Article June 23, 1928 Issue

If your readers' acquaintance with Christian Science be...

Theodore Burkhart, Committee on Publication for the State of Oregon,—Portland

Dairy Journal

If your readers' acquaintance with Christian Science be limited to the statements contained in the article "Make Yourself Over," in a recent issue, they would have a very wrong concept of it. The advantage of Christian Science practice does not lie in keeping the mind quiet, nor is it akin to rest cures or mental suggestion in this or any other respect. Christian Science makes a sharp distinction between the so-called human mind and the divine Mind, or God. The latter is infinite, perfect, and eternal, and is the source of all good and of nothing but good; all that proceeds from this one divine Mind expresses God's nature, and is therefore good, perfect, and harmonious. It is that Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus." The other so-called mind, the mind of mortals, is imperfect and erring, finite and mortal; it is capable of evil, and is the source of all human discordant conditions whether mental or physical. By its very nature, the mortal or "carnal" mind (as St. Paul calls it) is incapable of correcting its mistakes or healing its self-incurred disorders.

Christian Science healing is accomplished by applying one's understanding of the divine Mind, which understanding is wholly spiritual. The method is not that of mental suggestion, nor of giving the body or mind a rest and letting so-called nature take its course. The process, however, is as simple as is that of the correcting of a mistake in arithmetic. An error has no law to produce or to support it, and it lacks the intelligence to right itself. Some power or healing agency outside of itself is required. If one's understanding of truth, as expressed in mathematical law, be applied, an error in mathematics is corrected by the right process, and a correct answer is the result. The mistakes of life are the effects of wrong thinking, and they are made manifest in discordant conditions. Christian Science teaches that only right thinking can correct such mistakes and antidote their effects. An error in arithmetic is not corrected by giving the error a rest and letting the law of numbers take its course. Christian Science healing is an active process. It is the utilization of the intelligence and power of divine Mind in overcoming, counteracting, and destroying the effects of the erroneous thinking of the human mind. In order to obtain right answers, one must know something of mathematics: he must have correct concepts of mathematical laws and rules. So also one must have a knowledge of the truth of being and a correct concept of God and spiritual law before the healing power of divine Mind becomes available to heal. The Scriptures say, "Acquaint now thyself with him [God], and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." Or, in the language of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 390), "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony."

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