Article November 17, 1923 Issue

No warrant is to be found in any statement of Jesus...

Charles E. Heitman, Committee on Publication for the State of New York,—Syracuse

Herald

No warrant is to be found in any statement of Jesus for designating him a psychotherapist; and the same is equally true of the writings of Mrs. Eddy. At no time do we find either of them relying, as do all practitioners of mental suggestion, upon the supposed power of the human will as a remedial agent; and neither do they advocate such reliance on the part of their followers. On the contrary, they both consistently counsel full reliance upon the will of God. Jesus, as an example, emphasizing this, stated plainly that of himself he could do nothing; and then added, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." In this way did he earnestly endeavor to turn the thought of his hearers away from person to divine Principle, and to lift their understanding above the belief in minds many and the power of one mind over another, into a realization of God as infinite Mind, the source of all intelligence and spiritual power. In fact, the divine philosophy taught and practiced by Christ Jesus, and accepted in its entirety by Christian Science, is founded absolutely upon the omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience of this one infinite Mind, called God. It was indeed none other than this Mind to which the Apostle Paul referred when he said in his epistle to the Philippians, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." It was because of the completeness with which Jesus understood and reflected this Mind that he was able to overcome successfully the "last enemy;" and what is more, we have it on his definite authority that as those who believe on him gain a sufficient understanding of spiritual truth they, too, will be enabled to demonstrate immortality. Until such time as they are in conscious possession of this greater measure of understanding, Christian Scientists feel justified in praising God and rejoicing in their demonstrated ability to relieve mankind. at least in some degree, of much sorrow and suffering.

The Christian Scientist, striving to obey the admonition of Paul and to emulate the example of the Master, earnestly prays, "Not my will, but thine, be done," realizing that true blessings are obtainable only through a full and complete submission to the will of God. Thus, the primary object of a Christian Science treatment is to improve the individual morally and spiritually; while suggestive and hypnotic methods of healing have no religious element in them, but look merely to the physical betterment. In drawing a distinction between the operation of Christian metaphysics as taught and practiced by her and the various systems of mental therapy based upon belief in the power of human will, Mrs. Eddy has stated the case most clearly on page 144 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where she says: "Human will-power is not Science. Human will belongs to the so-called material senses, and its use is to be condemned. Willing the sick to recover is not the metaphysical practice of Christian Science, but is sheer animal magnetism."

Christian Science logically holds that since the procuring cause of disease obtains in the carnal mind, which, as Paul tells us, is "enmity against God" and the source of death, its cure must come, not through the enforcement of the human will, itself a product of this so-called mind, but from the curative and corrective power of divine Mind, acting upon human consciousness, before which all phases of sin and disease disappear as readily as darkness before light. Thus, it is as sick and sinful thoughts are eliminated from the individual human mind, of which the so-called material body is but a subjective state, that we are enabled to renew our bodies, even as the Scripture says, through the renewing of our mind. As to the efficacy of this system of Christian metaphysics, many will agree that the criterion established by Jesus when he said, "By their fruits ye shall know them," is no less pertinent now than in the days of the gentle Nazarene. In this connection it may be stated without fear of refutation, that through the Christianly ministration of this religion the sick are being healed, the sinful regenerated, and the sorrowing comforted with a measure of success unparalleled since the early centuries of the Christian era. This practical demonstration of purely spiritual means of healing should remove all doubt as to the Scriptural source and Christian character of this Science. In fact, according to the Founder of Christianity, these are the "signs following," the proofs positive of true discipleship. To attempt to trace the origin of this religion to the speculative theories of human philosophy, modern or remote, is but to acknowledge that one has failed completely to grasp its fundamental teachings.

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