Certain tendencies of the times are turning men's thoughts away from the contemplation of Deity, of the things not seen, the eternal things, and fixing them upon some form of materiality. The extraordinary advancement of the physical sciences in recent decades, especially of synthetic chemistry, has had the result of building up in human consciousness a reliance upon materiality which, if the views of some enthusiasts were accepted, would in a measure supplant the ancient reliance upon God. That this tendency is to be deprecated all Christians will agree; for whatever strengthens faith in matter lessens reliance upon God. And firmer reliance upon God is the way, the only way, whereby mankind may gain the salvation which all desire. The tendency toward the acceptance of the unreal as real is one to which all Christians, and Christian Scientists in particular, will give much thought.

The golden thread which weaves its way through the pages of sacred Scripture is the fact of God's presence and availability to meet human needs, to succor mortals, and to bring them into pathways of peace and joyous plenitude. The desire to do God's will, obedience to the divine commands, self-immolation, and loving one's neighbor as one's self-these are the preparations of the heart for successful seeking of divine aid.

But, above all else, knowledge of God is the paramount necessity. Knowledge of God, that is, demonstrable understanding of Him, is the most precious possession within the grasp of mortals. It is the open sesame to the kingdom of heaven. In order properly to evaluate this knowledge let us ask ourselves, What is the alternative to the scientific understanding of God and reliance upon Him? The answer is, Belief in creation as material, of matter as substance, of man as mortal and accordingly subject to all the vicissitudes which mankind has conceived as the inevitable attendants of human experience—this is the alternative to faith in God.

Belief in matter as substance carries as its corollary the belief that riches consist of material things, of goods and chattels, of houses and lands, and all that is so persistently sought after as constituting wealth. And yet, intelligent reliance upon God—reliance based upon demonstrable understanding—convinces one that the false concept of wealth and of substance thwarts and defeats his highest purpose, the desire to gain the sure sense of man's sonship with God, which constitutes the most precious possession in His gift. Moreover, the higher we build with the false sense of substance, the longer we cling to the mistaken sense of material riches as real and capable of conferring lasting good, the more difficult will be our tasks in changing thought from a material to a spiritual basis. And to make this change is mankind's inevitable destiny. Holding to the false sense of substance, to matter as reality, blinds our vision of our Father-Mother God, infinite Spirit, which is the only and all-inclusive substance.

It is our great need, then, to build up in consciousness the true concept of substance; to lay hold of the transcendent fact that God, Spirit, is the only substance, and that man as God's idea, image, possesses by reflection, eternally possesses, the infinitude of substance. The gaining of the true sense of substance is the remedy for all the woes with which mortals are beset; it heals every sense of lack, in whatever direction conceived; lack of health, of supply, of position, of friends, of home, and of domestic felicity—in short, of whatever phase of deficiency mortal thought may center upon. For, once consciousness of Spirit as substance is gained, all belief in lack disappears before the overwhelming abundance of spiritual substance.

With the reality of Spirit as substance and the consequent unreality of matter, Christian Science deals explicitly. In answer to the query, "Is Christian Science based on the facts of both Spirit and matter?" on page 55 of "Miscellaneous Writings," Mrs. Eddy writes: "Man knows that he can have one God only, when he regards God as the only Mind, Life, and substance. If God is Spirit, as the Scriptures declare, and All-in-all, matter is mythology, and its laws are mortal beliefs." The fact of God's allness precludes the possibility that matter can be real.

The writer of the book of Hebrews in contemplation of certain untoward happenings which he had experienced, addressed his readers thus: "For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." In this passage and in the following chapter, where reference is made to "the substance of things hoped for," it is evident that the writer had a clear concept of substance as Spirit. The things which mortals most hope for are the eternal things, things not seen with material vision, but spiritually conceived. These things are spiritual ideas, reflecting infinite Spirit, the only substance. As we lay hold of spiritual ideas, as they become our own, we shall have "a better and an enduring substance," the eternal things which are of the kingdom of heaven.

Albert F. Gilmore