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Show A Lecture on Christian Science Entitled Christian Science: The Sci· ence of Unfolding Being by Herschel P. Nuno, C. S. B. of Portland, Oregon Mnmbe' of lbt Boud ot Lectnfeoltip of Tb• Mt~l htu Cht•rrb. Tl.. fint f:hurch of Chrilt, Sc:.iu:~tlu, lo Boo\on. Mu.. daUielll §ec®llll~ Clln\UlirCll l o! Cllllir!stt9 Sclienttnstt9 556 lEo §®o Iemplie §alitt lL:a~lke cnnr9liJttdll ln 'IlllllUJR§ID>AY9 JAil 24 ll946 The lecturer spoke suOOtantlally as follows: What is a Miracle? A Christian Science practitlone.J In one of our large cities found a man waiting tor him 1n his receptlon room. He at once recognized his visitor as a prominent and unusuaJ.ly well-t.ntormed citizen. The man aaid, "1 don't know why 1 am here, but 1 nave been driven to despera~ tlon. The doctors can't do anything lor me,. so here. 1 am. But I want you to understand that I don't be· Ueve in God, and 1 don't believe 1n miracles ... "All right,.. said the practitioner, ..1 don't believe ln miracles as miraculous events either. Come lnto my omce and let's talk it over. Tell me how you would define a miracle. .. Without hesitation the ma.n replied, ·•Why, a miracle 1s a setting aside of law and 1 don't believe that law can be set a.slde." "Fine," said the practitioner. "That's my defin1Uon of a miracle, too. Now wW you answer another p.uestion for me? Do you thlnk thJ.s universe is governed by a basic. fundamental law of harmony, or by one of inharmony and discord?" Alter some thought, ln which h1a knowledge of astronomy played an important part, the man replied, "Why, tt must be fundamentally a law at harmony or else our universe would be ln chaos.'' "That iB just what I expected you to say," said the practitioner... and you have bealeo yourseU. You can see that 1f the law ot the universe 1s a law ot ba.rmony you set aside thi5 law when you believe you a.re expressing anything except har~ many. According to your definition of a miracle it would be miraculous for you to be sick, and natural for yoc to be well." Gradually a smile broke over the man's face, and be walked out of the office a well man. Healing in Christian Science lS based upon the realiZation that the universe 1s fundamentally a good universe because it 1s the creation or expression of a good God, of the one tnftnite. divine Mind, of the one spiritual, perfect Principle. In her work, "Rudimental Dlvtne Science." Mary Baker Eddy, the revered Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, asks the question (p. 1>, "What Is the Principle of Christian Science?" She answers, "It ts God, the Supreme Being, in~ finite and immortal Mind, the Soul of man and the universe. It Is our Father which is in heaven. It ts substance, Spirit, Lite, Truth, and Love,-these are the deific Principle." The dei:fic Principle. God, is the basis of all being. Since this Prin~ ciple is substahce, lts creation must be an expression of eternal, divine. unvarying, undecaying substance, which Christ1an Science declares is the only reaol.ity of being. Since this Principle is Spirit, its creation must be. and IS, sptrltuaJ, perfect, harmonious. Since this Principle ts Life, its creation must be everliving, ever~actlve, forever expressive of inftntte being, infinite good. Since this Principle is Truth, Its creation must be and Is devoid ot evil, of falsehood, ol error's every claim to pleasure or pain tn matter. Since this Principle 1s divine Love. its creation is the evidence or ex~ pression of abundance, ot that which blesses, tnsptres, establishes as oerma.nent good. In John's account of the true or real creation a,s given ln the first chapter of hls Gospel, he says. "All things were made by him; and without 1lim was not any thing made that was made." When sin and dis~ ease are seen as having no basis in the deifl.c Principle, Life, Truth, Love. they are seen as wholly de~ votd ol reality. Thus they begin to fade from human consciousness and we experience healing. Our fliend In the practitioner's ofl'lce glimpsed this fundamental tact when he saw he bad been defining miracle from the wrong premise. Now he saw something of the truth expressed ln these words by Mrs. Eddy in her textbook, "Set~ ence and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Cp. 134). "A miracle fulfils God's J.aw. but does not violate that law. This fact at present seems more mysterious than the miracle itself." She further adds, "'Ibe miracle introduces no d.1sorder, but unfolds the primal order, establish .. 1ng the Science of God's unchange· able law." When we constantly insist upon recognlztng man and the universe from th1& standpolnt of the fundamental goodness ol all things. as Christian Science teaches us to do. we inevitably tlnd good more natural than evil. we accept it as the normal state to be enjoyed ln our daily experience, 1n accord with God's law of perpetual harmony. Tbe New Creation When creation is viewed from the spiritual standpoint our entire conception of the universe and of being Is made new. In all our reasoning in Chnstlan Science we begin with the one divine Mind. We ack.nowl· edge God as AU-in-all, as the deific .. rinciple , the one tn.flnite cause or creator, the center ot our oeing, the ctrcum!erence of it, the SOul of it, the substance of tt, tbe basis of it, the Principle ot it. ''The Lord he is God; there is none else beside h1m" -beside eternal good. This creatiOn ot Spirit appears in steps ot unfoldment, of spiritual awakening. The fust chapter of Genesis in the King James Version of the Holy Bible ts an account of this unfoldment. a revelation of what creation really is. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth'. is the first Vt!rSe of the Bible, and John's first verse of his Gospel reads, ''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... These t.wo state· ments of creation place the beginning tn God. but since God, the one lnt1nite Mind, a.Jways was, always w111 be, and therefore never began to be. what 1B it that begins? Our Leader says in her exegesis of Gen· esis tn the textbook Cp. 502), ''The !n.tlnite bas no beginning. This word begmmng is employed to signify the only,-th~:~. • is, the eternal verity and unlty of God and man. Including the universe." What ts humanity's beginning, tts first gl!mpse of the reality ot being? Is not the beginning tor us found tn our first awakening 1:1" the longing to know God? Job's awakening to his true sel.tbood began with, "Ob that I knew where I might find him I that 1 mtght come even to h1B seat I" Down through the ages, the eternal demand ot God, ''Let there be llgnt," bas penetrated the dream of mortal sense and this coming of the Christ bas awakened the dreamer from hts dream. This awakening to the true sense of being, the Science of being, 1B the beg!nn!ng ol spiritual understanding. It was the beginning of freedom tor you an(i me. When we have glimpsed the truth that all there 1B of us is in· eluded "in the beg!nolog" with God, that we never began tn matter-that moment the dream ot lila in matter has begun t-o break. Th.b ts creation. the appearing of Sp!r!t, the first day of creation tn Genesis, the m.tsts of mortar thought dissolving in the light of spiritual understanding. Christian Science lB the Science of Chrlst, Truth. The first chapter at Genesis ts the first record of tnt! Christ, Truth, speaking to human consciousness. In her textbook., Science a.nd Health, Mrs. Eddy bas devoted a chapter to this opening chapter in the Btble, Genesis. The tltth verse In the Bible account reads, "And God called the l!ght Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the .first day." First Day: Perception of Lhe Truth of Being In discussing this appearing of tbe l!ght, thls first day, Mrs. Eddy says 'Science and Health. p. 504) , "This .llght 1s not from the sun nor from volcanic flames, but it is the revelation of Truth and of splrltual ideas." Further she says, "The successive appearing of God'.s ideas is represented as taking place on so many eventngs and morntngs,words which indicate, in the absence of solar time, spiritually clearer views of Him, views which are not lmplied by material dark· ness and dawn." She asks, "Was not this a revelation instead of a creation?" Certainly it is revelation, the appearing of that wblch Is and was and always will be. This dawning consciousness of Truth, "spiritually clearer views of Him," this appearing of Spirit, awakening us from the dream ot lite in matter to the spiritual actuality ot Ute in God, 1B Christ's coming to dispel the Uluston of life a.nd lntelltgence as existent tn matter. This first day ot creation, or revelation, must come to every one of us:, for the darkness of error cannot forever veil the fact of the spiritual perfection of all real being. The "vaU ts done away 1n Christ." When this revelation appeared to Mrs. Eddy, it not only raised her from what was believed to be her deathbed, but brought w1th it such a f!ood of the l!ght of diviDe Mind that the rest ot her U!e was devoted to bringing to mankind a knowledge ot the truth of being a.s she has presented it in Christian Science. What a glorious day !or humanity that was-the beginning ot its sp1r· ttual awakening and release from the bondage of age-old beliefs in sin and its supposed power sickness and its suopc;sed rf:lalit} death and its supposert Jne\itabUity • It was through her illumined understanding of the Bible that she found this message and through revelation that she gave to hwnanity h~r great discovery, Christian SCience. In the study ot this Science we come to know that "day" is not a period of time but that it is "tbe trradiance of Life" (Science and Health p. 584) as our textbook detines it. This ever shlning forth of the light of Truth is the endless day ot God's appearing, not. measured by time but, to continue with the definition, by "the good that is unfolded." To know the truth about "day" 1s a step of great import in human progress, a step in grasping the Setecce of Being. Let our first waking thought tn the morning be one ot realization that this day is not a period of time, but ot unfoldment of good. It ts governed by divine Mind -every event in it. Let us know that this is God's day, not mortal mind's; a day of revelation, of spiritual awakening, of glorious accomplishment. Nothing can enter lnto it that "deflleth, . . . or maketb a lle." It 111 establlsned "ln the secret place ot the most High" and there abides-protected, tru!ttul, blessed, hallowed. According to the account ot Genesis, creation appeared in seven days. Each ot these days presents new views of being. They reveal t.be unfolding steps in the understanding and recognition of all true being and in the comprehension of prayer As we proceed today, you will note that each day tn its unfoldment presents another phase of prayerof this ascending consciousness: ot belng. Second Day: The Day of the Firmament-Understanding On the second day, or second step tn spiritual progress, appea.rs the firmament or spiritual understanding. ·• And God said, .Let tnere be a firmament in the midst o! the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." Our Leader says of tb..ls spiritual understanding (ScJ~ ence and Health, p. 505}, "Understanding 1B the tine o1 demarcation between the real and unreal. Spiritual understanding unfolds Mind,Life, Truth, and Love,-and demonstrates the divine sense, giving the spiritual proof ot the universe 1n Christian Science." Tht.s statement of Mrs. Eddy's shows the misston of Christian ScJence, the second coming ot Christ, in its clear presentation that Mind's unfoldment of its own being, Lite, Truth, Love, is what draws the line between the real and the unreal. Creation appears, reveals ltselt only as the Christ appears-only as the divine Mind manifests tts own being. As we have said, our LeacJ ..r points out that the Genesis presen tatton is a revelation instead ot a creation. It, therefore, shows that creation ts in reality, the expression or revelation of God. lD other words. God-Life, Truth, Love-appearing, revealing Hlm5ell, is the creation. At this point 1 am going to take you into the third day, for a mo· ment, then back tnto the second day ·gain. "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, an(i let the dry land appear: and tt was so." Mrs. Eddy says of this <Science and Health, p. 507), "In metaphor, the dry land Illustrates the absolute formations instituted by Mtnd, while watet' symoolizes the elements of Mind. • Thus what God is, is expressed 1n relation to what God does. God, d1v1ne Mind, manttests itself, expresses itself, as man, the d.1v1ne image and likeness. Thus ts clearly presented the fact that man is not God, and God 15 not man. This presentation of the perfect man is one of the omces of the Cbrtst. ''Let the dry land appear." Lel what God does reveal what God is This revelation 1s the coming of the Christ; it 1B Chr!Bt!a.nlty appea.rlhg, first through Christ Jesus and his words and works. then through Mary Baker Eddy and her discovery, Christian Science. Since "the Christ is without beginning of years or end of days" <Science and Health, p. 333) IT appeared to the patriarchs, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and to many of the prophets, anointing them with the divine nature to such a degree that they prophetically saw the appearing of the fuller revelation in the coming of Jesus the Christ, as the Messiah or anointed one. A beautiful explanation of this ts found ln Mrs. Eddy's Christmas Sermon tn her work "MiScellaneous Writings" tp. 161) the first paragraph of which reads, "To the senses, Jesus was the son of man: in Science, man is the son of God. The material senses could not cognize the Christ, or Son ot God: it was Jesus' approximation to this state of being that made him the Christ-Jesus, the Godlike, the anointed." And further in this sermon she says, "To carry out bJs holy purpose, he must be oblivious of human self." Je:ous was not the only one who could become so "oblivious of human self" as to "cognt.ze the Christ" in a sufficient degree to become an anointed one. Did he not p1·ay, "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 1 in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perteet in one"? Christ Jesus knew the inevitableness ol the fuller appear · lng of the Christ, Truth, that fina l revelation of the divine Principle oJ being wh!ch would bring to man kind a scientific method of Christ1a • healing. Tbis revelation appeare. to one so willing to be oblivious o human self that she was able !;( "cognize the Christ, or Son of God · to a sufficient degree to be anothe1 anointed one, and bring to humanit\ the Science of Christianity, or Christian Science--our revered and beloved Leader. Mary Baker Eddy. Jesus appeared as the result o1 Mary's sptrttual recognition ot the fatherhood ot God. Clp'lstlan Sci~ ence appeared with the revelation to Mrs. Eddy of God's motherhood. Now back to our second day again , the day of the firmament or understanding. With the firmament, his spiritual understancllng, the Christian Scientist is able to sepa· rate belief from spiritual fact. He sees how he too may become oblivious ot human sel! to such a degree that he may "cognize the Christ, or Son of God," as embracing the reality of his own being. '!bus he wiD be able to rise above sin a.nd disease, prove their nothingness In his own experience, and help others do the same. Thus he will experience the resurrection and ultimately the ascension. Thus we shall all be made "kings and priests unto God." This brings us to the third day. Third Day: The Christ Appearing After the firmament ot spiritual understanding or the light ot revelation bas come to us, consciousness fs tree to unfold. to rise and ascend. Our ind1v1dua1 spiritual consciousness advances, increases, abounds. ThlB state "!s .sn important one to the human thought, letting tn the llght of spiritual uaderstandlng,• says Mrs. Eddy (Science and Health, pp. 508. 509). .And she add.o, "TbiB period corresponds to the resurrec- u.ou. when Splrlt. LJ CU::ict:rned to De the Life of all, ... dependent upon no ma.teriaJ organization." This ts the third day, the third step tn spiritual progress-rising above the Calse to the resurrection that t.akes hold of eternal Truth This is the coming to each one ot us of the Chr!Bt. On the thil"d day "God sa1d, Let the earth bring forth gra5S, tbe herb yielding seed, and the fru1t tree yieldmg fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself. upon the earth." The seed within itsel!-thls is the mandate of immortallty, of a forever growing, unfolding, ascending creation. This is the taw of t·esur~ rection to whatever seems to diethe law that says there is no death . Every little sprig that lifts ttsell trom the dust ant~ grows confirms this taw. Every thought that lifts itself above the beJfet of Ute in matter to the apprehension that Life is God, ts resurrection. or spiritual fruitage. Jesus' life among men was evidence of continuing resurrection, the true idea of freedom. He accepted no other but splrltua1 consciousness. He proved that God was his Mind; Soul b.!s only sense oi being; Spirit hi.s substance. Through his dally, hourly resurrection from the tomb ot mortal bellefs, he gave evidence of his own at-one-ment wtth divtne Pr1Dciple, and out of the fullness of h.1s demonstration be taught others how to prove theirs. A diiDcult experience that seems a.1IUctive and r.rushing to one wtl1 inspire another to lift his thought above the bellet of life in matter and achieve victory. Why is this? Is It not becaus.e to one the experience is accepted as a cruclfixiq:n, wl\Ue to the other tt ts a resurrection? We learn in Chr.tstla.n Science that resurrection 1B awakening to a more spiritual sense ot life, a yielding ot the material sense to the Sf·irltual, of !ear to LOve. This occur& in every demonstration ot Christian Science, and resurrection becomes the tnevitable law of existence. Thus every human sense of crucifiXion becomes merely a ch.allenge to reach higher goaLs ot spiritual achievement. because no matter what the testimony ot the sensea may suggest to the contrary, only the splrttual is real-only the spirit.. ual, the real, 1S actually going on. Christian SCientists unite tn their church organizations to give eVidence ot the great resurrection tnat 15 taking place 1n human consciousness. At their Wednesday evening meetings speaker after speaker rises from his seat to give grateful testl .. mony to a resurrection that has taken place in his human experience. Very often after you have heard an account of remarkable healing of some physical difficulty you will bear the speaker say something to this effect: "Tbough 1 am unspeakably grateful tor this physical healing I am more grateful still for the spiritual awakening, the new love and appreciation for the Bible that has come into my Ufe." You also hear an expression ot heartfelt gratitude for the life and work Of n11r "' '"''"''"' ' n"rl"'"· Mary Baker ;;....a:J, """ .,.,. ...... , '"""-. -a ~~ ~ vatlon of mankind, and for her textbook, "SCience and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Fourth Day: Uplifting Tbou.ghts of Splrltnal Enllghten.ment The foW'th 'step in progre55 1s the day of spiritual enlightenment, when God says, "Let there be lights 1n the firmament ot the heaven . . to give light upon the earth." This ls the day of unfolding understanding to prayer, when spiritual consciousness expands and marvelous reveallogs come to us. This is the day when divine Science, typified in the Revelation of St. John as "a woman clothed with the sun," Ulumines the consciousness of each worker in Science w1th sprritual light a.nd power. The spiritual sense of Christian Scientists shines like stars in the firmament of heaven. Then spirit.ual heaUng becomes spontaneous, the unlabored action of Love •·reflected in love," as our textbook puts it <p. 17). In this day of spiritual enlightenment, men are taught of Soul and spiritual sense. It is the Pentecostal f:1ay when, moved by the same Spirit, men meet "with one accord, in one place," in spiritual consciousness; the "day" when nations wtll have one Mind. one purpose, and shall dwell in peace together. "And God made two great lights; the greater !ight to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars alsg." In the darkness or twilight of uncertainty the lesser light of the questioning prayer of petition rules the darkness or twlligh t of our w1cer~ tatnty untll In the warmth and glow o1 understanding our daytime of illumined consciousness is lighted by the greater light of the prayer which confidently affirms the allness of God and the great facts of being revealed In Christian Science. Let the prayer of ascending conscJousness of God be to you a new vision of the first chapter of Genesis. Let a. new sense of creation appear, the revelation of reality, the kingdom of heaven, here. True prayer 1s such an intimate consciousness of man's at-one·ment or oneness with the Father that the experience which we describe as turning to God in prayer quickly becomes a con5ciousness of God's available presence and power. an 1lluminatton ot thought so complete, so precious. so assuring, that notions ot any other power, any other law, any other being, va.nish before it Undesirable qualities of character are uncovered, rooted out and healed through such prayer. I beard a teacher in one of our well-known schools tell of such a healing accompanied by a convincing physical healing ot a growth on the bottom ot her foot. Her mental work uncovered the fact that the growth had appeared at a time when she had been deeply hurt by circumstances which, a.s she put it "had gotten under my skin." She realized that her hurt was due to her supersensitiveness. She said that in her mental work she rea.l.lzed that as a "hlld of God she could be !ens1t1ve only to the good wtUcb He gave, ana that in reality there was only this splrttual gQOd to which to be sens"ive. She was healed ot the super· sensitiveness and the growth loosened at the root and came out ot the foot, never to return. Fifth Day: The OaJ of Aspiration What is the next step in praye1 In our individual, spiritual progress 1n recognition of true selfhood, the fifth da.y tn the first chapter ot Genesis? Ascending thought, leaving earth for heaven , lllumined with llghts, tursaldntt matter for Spirit, rises into spiritual altitudes, and reacheE l,;be day ol aspiration, the fifth step in the progresslve appearing of creation. Aspirations are typified In Genesis 1 :20 as the fowLs, which fly above "the earth in the open fl.rmament (spiritual understanding] 0 1 heaven ." These aspirations soar above and beyond all corporeality: they reveal the fact that our true and only selfhood is separated !rom mortal mind perversions. They not only partake of the nature of, but appear a.s, God's thoughts. Every hungering desire. aspiring to D'uth. is supported and protected by God'f; thoughts, the l!ghts in the firmament. Heavenly aspirations open the door of consciousness and let in the beautllul and good. True aspiration reflects divine power. The llfe of an active Christian Scientist is not one of ease in matter, but of Gpirltuallzing thought and exercising God~gtven domlnJon Our Christian Science churches are made up, for the most part. of men and women joyously working together in unity for our services, ow Sunday schools. our testimony meet· ings. Their problems of orga.niza· tion are being worked out from the standpoint of demonstration at the activity ot the one divine Mind, ln.stead ot through personal polltlcaJ manipulation. This experience makes them better citizens through the actual practice of democracy. Mary Baker .Eddy's de.fl.nitlop or church 1n the Glossary of her textbook t~ weU known to Christian Scientists. It is the basis of their prayer and their work tor thetr church. The first part of tbls dell· nlt!on presents the splr!tual Idea of Church, the divine fact, of which the second part of the detlnltion t.s the human concept, its expression 1n human experience. The first part readl (Sc1ence and Health, p. 5831 "CHtJRca. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle .., This great statement expresses the ln.fln1te reality of what church really is, a spiritually mental aot1v· ity ot the one d.1vine Principle, God Nothing human or mortal can a.ssat · it nor interfere with the expression of its holy purpose. It ts as inviolat as the Christ, for it is the evtdenr. of the Chr!Bt. The second part of this de.fi.nitior"" !.s: "The Church 1B that institution whlcb affords proot of its utUJt' and is found elevating the race rouslng the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the ap~ nrehensioo of ~oirttua.l tdeas and me aem.ci:i:simt;i"un UL Wviue OcJ · ence, thereby casting out devUs, 0 1 error, and healing the siCk." Thert> are seven steps 1n this presentatiofl even as there u.re seven "days•· in the Genesis unfoldment of creat1otl You will note the first step require! that the Institution a1Jord "proof o its utility" 6econd lt "is found ele vating the race," third, it ts seE'1 ''rousing the dormant understand tng from material beliefs," fourt l' this roused understanding unfold •·to the apprehension of spiritua ideas," which leads to the fifth step "the demonstration of divine Set· ence,'' evidenced in the sixth an~ seventh steps of "casting out devils or error, and heaUng the sick." Only as healing appears in P community does the Christian Bel· ence church appear. The Church ol Christ, Scientist, 1B unique in thi!' respect: only after there bas been healing and reformation of man ~ individuals in a community 1B a branch church of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, The Mothe1 Church, organized. The aspiration o1 the Christian Scientist's thought soaring in thf' firmament of understanding, to takFthese steps in his own experience, to express them in his thought of and expression of Church, 1s measured by the clearness of his realization of Chmch, the true Church, the sptrituaJ idea1 "the structure ot Truth and Love." "And God blessed them, saying Be fruitful, and multiply." The prosperity o1 our churches depends upon the spiritual animus of ow thought of them, and our work Cor them. When hearts are chastened. and pride rebuked, there comes a. genuine aspiration for more of Christ's appearing. When we turn away from material things, we cast our net on the side of Spirit. In true aspiration the human 1s surrendered for the divine. True asptratlon leads to the demonstration of the Science of Christianity tn church and In individual rue. In our church work , 1n our homes do we love enough to cherish and encourage the birth of spiritual aspiration in our neighbor, in our loved ones, to those whom we may be helping tn Chrtst1an ScienCe? Let us refuse to yield to their materialism, to satisfy their material and mortal self~aggrandtzement, their worldly ambition for place. power popularity. Then let us, like Paul. and like our beloved Leader. eagerly tend and nourish spiritual asptra· tion to them. foster their new btrt.h 1n Spirit, brlng to them the lessons of the tlrst chapter ot Genesis. Then their ideas, sptrttual sense, fty on spiritual wings !n heaven, the kingdom of the real. Sixth Day: The CUmax of Creation The .sixth day represents the ellmax or fullness of creation. Aspiration united with demonstration lifts consciousness into the spiritual sense of being where Love 13 en· throned. The sixth day of unfoldment presents man 1n God's image, the full representation ot Mind. the conscious Identity of Being, and mao reflecting God'a intellJgence. 'i'b..l.s 14 Lb.<! •uuy mattu t:d., complete, spiritualized consciousness. whlcb Ll man's true or real selfhood Today not only the peace o1 nations. but the prot.ectiob of our own nation, of our bome.s, of our church, depends to some degree upon t.b.e individual right kno,.-mg oJ every Christian ~Scientist . How shall the Christ Truth, be demon.c:;trated unless by those who have a demonstrable understanding of Truth which heals the Ills and sms ot mankmd? · OU1 men and women m the armed services have proved to a wonderful degree that this healing prayer ot Christian Science brings deliverance A Ohrtstlan Science wart1.me Minister remarked to me recently, ''When these boys call upon me for treatment tn Christian Science they do not say, ·wru you please llelp me?' They say, 'Will you please heat me?' " And he added, "1 would say that ntne Urnes out ot ten they are healed in one treatment." The basis for all demonstration ot Christian Science in our hwnan ex .. perience is prayer or treatmentthe actuaL workable understand1ng of' God and of man 's oneness With Him. Now , a Chrtstlan Sclence treatment should be as spontaneous as light. Spontaneity is characteristic of spiritual things. 'ITeatment 15 not something you do to a. person or to a church; tt ts something per... feet you know about that which 15 already done, about that which at .. ready ts. Prayer in Christian Set.. ecce 1s based upon the fact of spiritual (>f'rfeetion. It is based on the J remi ~" &hat everyth.tng is already :rea :.ec:. Everything fs, and because 1t ts, a nd l.s perfect, the pract1Uoner acknowledges this liberating truth. Mrs. Eddy ha.s said that <Unity of Good, p. 7) ·•an acknowledgment of r.he perfection of the infln!te Unseen confers a power nothing else can. • This acknowledgment excludes from thought everythlng but the simple fact of perfect being. Let sp1r1tuaJ consciousness be. Our work becomes more and more unlabored as we argue less a.nd acknowledge more. How ahall we find our true self• hood as God's idea unless we clain:a tt. appropriate lt? Can we aspire to Godllk.eness and at the same time bold to fictitious bellefs that are unllke God? NCIID 1B the only accepted time 1n Chrt&tlan Science. Now 1B the time to claim the r!gh' to be responsive and receptive to God's thoughts, God's tdea.s. because actually we are the expression, the evidence the manifestation of these ideas Let us claim dlvine Mind'l ab!l!ty, its power, its purity, its Joy, its spiritual exp~veness, as our own and our only true conscious-ness. Then the mystery of so-called mortal lite will yield to revelation: confusion w111 yield to scientific UD ... derstanding; and the abominations of mortal belief wUl give way to the spiritual, perfect tdea of universal r~ ove.. f zventh Day: The Completeness of Being Realized .. And on the seventh day Ood ended his work which he had r..111.dc; a.nt1 h.a rRatso.d an t.h£ s.event.t. d2JI .1 om all his work whtch he had made.'' As the material concept of e~ rth and heaven disappear, au things become new. In this spirit ... ualized consciousness, we find salva. ... ~ion. Science interprets sa.Jvation aa 'Life, Truth. and Love understood md demonstrated as supreme over \11; sin, sickness, and death de;troyed" (Sclence and Health, p. ,£:3 ). Bound by earth weights, one cannot experience 5alva.t1on, cannot rise tnto spiritual consciousness. What constitutes our earth weights? Remembering the things that a.r• behind. Paul tells us to forget them. The desire for Truth already Within us aspires to all Truth, and might rise into its native atmosphere nat• urally but for the accumulated be-liefs called a mortal past. These beliefs seem to bind us to ea.rtb much as a captive balloon Is held by ropes. But when we r-ealize that we lose nothmg by forgetting a. mortal past-an unreality- its sorrows, its mistakes, it.s grievances, its sins, its resentments, we have cut the ropes and are free. "All the good the past hath had remains to make our own time glad," one of our hymns reads. All that ever really happened was that whlch was known of God. Then let us cut loose from earth weights and obey the call of Science I As our textbook says (p. 575}, "Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb 's wtte, -Love wedded to its own spiritual idea." In other words, let us behold our oneness wltb the Father, our true Identity as the son of God. Let us see ourselves as the new man. Let the spirit ual sense of life and being encompass thought . Rest in action Be actively loving. Love Ls lite. Christian Science teaches that the Sabbath day of rest is ceaseless urtfold..ment of good. The seven days of creation are seven periods of spiritual untold.. ment, In ascending consciousness. l'brough this unfoldment the realtty ot creation appears. we cognize the umverse of God's creating, "the new heaven and the new earth" in wlllch wars and rumors of war have no pla ce. Just as the spiritual recognition in Christian Science ot perfect man heals beliefs ot sickness which mortal mind attaches to marta.! man, so tht realization, the revelation, of the spirltual universe neals the beliefs 01 war and carnage which this mortal mind attaches to the material world. T'l the divine universe matter is unknown. In thiS one universe man Is found as spirit.. ual idea. When we place our loved ones there, and see them as divine Idea, we no longer think ot them as subject to war or the effects of war, but as spiritual, perfect. harmonious, complete expression of the one divine Mind, forever reflecting the qualities of this Mind in health, purity, peace. spiritual percept1on. happiness. Through "spiritually clearer viewa ot Him," of God, our prayer, our demonstration. our daily lives are ll!ted above material sense tnto the apprehension of spiritual, divine ideas, that Chrl.st-consctou..~esl which beals and blesses all mankind. |