The True Working Basis

It is not unusual for those coming to Christian Science to make very large demands upon it in the way of insistence that their every problem, physical and metaphysical, shall be promptly solved. This is especially true, perhaps, of those who are somewhat habituated to theological and philosophical thought, and sometimes such persons have named the speedy settlement of all their difficulties as the one ground on which they are willing to honor the subject of Christian Science with their serious consideration.

For these as for all others it is needful to understand that while the working basis of the novice in Christian Science is very comprehensive in its inductions, it is necessarily of modest area in its demonstrable knowledge. We cannot enter upon "the narrow way" until the inflations of self-confidence and intellectual pride have collapsed, and we have become "as a little child" in our teachableness and simplicity. In the course of this schooling in humility, we learn to say, "I don't know," regarding many things concerning which we were once not only opinionated but dogmatic. We also learn that our ability to solve the larger problems to-morrow is invariably heralded by our willingness to recognize the beginnings of spiritual perception, and patiently work at the lesser problems to-day. We thus come to apprehend that though the kingdom of Truth is higher than the heavens, and compasses all knowledge and all reality, its disclosure in the awakening consciousness is fittingly likened to the grain of mustard-seed "which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown, it . . . becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."

Respecting the apprehension of the profoundest truths, Mrs. Eddy has said that it is to be reached "by following upward individual convictions undisturbed by the frightened sense of any need of attempting to solve every Life-problem in a day." "Until the heavenly law of health, according to Christian Science, is firmly grounded, even the thinkers are not prepared to answer intelligently leading questions about God and sin" (Unity of Good, pp. 6, 7).

The well knowing of a simple proposition is the preliminary, the little beginning, of the largest achievement, and there can be neither poise nor contentment for the student until this fact is accepted. It is ours to apprehend and to declare that Christian Science embraces all knowledge, and that it is adequate to the solution of all questions, when utilized by one having the Mind that was in Christ Jesus; but let us not be tripped by the subtle temptation to concede that since we cannot answer all questions, have not proved equal to all the problems presented, and are often led to frankly say, "I don't know," we are therefore astray and do not "hold the Truth in righteousness." One may have a perfectly clear and correct understanding of a law of mathematics long before he is able to utilize it in all the fields of its legitimate application, and for the reason that to work out a given problem he needs not only a command of the rule, but of all essential data as well, and it is this fact that gives such significance to the subject of mental diagnosis. A case in point is illustrative. A very intelligent man who had been treated in Christian Science for some weeks without satisfying results, made serious complaint, and was ready to pass condemnatory judgment upon Christian Science. Just then, and most unexpectedly it was learned by the practitioner that the patient was owing a friend a large sum of borrowed money, the return of which he was persistently evading by most unfair and unjust means! Though a practitioner's apprehension of Truth were clear and competent, such a condition of thought upon the part of the patient, would abundantly explain a failure of demonstration. Jesus not only knew the truth, he also perceived the masked subtleties of error, and to this clearness of perception his followers need to attain before they can intelligently hope to duplicate all his wondrous deeds.

The working out of the individual salvation in Christian Science calls for a solid foundation rather than a broad one in the sense of a present ability to raise the dead, or answer all of mortal mind's caviling questions in its own phrasing and vocabulary. The blind man whom Jesus healed knew very little about the dialectics of philosophy, nevertheless he was more than a match for all the philosophers, and for the reason that he knew one thing thoroughly and had the grace to rest his assurance upon what he knew, and to stick to it, while freely admitting that there were many other things of which he had no definite knowledge whatever. W.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit