Editorial May 17, 1919 Issue

Our Textbooks

Ella W. Hoag

Science is knowledge declaring the truth about a subject. It includes the correct and demonstrable definitions of the governing laws of such a subject. For centuries mankind has been searching for the truth about everything. He has sought in every conceivable direction to find divine law, since Truth, or God, alone can satisfy. However, so long as his investigation, even though named by him scientific, has been based on anything less than Truth itself, this basis has always been proved to be but shifting sand, changing with each new phase of belief. The Science of Truth, then, was the great need of mankind, and God met this need by preparing Mary Baker Eddy to receive, and by inspiring her to give to the world, the revelation of the Science of divine Mind, of Life, Truth, Love,—in other words, Christian Science, which is the scientific explanation of Christ, Truth.

The Christian Scientist starts out with the understanding that in Christian Science he has God's revelation of the perfect Science of being, and nothing short of its perfectness can ever again satisfy him. Having once really seen that Christian Science is based upon Principle and remains true to Principle in every statement, he can never be tempted to look in other directions to find the laws of Truth. That Science may be made available to all, it must have textbooks defining its laws and rules and their method of demonstration. Who could be so well fitted to tell what these textbooks are as the one to whom the revelation of Science was given? In the Manual (Art. IV, Sect. 1), in reference to applicants for membership in The Mother Church, we find the following: "The Bible, together with Science and Health and other works by Mrs. Eddy, shall be his only textbooks for self-instruction in Christian Science, and for teaching and practising metaphysical healing." These are, therefore, undeniably the books which should be studied in order that a demonstrable understanding of their rules may be gained. This command of the Manual leaves no bypaths in which the unwary student may wander, but on the contrary marks out the way so plainly that, if he will but obey, he will certainly be protected from all possible misconceptions in regard to the teachings of Christian Science.

It is scarcely necessary to define the position of the Bible in connection with the study of Christian Science, since Christian Science derives its sanction from the Bible. The earnest study of the Scriptures by devoted Christians for many hundreds of years had, however, failed to win the spiritual sense necessary to the demonstration of God's laws in healing sickness as well as sin. When God, therefore, inspired our beloved Leader to write the book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," the world was given the perfect commentary on the Bible, which must from henceforth stand side by side with the Bible in the intelligent study of either. These two books, alone in all the literature of all the ages, contain the proclamation and definition of God and His laws, affording the perfect rules for demonstrating the same. Then it is therein that every Christian Scientist must look for the method whereby he is to prove for himself the Science of Christ, Truth, which shall deliver him from every form of evil.

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The Living God
May 17, 1919
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