Article March 4, 1922 Issue

Motives and Acts

FRANK BELL

A Distinguishing feature of Christian Science is the emphasis it places on motives. Religious systems for centuries have labored to direct or restrain the acts of their adherents and others: but the endeavor of materialistic religion to conquer sin by suppressing sinful acts has been as disappointing as the effort of material medicine to rid humanity of disease by treating the physical effects of disease.

Human law says that the act of murder is a crime, and that the physical death of the murderer shall be punished by physical death or imprisonment. Scholastic theology says that the act of murder is a sin, for which a sinning person must answer to a personal deity. Christian Science says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 104): "Is it not clear that the human mind must move the body to a wicked act? Is not mortal mind the murderer?" The Bible says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer." Thus Christian Science and the Bible agree that sin or crime is primarily mental, and that sinful acts are but effects of sin, secondary or resultant phases of sin, just as they agree that sickly action is the result of sickly thinking.

"Christian Science," writes Mrs. Eddy on the page quoted above, "goes to the bottom of mental action." It is because Christian Science goes to the bottom of mental action, insists on the uncovering of the moving cause or motive in thought, whether of sin or of sickness, that it is incomprehensible from the standpoint of material systems, either of religion or medicine. Jesus encountered a state of thought that was blankly amazed at his query, "Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?"—that could see no sense in trying to reform the sinner without dogma or to heal the sick without drugs or their equivalent. "Why do ye not understand my speech?" asked Jesus; and added, "Even because ye cannot hear my word." The spiritual concept was incomprehensible to them. They were trying to overcome sin by restraining sinful acts, whereas he knew that out of the heart, the innermost recesses of thought, came sin. They were content to apply material remedies to the sick, whereas he knew and declared that the sick are those whom Satan—a lie, or false sense of reality and power in evil—has bound; and, moreover, he demonstrated the correctness of his definition by "healing all that were oppressed of the devil."

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