Demonstration

The word "demonstration," as used in Christian Science, has a purely spiritual meaning. On page 34 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says: "If Christ, Truth, has come to us in demonstration, no other commemoration is requisite, for demonstration is Immanuel, or God with us."

The truth of this statement lies in the fact that God and His ideas alone are real and, consequently, are all that can be proved or demonstrated. Since God is Spirit, demonstration in Christian Science must involve the proof that Spirit, God, not matter, is with us. The desire to prove this must be our aim, the pure motive that inspires our prayer. Mrs. Eddy makes this plain when she writes (ibid., p. 269), "Metaphysics is above physics, and matter does not enter into metaphysical premises or conclusions." As our demonstration is to prove "God with us," God alone must be the starting point in our quest. The desire above all else for God, Truth, is blessed; then the human need is met, whatever it may be that has turned us to God.

The spiritual consciousness of harmony and holiness which displaces the belief in disease or error is the essence of demonstration. The understanding of Spirit as infinite substance, of Mind as good only, must, however, be gained first. The things which are added unto us as we obey Jesus' command, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," appear as a result of spiritual understanding and purification. Our Leader states the same fact when she says in her book, "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 307), "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies." The demonstration is really made when the spiritual idea is utilized, for we realize "God with us" through using the ideas which express Him; and the truth then meets the human need.

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None Common or Unclean
March 2, 1929
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