Article April 13, 1929 Issue

Pure Christianity

ELIZABETH MARIA CORDSEN

The Apostle James impressed upon the first Christians the need of having a "pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father;" and in the course of his epistle he said: "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. ... But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." In order, therefore, to manifest the qualities of brotherly love, wisdom, and economy, which are the divine requirements set forth by Mary Baker Eddy in Article XXIV, Section 5, of the Manual of The Mother Church, there is abundant work to do in clearing out of thought the suppositional opposites of the abovementioned virtues.

Purity as an important stipulation runs throughout the law and commandments of the Israelites. The seventh commandment especially forbids adulteration in all its aspects. The Psalmist speaks of the words of the Lord as pure words, and likens them to silver that is tried in a furnace and purified seven times. This designation of pureness doubtless covers both the literal and the spiritual meaning of Scripture. Throughout the Biblical records prophets and apostles preach and admonish the furtherance of purification. A pure Christianity demands not only a pure religion, but also pure Christians. Paul urges the Ephesians not to let fleshly lusts and covetousness even be named among them, as befitting saints. The Philippians he beseeches to be blameless and harmless, as sons of God. Timothy is urged to keep himself pure. Peter likewise admonishes the brethren to abstain from impurity; and John points out the necessity for each one to purify himself, in emulation of the purity of God, man's heavenly Father. The purity of a Christian's life indicates his spirituality, and in the degree that he values spirituality he draws closer to God, becomes more conscious of his Godlikeness and his consequent freedom from impure thoughts and deeds.

To have these important points brought to our attention by Christian Science is one of the great blessings which we can enjoy. The world in general does not as yet perceive to what extent thought needs purification; nor does it appreciate that not only the generally acknowledged gross impurities need to be swept out of human life, but the existent conditions of doctrinal religion need cleansing from idolatry and hypocrisy: from idolatry, because evil or matter has been regarded as a power able to make sick or to cure, to save or to kill, to redeem or to destroy in opposition to God, good, whose allness and oneness are professedly acknowledged. Since men fear evil, it assumes the form of an idol, as did the golden calf which Aaron fashioned from the trinkets of the Israelites. Mankind then was dominated by fear of a merely mythical power.

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