Article May 20, 1916 Issue

Mrs. Eddy, the best authority on the subject of Christian Science,...

Frank C. Barrett

Lewiston (Maine) Journal

Mrs. Eddy, the best authority on the subject of Christian Science, says: "Sickness is neither imaginary nor unreal,—that is, to the frightened, false sense of the patient. Sickness is more than fancy; it is solid conviction. It is therefore to be dealt with through right apprehension of the truth of being. If Christian healing is abused by mere smatterers in Science, it becomes a tedious mischief-maker. Instead of scientifically effecting a cure, it starts a petty crossfire over every cripple and invalid, buffeting them with the superficial and cold assertion, 'Nothing ails you'" (Science and Health, p. 460). From this it must be quite clear that Christian Science treatment does not depend upon will-power or the declaration that "nothing ails you."

Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Truth frees us from that which is false, no matter what the error may be. When the Master spoke of the woman "whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years," he did not speak of her as having been bound by Truth, but by Satan, whom he declared to be a "liar." His knowledge of Truth enabled him to detect the false bond of the liar, or deceiver, and free the woman from its false claim. This process of eliminating evil through an apprehension of the truth of being, which destroys evil, is not will-power, but spiritual understanding.

Christian Scientists have learned to think of all evil, sickness, and disease as discord, error; and in order to free themselves or others from any discordant condition it is necessary to rise in consciousness beyond the reach or taint of evil and dwell "in the secret place of the most High," and there "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." When one is thus "hid with Christ in God," and realizes that man made in the image and likeness of God is always protected by his heavenly Father, then the promises in the ninety-first psalm are renewedly fulfilled, where it says, "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," and "With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." This most holy communion with God is the method of Christian Science practice, and cannot be confused by the most casual reader with mental suggestion or will-power. Mrs. Eddy says that this spiritual sense "is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God. It shows the superiority of faith by works over faith in words" (Science and Health, p. 209).

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Mrs. Eddy, the best authority on the subject of Christian Science,...

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