TESTED TEXTS

KATE G. POHL

In geometry there are certain fundamental statements recognized as always true, which are called axioms; for instance, "Two parallel lines are always equidistant." These axioms and logical deductions therefrom are used to prove every geometrical proposition, and when the problem is correctly solved Q. E. D. is written at the end, meaning, "Which was to be demonstrated." Christian Science tells its students that they must use the fundamental teachings of the Bible with the same mathematical accuracy, that they too must prove by practical application and results the value of these teachings; namely, the Ten Commandments and the logical deductions therefrom as given in Christ's sermon on the mount, and interpreted for this age in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy.

What to the student in geometry is called a proposition may be likened in Christian Science to our every-day tasks and experiences as the followers of the Master,—the healing of sickness, the overcoming of faults, or the proving that God is the source of all supply. Each new thing to be done or to be left undone is a proposition to be proved according to scientific rule, after the way of Christ's appointing, if we would make our work successful. We can no more alter or tamper with God's law and bring about good results than we can change the axioms of geometry and correctly solve the problem. We are truly progressing when we admit this simple fact.

To illustrate: Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Recently there came into the writer's experience a need to do some spiritual work, while at the same time there seemed great need for merely material work. Repeatedly came the temptation to lay aside the spiritual and take up the material; yet the spiritual axiom demanded that I seek first the kingdom of God. Dared I trust this absolutely? The rule was worth testing. To be sure, this meant the reversal of ordinary methods, and common sense argued, "What will you do if it fails? to which ridicule answered, "Be considered foolish." The text, however, in this instance was tested, and the result was far beyond what could have followed mere physical thought-taking, for, as the Bible more familiarly expresses it, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

A beginner in the study of the practical value of Christian Science read this statement in Science and Health: "Only as we rise above all material sensuousness and sin, can we reach the heaven-born aspiration and spiritual consciousness, which is indicated in the Lord's Prayer and which instantaneously heals the sick" (p. 16). He had always been troubled with car-sickness, and shortly after noticing this sentence he had occasion to take a journey. As the effects of the moving train began to recall former experiences, he remembered the above passage, and began to apply it, and turning his thoughts away from his discomfort, he began to think about what this prayer meant. Before he had finished repeating thoughtfully the words, every symptom of the difficulty was gone; he could have written Q. E. D. at the end of that experience.

If a student were working over a geometrical proposition, he would have to think about the rules of his text-book and work according to them; so the Christian Science student must think of the rules as given in his text-book and apply them, if he would win the result he is striving for. These rules are contained in the Bible, and they are interpreted for all mankind today in Science and Health. Mrs. Eddy, who has successfully worked out many stupendous problems from a spiritual basis, has written for our encouragement on page 3 of "Miscellaneous Writings," "The lessons we learn in divine Science are applicable to all the needs of man."

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