"All men shall be satisfied when they 'awake in His likeness,' and they never should be until then." Thus Mary Baker Eddy defines true satisfaction in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 358). Christian Science accepts the Scriptural record of man as made in God's likeness (Gen. 1:26, 27). The following record of creation in the second chapter of Genesis, in which man is described as a mortal, who looks to matter for origin and self-gratification and who quickly degenerates, Christian Science explains as an allegorical presentation of a false sense of existence. In this allegory "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," the fruit of which is "pleasant to the eyes" (Gen. 3:6), represents the carnal quest for satisfaction in matter, a quest which is never fulfilled because genuine satisfaction can never be found there.

Christian Science reveals true life as actually spiritual, and it exposes the deceptive nature of all mortal existence, showing it to be a state of belief rather than of understanding, or reality. Only in belief does matter seem to provide the fleeting sensations of pleasure sought by carnal appetites. The confirmed alcoholic or the chain smoker, with his insistent repetitious demand for physical sensation, represents the futility of attempting to find satisfaction where it can never be found. On the other hand, the individual who finds true stimulation in spiritual unfoldment and understanding rests in an abiding peace of mind. No will-o'-the-wisp of material deception lures him from true satisfaction in Spirit. He knows the touch of Spirit, and his contentment is continuous.

A recent medical survey in one country links thirteen thousand cases of a serious degenerative disease with excessive use of cigarettes, an association that cannot be lightly regarded by the smoker. The degenerative effect of the drug on the so-called human mind is here implied to be externalized on the body, and human mind and body are inseparable. One cannot subject his mind to degenerative effects without subjecting his body to the same influence. While Christian Science accepts divine Mind as the only cause, it does not disregard the claims of animal magnetism, or the suppositional action of mortal mind, to produce evil effects through mesmeric control. It destroys these claims on the basis that God is the only Mind, therefore the only attraction, the only source of sensation and satisfaction. On page 10 of "Christian Science versus Pantheism" Mrs. Eddy speaks of the healing of intemperance and the use of tobacco through Christian Science, and she says: "All this is accomplished by the grace of God,—the effect of God understood. A higher manhood is manifest, and never lost, in that individual who finds the highest joy,—therefore no pleasure in loathsome habits or in sin, and no necessity for disease and death."

Through reason and revelation the victim of the mesmeric attraction of tobacco is released from delusion—for such it is, inasmuch as delusion alone endows matter with seeming sensation. The impulses of human will that would cancel out an honest desire for freedom from such delusion are stilled when God's will is demonstrated as the governing law of man's satisfaction. Honesty of purpose is evidence that the "higher manhood" of God's making, manhood in His likeness, is appearing. Continuing honesty, flowing from God, silences the sensual impulse to find satisfaction in matter. The understanding that God is All and that man is God's expression, forever God-controlled and God-endowed with purity, when insistently affirmed, brings the grace of Spirit that triumphs over false belief.

A young man who had been reared in Christian Science foolishly adopted the habit of smoking during his school days. Later, because he knew this habit was not in accord with the teaching of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, which he accepted as a revelation of Truth, he stopped using tobacco. But he did not lose his desire for it. One day, while talking with a group of businessmen, he was offered a cigarette. He explained briefly that certain convictions prevented him from smoking, and he added, "But it surely gave me a lot of pleasure while I used it." And he expanded on the joys of using tobacco.

As he talked, his desire for the cigarette became so strong that his whole body trembled. He put his hands in his pockets to keep them from reaching out for the proffered cigarette, and then he quickly walked away. Still trembling and shaken, he got into his car and drove out of town. Turning to God, he questioned: "Father, why can't I overcome the desire to smoke? I know it is not in accord with Your will." Suddenly he realized the answer: You never will be free from this desire as long as you believe there is pleasure in smoking. Furthermore, you were even trying to convince your fellow men that there is pleasure in it. As he repented of his obvious inconsistency and acknowledged that all true satisfaction is found in Spirit, his body suddenly became quiet. His mind was at peace. Never since that moment has he desired to smoke. "The grace of God,—the effect of God understood" had accomplished a permanent healing.

Christian Scientists stand for a "higher manhood." They recognize the need of the age for the demonstration of Mind that knows no degenerative process. Consequently, they forgo without any sense of deprivation a pleasure that is deceptive and unrewarding. They hold to the purity of man made in God's image and likeness, and they are satisfied.

Helen Wood Bauman