Article June 16, 1917 Issue

Church-going

GUSTAVUS S. PAINE

Church-going from a metaphysical standpoint is much more than mere attendance at some form of public worship. On page 583 of the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy has pointed out that "church" is "the structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." True church-going, therefore, must be a whole-hearted turning to that which spiritually manifests divine Principle. In other words, daily and hourly activity in accordance with Principle may be said to be practical church-going.

The real man in the image and likeness of God is of course always acting in accordance with Principle and thus experiencing the unlimited blessing of membership in the true church. The human counterfeit, otherwise known as mortal man, needs however to turn away from so-called material causes and impulses to the one true cause, God, and His qualities. In proportion as this turning goes on sincerely, human imperfections necessarily give way before the actuality of the divine nature. Thus each one may prove for himself that genuine church-going does redeem and heal.

Among the infinite qualities proceeding from Principle and therefore constituting the true church are activity, order, strength, sureness, and rejoicing. Divine intelligence is conscious only of these and other right qualities. It is demonstrable that this divine consciousness is, that man expresses this consciousness now, and that it includes no negative element, no element of destruction; hence as human thought recognizes this divine consciousness and its expression, God and real man, the fear, weakness, inactivity or overactivity, disorder, and pain—all destructive elements—of the hypothetical mortal consciousness fade away in the presence of the activity, order, strength, sureness, and rejoicing of the divine reality. In this way human thought may go to the true church daily. The wholeness of the orderly activity of the divine consciousness is indeed health. That is why the daily turning in thought to the right concept of church, or in other words ceaseless prayer, is healing. In so far as one is serving Principle in his every activity and thus evincing constantly the qualities of the true church, he is proving that going to church metaphysically is the one way of busying one's self which is really worth while.

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