Article October 27, 1917 Issue

Christian Science holds that God is infinite in every one...

Duncan Sinclair—Glasgow, Scotland

Patrick Gazette

Christian Science holds that God is infinite in every one of the attributes of His divine being. Thus, God is infinite Life, infinite Truth, infinite Love, infinite good. Since God is infinite Life, so-called death cannot be part of His consciousness. Therefore the words which your correspondent quotes, viz., "Death is unreal in the absolute sense, that is, that it does not exist in the consciousness of God," express precisely the position of Christian Science. There is no getting away from the logic of the position. To assume that death is real, in the absolute sense, is to deny that God is infinite Life. But Christian Science declines to limit God as Life, because to do so is simply to deny the truth about Him.

On the other hand, as has been said before, Christian Science does not deny that death occurs, as a phenomenon, on the material plane of human consciousness. Indeed, Christian Science holds that every erroneous belief held by mortals will ultimately be destroyed; but nothing that exists in divine Mind can ever pass away. Paul certainly said to the Corinthian church. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Undoubtedly the apostle knew that death was altogether the result of mortal error; and the same knowledge unquestionably inspired his question to King Agrippa, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?"

Christian Science draws the clearest possible distinction between divine consciousness, or infinite Mind, and the so-called human consciousness, or material sense of things; and it is as this distinction is understood that one is able to apprehend the mission of Christ Jesus and the sayings of the apostles relative thereto. In every one of the wonders of healing performed by Jesus the power of divine Mind or Truth was manifested over the material beliefs of mortals; and the same happened when he raised the dead. Throughout the whole of the earthly career of the Nazarene the power of Truth over the errors of human belief was being demonstrated; and assuredly he proved in his own case that spiritual understanding could triumph over even the human belief called death when he rose from the grave on the third day. But if death had been real, in the sense that it was part of divine consciousness, not even Jesus could have overcome it

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