Article July 14, 1928 Issue

In a recent issue a correspondent, signing himself...

Robert Ramsey, Committee on Publication for Lanarkshire, Scotland,—Glasgow

Southern Press

In a recent issue a correspondent, signing himself "A.H.O.," criticizes the summary of a lecture on Christian Science which appeared in a previous issue.

It is not easy to get a correct conception of such a vast subject as Christian Science from a short summary of a lecture, but "A. H. O." has so completely failed to comprehend what Christian Science means by "right thinking" that I should be obliged if you would grant me space to explain. Christian Science, like the Bible, teaches that God is omniscient—all-knowing—hence the divine Mind is the source of all right thoughts. Christ Jesus understood God better than anyone else, and in explanation of his mighty works said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Surely it was the right thinking of Jesus that made these works possible. This is the sense in which Christian Science teaches the power of right thinking—God's thoughts reflected by man. In the same sense Paul advised the Philippians, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

The critic seems to disagree with the quotation used by the lecturer, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." This quotation, of course, belongs to Shakespeare; and it is in line with the Scripture, "As he [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he." Another point raised by the critic is that "war, drunkenness, murder, are inherently bad, and no amount of 'right' thinking will make them good." Christian Scientists do not call bad things good, nor do they shut their eyes to evil, but they hold that all evil conditions are the direct outcome of wrong thinking. It is the thoughts of the drunkard that make him a drunkard, and when these thoughts have been changed through Christian Science many drunkards have found themselves healed of this false appetite. In the same way thoughts of hate, greed, jealousy, fear, and so on, thoughts of the "carnal mind," are the procuring causes of war and murder; while right thoughts of love, justice, goodness, and truth, emanations of the divine Mind, will eventually abolish these evils from the world.

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