Article December 23, 1922 Issue

Mrs. Eddy nowhere teaches the doctrine of three persons...

Samuel J. Macdonald, Committee on Publication for the State of New Jersey, in—Rutherford

Bible Truth

Mrs. Eddy nowhere teaches the doctrine of three persons in one God; on the contrary, she expressly repudiates this doctrine. On page 256 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" she declares, "The theory of three persons in one God (that is, a personal Trinity or Tri-unity) suggests polytheism, rather than the one ever-present I am." The fact that God is manifested to human apprehension in three-fold unity, by no means implies a triple personality. Even a man may appear in three, or even more, capacities; but no one deduces from this any mystery of three personalities. For example, Mr. Harding appears to Americans as President, citizen, and "husband of one wife," to use the Apostle Paul's phrase; but no one is confused or alarmed by this triune manifestation, or becomes controversial over Mr. Harding's personality. If Christians would stop making a theological mystery of the Trinity, they would thus save themselves much confusion and controversy.

The critic finds a second difficulty in Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 291 of Science and Health that "heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind." This, he says, is "to deny Him a dwelling place;" but he does not enlighten us by pointing out or describing any "locality" as God's dwelling place. It is a well-settled rule of reason and logic that the burden of proof is upon the one holding the affirmative of a proposition. Therefore, he who holds that heaven is a locality should be prepared to show affirmatively where and how that locality is situated. Has any one ever successfully borne this burden of proof? Jesus said, "God is a Spirit;" and it must follow that Spirit's dwelling place is spiritual; and, inasmuch as He is infinite and eternal, His dwelling place cannot be limited, bounded, or circumscribed,—that is, localized. Accordingly, the psalmist in Psalm 139 reveals in dramatic and forceful form the omnipresence of God. But Jesus did not leave us in any possible doubt upon this question: he expressly taught, as recorded in Luke's gospel, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." When this statement of Jesus is studied in connection with Moses' declaration, "He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation," and also with the sublime record of I kings 19:11, 12, it will be seen that Jesus was simply clarifying the Scriptural teaching on this subject. Christian Science accepts implicitly these teachings, as clarified by Jesus; and it does not look either here or there, up or down, for the kingdom of God, or heaven, but knows that it is in infinite Spirit, Mind, in whom, as the Apostle Paul declared, "we live, and move, and have our being."

Your contributor is also disturbed because Mrs. Eddy uses the name Principle as a synonym for God. But he inaccurately charges her with teaching that "God is a principle." He has failed to observe the infinite difference between the declaration "God is Principle" and his inaccurate and belittling rendering of it. It is quite evident that he has overlooked two important facts: first, the dictionary definition of "principle," namely, "Source or origin; that from which anything proceeds;" and, secondly, that God is called in the Bible, no less than thirty times, a "Rock." Did the Scriptural writers thereby dishonor God? And is not Principle a most satisfactory, helpful equivalent of the concept of God sought to be expressed by patriarchs and prophets in the term "Rock"?

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