Article December 21, 1981 Issue

Demonstration is all

WALTER CARTER BUTLER

Popular Christianity is struggling to fight the gross materialism and sensualism of a permissive society, yet not always with great success. Perhaps this is caused by failure to prove more by demonstration than by words that the teachings of Christ Jesus offer a practical solution to present-day problems. When Mrs. Eddy presented Christian Science to the world, it was from the background of scientific demonstration of the Christ-power.

Biographies of her life record many wonderful healings that she brought about through prayer, including numerous cases declared incurable by medical doctors. She makes it clear that Christianity must be lived and scientifically demonstrated—not just preached. Her emphasis on demonstration is indicated in the Concordances to her works, which show that she used the word "demonstrate" and its derivatives over two hundred and sixty times in Science and Health and over three hundred and sixty times in her other writings. In his book Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy Irving C. Tomlinson quotes a letter of Mrs. Eddy's in which she states, "Demonstration is the whole of Christian Science, nothing else proves it, nothing else will save it and continue it with us."^{Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1966), p. 46 .}

It's natural for members of the Church of Christ, Scientist, to have been healed of physical disease by the Christ-power. Because of this, Christian Science is often viewed as a religion devoted to healing disease by prayer; and certainly it is. Remarkable healings are recorded in the Christian Science periodicals, and personal accounts can be heard at Wednesday evening testimony meetings. But is physical healing all Mrs. Eddy means by "Demonstration is the whole of Christian Science ..."? By no means. In Rudimental Di vine Science she states: "Healing physical sickness is the smallest part of Christian Science. It is only the bugle-call to thought and action, in the higher range of infinite goodness. The emphatic purpose of Christian Science is the healing of sin; and this task, sometimes, may be harder than the cure of disease; because, while mortals love to sin, they do not love to be sick."^{Rud., pp. 2-3.} Thus we see that Christianly scientific demonstration is a way of life, requiring obedience to the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount in every facet of human existence.