Article March 12, 1927 Issue

Obedience to the By-Laws of the Church Manual

HORTENSE L. WHEELER

That obedience is not a question of personal choice but an eternal law of Spirit, ever operative in consciousness, is clearly discernible through a study of the By-laws of The Mother Church. And one who has not grasped the spiritual significance of this fact might be misled as to their interpretation. It was through faithfulness to the divine law of obedience that Mrs. Eddy was found worthy to be the one through whom the final revelation of Truth should come to the world; and none knew better than she the value and necessity of this obedience, without which there can be no spiritual building. The Christian Science movement with all its activities is founded upon the eternal law of obedience, and our By-laws demand this recognition.

The so-called human mind is scornful of discipline; and for this reason it must be brought into subjection to God, the one Mind, before it can assimilate spiritual truth. Therefore our Leader, in choosing her students and followers, those who were to assist in bringing Christian Science to the world, selected those who she believed were willing to be obedient to her spiritual vision of divine Science and to her wisdom regarding its presentation; for only such as these could be of service in the tremendous task before her. Disobedience to Truth closes the door on spiritual attainment, for it prevents us from reaching the heights where God is revealed; and such spiritual barrenness bars us from doing the healing works of Christ, Truth. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 183) Mrs. Eddy writes: "Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power."

Obedience is therefore a keynote of Christian Science; and upon this eternal law of obedience rests the foundation of our church, governing all its activities, including its By-laws and its membership. The breaking of this law, the same as the transgression of any other spiritual law, brings penalty and demands repentance before one can go forward spiritually. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, occupies a unique place in religious history, because it is through this church and its activities that divine metaphysics is revealed to mankind in its purity and entirety. Our great need is to gain a more spiritualized sense of the By-laws of our Manual, which are founded upon unchanging divine Principle. Unlike the rules of a material corporation or physical organization, our By-laws do not need to be revised to meet changing human thought. What is needed is that our thinking be changed to meet the requirements of our By-laws. Christian Scientists do not question the truth of their textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy; neither should they doubt the truth of their By-laws, since both have been established through the understanding of divine Principle.

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