Article January 25, 1930 Issue

True Activity

BERNICE BEAL

Although humanity as a whole believes in a universal cause or creator called God, it is apt to entertain very strange concepts of Him. Many regard God as a magnified human being with whom one must plead for forgiveness and divine favor. Many regard God as the source of both good and evil, as permitting disasters, punishment, and even death to be visited upon His children; and they pray to this unnatural parent for deliverance. Still others regard God as the source of good alone, but circumscribe and limit Him by believing in another power called devil or evil, with which He is supposed to be constantly at war for supremacy. Holding such erroneous concepts of God, it is not strange that men should think of themselves as sick, sinful, and finite, as having no infallible Principle upon which to rely for salvation from misery.

To Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, God revealed Himself as infallible Principle, or infinite Mind, knowing no evil; as Love, knowing no hate; as omniscience and omnipotence, the one changeless and eternal divine presence. On page 587 of her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," she defines "God" as "the great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence;" and on page 591 she defines "man" as "the compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind."

That Christ Jesus understood God as divine Principle or Mind, indestructible and eternal, and man as His image and likeness, forever expressing the indestructible and eternal nature of his creator, was demonstrated by his healing works and by his own resurrection from the belief of death. Jesus used no material means wherewith to accomplish these results, but relied wholly upon the mental process of realizing the truth concerning God and man, thereby proving that right thinking was the healing factor in his work. It was this spiritual understanding which enabled him to restore to health those suffering from seemingly inveterate diseases, to cast out demons, turn water into wine, feed the multitude, and raise the dead; in other words, to supply whatever seemed to be the human need of the moment. Jesus' statement, recorded by John, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works," clearly indicates his recognition of divine intelligence as Immanuel, or "God with us."

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