Article September 12, 1970 Issue

Proof of Man's Dominion

PATRICIA M. GRUMAN

Christian Science demonstration is the result of prayerful application of the laws of God to heal a discordant situation or bodily condition. It is proof that man and the universe are now, always have been, and always will be "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." ^{James 1:4;}

Demonstration is healing, and healing is the result of scientific prayer—the humble acknowledgment of the power and presence of God, Spirit, the yielding of human will and personal outlining, and the joyous acceptance of the action of God in our experience. Demonstration brings harmony instead of discord, good instead of evil, and health instead of sickness. In her explanation of the perfect health resulting from demonstrating the perfection of spiritual existence, Mrs. Eddy says: "Health is the consciousness of the unreality of pain and disease; or, rather, the absolute consciousness of harmony and of nothing else. In a moment you may awake from a night-dream; just so you can awake from the dream of sickness; but the demonstration of the Science of Mind-healing by no means rests on the strength of human belief. This demonstration is based on a true understanding of God and divine Science, which takes away every human belief, and, through the illumination of spiritual understanding, reveals the all-power and ever-presence of good, whence emanate health, harmony, and Life eternal." ^{Rudimental Divine Science, p. 11;}

Thus "demonstration is based on a true understanding of God and divine Science," and we should measure every demonstration by this scientific standard. Christian Science is here to break the dream of life in matter and awaken us to our inviolate, spiritual selfhood. Therefore we must be alert not to use this Science to try to make the dream of life in matter better or to acquire great prosperity in matter. Nor should we use it like a pill to achieve ease in matter, just so that we may engage in some activity, and then put our application of Science on the shelf until the next emergency. The purely human planning and execution of a project without prayerful consecration of thought or seeking of divine guidance may bring about a desired result, but this is an exercise of human will, not the illumination of spiritual understanding, and cannot be called scientific demonstration.

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