correct than his material belief about God.

One of the fundamental errors of mortal existence is the belief that man has conscious being separate and apart from God; that he possesses a life and an intelligence which are not godlike, and by reason of which he is able to think and act according to his own material inclinations. In harmony with this concept of things is the belief that he exists independently of his creator and revolves in an orbit of his own. A mortal's thought of existence seems so completely separated from God that in some cases he is inclined to doubt whether there is a God.

So long as the material theory of man's origin and existence is accepted as true, it is impossible to understand the Scriptural teaching that man is created in the divine image and likeness and that he lives, moves, and has his being in God. The declaration of Jesus that he could do nothing of himself, seems incomprehensible to material sense. Mortal man believes he is able to accomplish so much in his own strength and through the exercise of his own intelligence, that he is altogether unprepared to accept the statement that man can succeed in no undertaking without God's help. He is content to believe in his own power, and he experiences great delight in the contemplation of what he is pleased to call the work of his own hands; and so long as his efforts are successful he sees no need of turning to God for help. He seeks to impress the world with the thought of his intelligence, greatness, and power.

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