Article June 26, 1920 Issue

The Church Triumphant

MINNA J. GENSEKE

JESUS said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Mrs. Eddy has made beautifully clear in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" that the rock upon which we build our church is the Christ, Truth, the healing Love. What is our concept of a Christian Science church? The question when presented to the thought of one Christian Scientist, brought out clearly the need of much prayerful work. Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 583) that Church is "the structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle;" and she continues, "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick." In the whole definition there is no mention of a material building and no mention of a human person. Do we not, when thinking of church, sometimes think of the material building and certain persons as constituting our church, rather than the reflection of Truth and Love? It was very helpful to the writer when she learned that a Christian Science church was not made up of material persons. The action of a material person can no more destroy or disturb the harmony of a Christian Science church than the action of a material personality can destroy or disturb the reflection of God.

Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 35), "We can unite with this church only as we are newborn of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love,—casting out error and healing the sick." Then in uniting with this church do we unite our human self or do we unite the newborn spirit of Truth and Love? Only our pure thoughts which are the reflection of God—Life, Truth, and Love—can belong to our church. Then will we understand that our church is not human but divine, that it does rest upon and proceed from divine Principle, God. To exclude any idea of God from our thought of church would be to exclude from our vision the perfect creation of God. What we need to include in our concept of a Christian Science church is not persons but the entire reflection of Truth and Love, and what we need to exclude is not persons but mortal mind, material thinking; then our church will provide no channel through which discord can be manifested. Needless to say, if every member of a Christian Science church thought not materially but always spiritually, there would be no church problems. Thus each one of us should be constantly alert.

Was it not the understanding that every idea of God is the "structure of Truth and Love," that every idea does rest upon and proceed from God, divine Principle, that enabled Jesus instantaneously to heal the sick and purify the sinner? If every member of a Christian Science church would go to service with the clear realization that our church does afford the "proof of its utility," that the words of Truth read from our desks are "rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science," those who have come with a belief of sin, sorrow, or sickness would go away healed.

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