Article November 22, 1919 Issue

Christian Science does not teach any use of the so-called...

Willard J. Welch—Keokuk, Iowa

The Gate City

Christian Science does not teach any use of the so-called human mind,—suggestion, mesmerism, hypnotism, occultism, spiritualism, or any degree or measure of so-called mental influence. Its statement to the human mind is the still, small voice of Truth, which reveals God as Spirit and His child as spiritual, and hence immune from all beliefs of evil.

It is a mistake to say that Christian Science teaches that "realization and affirmation" are effective "up to a certain point in creating or bringing into manifestation desirable conditions." Let us see. An affirmation may be either true or false. A liar intending to deceive may make an affirmation of falsehood. The ignorant may unwittingly affirm error as truth. Is it not evident that the sole potency of an affirmation lies in the truth of the affirmation?

Few persons will deny the truth of the affirmation, "God is good." This is a basic statement of Christian Science. All Christian admit that, as John says, "all things were made by him [God]; and without him was not any thing made that was made." It follows that God and His creation comprise all that exists. God is Spirit. He made man in His own image and likeness. Man therefore is not "spirit" but spiritual; that is, he possesses through reflection the qualities of Spirit, God, his creator and Father. Further, God must be perfect, and it likewise follows that man in His image is also perfect; that is, expresses perfection. Christian Science teaches the sick man the truth about God and about himself as the son of God. This enables him to see and to affirm the truth, which is potent to lift his thought our of his mistaken sense of life into reality,—into the desirable condition of health and right living, conditions not created by his affirmation but recognized by it.

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