Judge Frederick C. Hill, C.S.B., of Los Angeles,
California
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
Judge Frederick C. Hill, C.S.B., of Los Angeles, California, lectured on "Christian Science: The Science Which Demonstrates Man's Eternal Identity," Tuesday evening in the Murat Theater under the auspices of the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist. Judge Hill is a member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass. The lecturer was introduced by Mrs. Rae Thompson. His lecture follows substantially as it was given:
There is a general belief that man is a human being with a material body, subject to birth, maturity, and death; that man possesses this body as his own and thus establishes his identity.
This reasoning is untrue and must be corrected before the true status of man can be understood. If the real identity and individuality of man were in a human body or dependent on that sense of body, the destruction of the human body would include the annihilation of man's identity.
It is reasonable to assume that the belief of annihilation entered Job's thinking and caused him to inquire, "If a man die, shall he live again?" Regardless of trials and adversity he had hope of immortality. He wished to be assured, "Is my identity eternal?" The same hope that inspired Job in his despair is apparent now; and humanity is reaching out for some source of comfort and assurance against the material evidences of discord and destruction.
It has been said, "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." The human hope and longing for eternal life and for continuing identity is proof of the fact that Life is eternal. Man has eternal life now by reflection. His identity and individuality are eternal in Soul and never were in a material, human body.
The destruction of a so-called human body in no way touches or affects the status of the real man. In Christian Science we find the established fact that man is a divine idea, unfallen and eternal, inseparable from God. As Mary Baker Eddy writes in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 476), "In divine Science, God and the real man are inseparable as divine Principle and idea."
Christian Science furnishes the illuminating answer to Job's inquiry and to humanity's present fears, by the assurance that man lives because he is the exact reflection of Life, that Life which knows no death. The perception of this verity and its operation in human consciousness becomes the law to the one who recognizes the opportunity now of proving the words of Jesus, "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."
At some time in human experience there must come the question, "What is man?" The correct and logical conclusion thereof must be in exact relation to one's understanding of God and His universe.
The Psalmist David, contemplating the glory of God and the majesty of His works, inquired, "What is man, that thou are mindful of him?" He saw man crowned with glory and honor and invested with dominion over all things. He declares, "Thou hast put all things under his feet." His utterances are useless words unless there is some rational way of translating them into workable terms so that mankind may understand and apply this dominion and put all things under his feet now even to the annihilation of the universal belief that man is a mortal, subject to death and loss of his identity.
As you contemplate human experience with its mixture of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, health and sickness, success and failure, there must come to you the inquiry, "If man has dominion over all things, how do you account for such experiences?" Dominion is sovereignty supreme authority. Dominion is supreme authority applied.
The discordant conditions of human experience are no part of your sovereignty; and they have no reality or law to support them. Through understanding the nothingness of error you master every adverse condition; and through the unfoldment of the infinite law of Science the Christ Science you establish now with definite certainty your immortality.
Salvation is a present state of consciousness that comes to the flesh because of the Christ. There is positive salvation for every human being because the Christ comes to the mortal man, who is the only man who needs to be saved. If there were no man of flesh there would be no need for the saving Christ.
Mrs. Eddy, in Science and Health,
page 583, defines "Christ" thus: "The divine manifestation of
God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error."
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, stands out as unique in her discernment that "understanding" is basic reality, and "belief" in error or materiality is unreality. Through the discernment of the allness of God, good, hence the unreality of evil as revealed to her, she established her church and founded a religious movement based upon the essential elements of primitive Christianity and Mind-healing. She gave to humanity a positive system for applying understanding whereby there is a yielding of belief, accompanied by the establishment of health and harmony.
Mrs. Eddy founded the Christian Science movement out of her revelation and experience in being healed and in healing others. Her religion, which she called Christian Science, is evidenced by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, The Mother Church, in Boston, and its branch churches throughout the world.
Christian Science and the Christian Science movement are based upon the demonstration of the Christ, Truth, available in every human experience. No creed, dogma, or ecclesiastical formula finds place in this church. It is an organization of the nineteenth century divinely established upon the allness of God, good, and the nothingness, the unreality, of evil. In "Retrospection and Introspection," page 24, she makes plain what Christian Science is. She says: "I discovered the Science of divine metaphysical healing which I afterwards named Christian Science, . . . During twenty years prior to my discovery I had been trying to trace all physical effects to a mental cause; and in the latter part of 1866 I gained the scientific certainty that all causation was Mind, and every effect a mental phenomenon." Thus it was revealed that Christian Science is not a system of faith cures, but is the demonstrable, scientific understanding of Mind, God.
Perhaps there is nothing that so clearly distinguishes Christian Science from other religions and doctrines as Mrs. Eddy's logical deduction: "The Scripture pronounces all that God made 'good;' therefore if evil exists, it exists without God. But this is impossible in reality, for He made all 'that was made.' Hence the inevitable revelation of Christian Science that evil is unreal; and this is the best of it" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 178). "There is no evil in Spirit, because God is Spirit" (Science and Health, p. 335).
The time approaches when mankind must awaken to the full realization and apprehension of the debt of gratitude due to the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science for what she has done to free mortals from the bondage and slavery of the belief that evil is real and more powerful than good. We may rejoice in the health, happiness, sunshine, and freedom which her teachings establish in the consciousness of humanity. To experience the full fruition of this Science there must be strict obedience to the first demand, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Bible). In the Christian Science textbook Mrs. Eddy reminds us (p. 467), "This me is Spirit." You prove that evil is unreal when you demonstrate the all-inclusiveness of Spirit, which is God, good.
There is no record of any human being who so fully and so completely demonstrated man's oneness with God as the man Christ Jesus. His words and works furnish ample proof that the account of man's creation, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, is true. The declaration is; "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;" and, "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."
Jesus defined God when he said,
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and
in truth." By this saying he emphasized the fact that there is no material
or corporeal sense of God in true worship. God is not humanly personalized nor
located in a material place. He is Spirit and is infinite. Referring to his
works and mission, Jesus made it plain that the works which he did were not his
works. He said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."
This would imply that Jesus recognized the actual presence and power of one
Mind, and that the outward appearances which have been termed "his
works" were the manifestation of his understanding of one infinite Mind,
God.
All the works of Jesus were accomplished through his clear spiritual perception of the one Mind, God. Paul's admonition is to let the same Mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. There is ample reason and authority for Mrs. Eddy's conclusion that "all is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation" (Science and Health, p. 468). From this basis you approach the realization of one perfect God, who is not only infinite, but who is also all-inclusive good, and likewise the understanding of perfect man, and by reflection demonstrate the all-inclusiveness of good and the nothingness of everything that is unlike and opposed to good. The divine fact is that good alone is real and that which is not good is unreal. Perpetual unfoldment is the law of God, and consists in separating good from evil beliefs and thus redeeming and transforming human consciousness until it yields to the consciousness of that Mind which was in Christ Jesus.
Jesus was not the Christ; he manifested the Christ. He appeared as a human being; he knew the divine fact that Life was demonstrable; and consequently he was able to demonstrate, manage, and direct what is called material existence. He demonstrated that, although Life is not material, it had the evidence of being a continuance of material life. Jesus had the evidence of a human body. He knew that Life and Spirit are the only reality, and the spiritual fact of being could be demonstrated, otherwise human beings would fail to recognize the significance of the spiritual fact and would lose the desire to possess it.
What did Jesus do? He proved beyond all question that there is no death. How did he do it? He proved that there is no death by coming out of it. He established that death is merely the belief in a falsehood the belief in that which is untrue. If you stick to the fact that there is no death, for you the fear of death will abate until eventually you will begin to perceive the fact that there is no death. Others will do the same thing until sometime the evidence of death will disappear.
The Bible says death is an enemy. It says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Christian Science is the law by which you demonstrate the eternal verity that the real man is spiritual and, as the Bible declares, is the likeness of God. The real man does not become that God-likeness he is that likeness; and it is your privilege to demonstrate, to prove, that fact by living and not by dying. In the Godlike consciousness there is no death.
"In the illusion of death, mortals wake to the knowledge of two facts: (1) that they are not dead; (2) that they have but passed the portals of a new belief" (Science and Health, p. 251).
Some six thousand years ago, God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush as "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14). There was no material person talking to Moses on this occasion. God is not a person, neither is there space between God and man. It was the realization of the oneness and unity of Being that enabled Moses to perceive the characteristics and the qualities of God. He must have discerned the fact that God is Spirit, the source, substance, and law governing all true being.
It was the Christ which came to Moses that made him aware of his identity his oneness with "I AM THAT I AM," God. It was his realization of the one Mind operating in his own consciousness that enabled him to lead the children of Israel out of bondage. It was not the material man Moses doing this. It was Moses expressing true selfhood, demonstrating oneness with Mind, and confirming the facts set forth by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health, page 427, where she says, "Immortal Mind, governing all, must be acknowledged as supreme in the physical realm, so-called, as well as in the spiritual."
In the Christian Science textbook, Mrs. Eddy has defined God as: "The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence" (p. 587). "God is one God, infinite and perfect, and cannot become finite and imperfect" (ibid). The above seven terms are synonymous expressions for the one and only God, and express His nature, character, and essence, and establish the divine fact that God is incorporeal Being, as distinguished from a human concept of Him.
The function of Mind is to manifest intelligence, knowledge, goodness, mercy, justice, health, harmony. These attributes are all included in Mind, and from the all-acting nature of Mind are expressed. Do not lose sight of the fact that all is Mind, "and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" (Science and Health, p. 468). God has not changed, but belief about Him is changing. Belief is passing away; and the understanding of the all-presence of Mind is redeeming human consciousness; and divine consciousness, which is "God with us," is appearing. It is God with you, because you are manifesting and reflecting the God-qualities, and are becoming more and more Godlike. The image and likeness of Mind must include all that proceeds from Mind. Thoughts or ideas emanate from Mind. Mind, God, is incorporeal. Ideas emanating from Mind are incorporeal. Hence, the logical conclusion is that man is not material; he is a divine idea expressing all of the qualities of Mind.
If you assume one infinite cause, you have to assume an effect, and it must be infinite. When you seek the true concept of God, you do so because you wish to find out what man is. It may be that your primary interest is not so much what God is, but "What am I, and what is my destiny?"
The Bible answers your question. The Bible says that man is the exact image of God. God is Mind; then man is the image of Mind; the exact representation of God. God is Soul; then man is the image of Soul; the exact representation of God. God is Spirit; then man is the image of Spirit; the exact representation of God. God is good; then man is the image of good; the exact representation of God. God is Life; then man is the image of Life; the exact representation of God. God is Truth; then man is the image of Truth; the exact representation of God. God is Love; then man is the image of Love; the exact representation of God. God is divine Principle; then man is the image of Principle; the exact representation of God.
The real, spiritual, and only man is the evidence, the expression, of one infinite and all-inclusive consciousness, God. God is omnipresent, always present. The real man is God's exact likeness, and the recognition of that fact on our part will enable us always to be where we ought to be. The real and only man is omnipresent, and it is your task to demonstrate that omnipresence. As you do this, you are applying the law that directs human footsteps and that improves your material existence. You are finding out something about the real man, and in so doing you are finding out something about your spiritual identity.
As you learn more about your true identity, you will demonstrate and express the real man. The man of God's creating, then, is a compound idea, reflecting all the ideas and attributes of God, and fully endowed with the capacity to reflect infinite consciousness. Hence, the inevitable conclusion, there is no limit to man's expression of intelligence, goodness, mercy, health, harmony. Man is inseparable from God, his creator.
The realization that man is conscious manifestation of Mind, establishes the true sense of health, improves business and social conditions, banishes poverty, and solves the problems of human existence.
God, infinite, divine Mind, recognizes no strife nor oppression, no war nor destruction. God's nature and character is Love, and His love is infinite. By claiming his sonship to God, man establishes his nature and character by being loving, kind, considerate, charitable, pure, tender, and compassionate. These states and stages of consciousness establish the fact that if strife and oppression, war and destruction seem to be real to you, you are not demonstrating the nature and character of God, Love, and are not demonstrating your real selfhood.
Man is not God. "Man is the expression of God's being" (Science and Health, p. 470). God is Love, and Love expressed is man. Claim this as your divine right now, and you will gain the true sense of your identity, which will establish for you freedom, redemption, and salvation from the bondage of materialism.
True freedom is gained as one asserts his oneness with the Father in every thought, word, and action. The demonstration of your identity is the demonstration of true selfhood and is freedom. It is individual thinking for all. It is not gained by the despotic demands of one man nor by any combination of men. It is not dependent upon what others are thinking, but is dependent upon what you are thinking and doing. Your demonstration of one Mind, all-inclusive good, establishes the law of freedom which operates in human affairs as the law of harmony in your business, your home, your community, and your nation. It will end war in your consciousness, and when more universally understood will ensure peace to the whole world.
The experience of a very eminent lawyer illustrates the freedom and physical healing that come through right thinking. This man had established himself as a most successful lawyer. He became self-centered, egotistical, overbearing, and contemptuous. In due time, his practice began to abate. He lost the esteem and good will of his fellow lawyers and of the courts. He lost his former ability to present convincing evidence before juries, and no longer seemed to rightly interpret the law before courts. He lost his cases, his practice, his reputation as a lawyer; and through worry and disappointment he became physically ill.
This lawyer had no religion, although he was what is termed a good, moral man. His wife was a Christian Scientist, and many years before his physical and business collapse she had presented him with a copy of the Christian Science textbook, which he had never read.
Through urgent solicitation from his wife, a friend called upon him and had a long interview regarding his troubles. At that time his constant inquiry was Why? Why have I lost my practice? Why have I lost the respect of friends and courts? Why have I lost my health? A simple illustration answered his inquiries.
His attention was called to a boiling teakettle and to the fact that the boiling therein liberated the impurities and lime held in solution in the water. The force of the steam is unnoticed until the opening in the spot is closed by the released impurities; and then when the opening is closed, an explosion is the result. It required no amplification. He understood it and remarked that for twenty years he had been virtually a "boiling teakettle." His belief in intellectual brilliancy had liberated the impurities of egotism, pride, contempt, and self-sufficiency, and the "explosion" was inevitable. It was apparent that the mental boiling was the cause of his physical claim of high blood pressure.
The thought of this patient was directed toward an understanding of perfect God and perfect man as the solution for all his troubles. It was not hard for him to understand that law operates regardless of all opposition to its decrees. It was not hard for him to accept that there is one supreme law and hence one supreme Lawmaker, God. He saw clearly that if mankind through wrong thinking could do evil, man could reverse this process and think rightly, and thereby conform to the divine law of God, which is freedom from all evil beliefs. He agreed to reverse his entire mental procedure.
He agreed to and did make a careful study of the Christian Science textbook; and through the daily study of the Lesson-Sermons he came across this citation from Science and Health p. 467); "It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established." He wrote: "I have been at war with myself for twenty years. It is now ended, and I am determined to do my individual bit toward establishing the brotherhood of man." He was healed in every sense of the word. He regained his health, his former practice as a lawyer, and his social standing as a good and respected citizen in the community.
It is essential to revert continually to the divine fact that all is Mind, one Mind, God, and to declare continually and understandingly that omnipotence never fails; your realization of the all-inclusiveness of Mind precludes failure. Continue this process of constructive thinking and the human senses will actually see what is taking place, and will yield human beliefs to the divine harmony of Mind.
By knowing the presence of the one Mind as the only intelligence, power, and presence, we deny the belief or claim of intelligence and power, manifest as evil, and by this process nullify the claim or its manifestation as evil results. Anything that presents evil as real or impending, or any suggestion that evil might occur, must be denied and rejected, thus preventing the evil in advance.
We recognize and identify things according to certain characteristics. This is "identification." Humanly interpreted, it is based upon the assumption that identity is a material something.
The human mind is accustomed to attaching a belief of life to something. It sees what it believes and it believes what it sees. It sees a material, human body; and it attaches a belief of life and identity to it. What kind of body is it? To the human senses it seems to be substantial; but in reality it is a subconscious state of mortal mind presented to the senses and objectified and recognized as an object a body. It is mortal mind's concept of body. It is a counterfeit of the divine fact of body. The divine fact is that body is spiritual and is not material.
The divine fact is that you have a real, spiritual being, unseen and unrecognized by the material senses. The divine fact also is that your true identity and individuality are unseen and unrecognized by the material senses, and are not established in a material sense of body. Your real identity is established in Spirit and is revealed and unfolds in proportion to your demonstration of your selfhood which is spiritual. You are the likeness of Mind, Soul, the embodiment of right ideas. Your real, unseen identity is the real man, perfect, whole, complete, indestructible, and harmonious in every way. Your identity is established in Soul and is not in matter. It is a perfect state of consciousness, and will become manifest in your human experience in the degree that you apprehend and experience spiritual qualities.
You can correct and eliminate all the mental pictures you entertain about your body anything erroneous that may appear to be on it or in it. Divine law operates to correct and to adjust every wrong thought, picture, or condition that confronts you. By holding to the fact that your body is the embodiment of divine ideas, which is the truth about your body, brings into action and operation the divine law until the human mind's concept of your body yields its erroneous beliefs, and normal action, health, and the harmony of the divine Mind are made evident by and on your human concept of body.
Jesus was a human being, and possessed a human body. He demonstrated the fact that Life is not in a body, and that his life could not be destroyed by the crucifixion because his real selfhood was the eternal manifestation of that Life which is God. His realization of man's oneness with his Father made it possible for him to rise above the crucifixion until, in his final experience called the ascension, he rose above all material beliefs and conditions. His real, spiritual body came to his consciousness with this final experience. It was the culmination of all that had been going on during his work among men called "his mighty works." In "Miscellaneous Writings," page 189, Mrs. Eddy has given us the key to his greatness. She says, "The meek Nazarene's steadfast and true knowledge of preexistence, of the nature and the inseparability of God and man, made him mighty."
The Christ man is man immaculate and complete. He is the image of his Maker and is uncontaminated, uncontaminable, unassailed, unassailable, incomparable, perfect. This is the truth about you as the man of God's creating. Man never sinned, he knows no such thing as sin; man is ever sinless, deathless. He knows nothing but eternal life. He knows no other presence than life. This is his substance, for it is infinite, eternal presence. You and I are the reflection of the infinite, eternal presence of God, for we, as spiritual ideas, are the evidence of the omnipresence of God the exact likeness of Him. The realization of infinite, eternal Spirit is our substance. We are all the same substance, for we reflect the same Spirit. As we reflect the oneness of Spirit we demonstrate the oneness of Being, our immortal, eternal identity.
There is no limitation to spiritual knowing and understanding. It is universally available. The same "steadfast and true knowledge of preexistence, of the nature and inseparability of God and man," will equip you with spiritual understanding so you will demonstrate your identity and your real body, eternal, harmonious, and never touched by the mortal beliefs of sin, sickness, birth, maturity, death, and decay.
You have a real identity, a spiritual and indestructible body, now, but you must demonstrate and prove that divine fact in some way. Christian Science has come as a revelation to humanity, showing the nature of the indestructible man. Mrs. Eddy's vision of this man should be an inspiration to you. In Science and Health, page 76, she says: "The sinless joy, the perfect harmony and immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a single bodily pleasure or pain, constitutes the only veritable, indestructible man, whose being is spiritual. This state of existence is scientific and intact, a perfection discernible only by those who have the final understanding of Christ in divine Science. Death can never hasten this state of existence, for death must be overcome, not submitted to, before immortality appears."
There is an ever-increasing recognition among people generally that correct and intelligent thinking liberates and puts into operation in human affairs the indefinite forces of Mind, expelling the fears and anxieties of individuals, and establishing freedom and right action. The following paragraph from a current magazine says: "Too long our whole concept of immortality has suffered from the peculiar misconception that immortality is a state of being that occurs when we die! But if we are immortal at all, we are immortal now, this very moment. Why postpone our adjustment to a sublime condition? Let us be as fearless in the discipline of our souls as of our bodies. It is amazing how completely tangled nerves relax, how anxieties and fears evaporate, if once we incorporate into our daily philosophy of life the slogan, Use your immortality now."
We heartily agree with the writer and the recommendation to "use your immortality now," and we would add to the recommendation, "Claim and use your eternal identity now." You will discover amazing results by this course of action. Of course, there will come a question, "How can I do it?" It can be done as you get some correct idea of your present status.
Real consciousness is cognizant only of divine ideas which emanate from the divine Mind. God, man, and the universe constitute all there is, and your consciousness of Mind is all there is to you. Eternal identity and individuality always have been and always will be maintained by Mind. Mrs. Eddy speaking of this in Science and Health, says on page 70: "The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal. The questions are: What are God's identities? What is Soul? Does life or soul exist in the thing formed?" Referring to Jesus, she says in "Miscellaneous Writings," page 104, "His unseen individuality, so superior to that which was seen, was not subject to the temptations of the flesh, to laws material, to death, or the grave. Formed and governed by God, this individuality was safe in the substance of Soul, the substance of Spirit, yea, the substance of God, the one inclusive good." Your unseen individuality is superior to your material sense which identifies you as a human being. Your individuality is established and preserved in Soul, and is not subject to change or chance. Your individuality is a continuous and eternal unfoldment of Soul because Soul is infinite. And because it is infinite, your identity as a son of God becomes the subject and the object of individual demonstration through the Science of Mind-healing, which is Christian Science.
One cold Sunday afternoon, an emaciated, dirty, intoxicated, poorly clad human being entered the auditorium where a Christian Science lecture was soon to be given. The stranger had no concept of where he was and soon fell asleep. When the lecture was nearing completion, the man awoke sober. Apparently all that he could remember of the lecture was the statement, "The study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook has healed hundreds and will heal you."
He borrowed a copy of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy from a loan library, and after reading it through had a desire to possess a copy of his own, which he secured. One week passed and he had no desire for liquor. He located a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, and attended services. His clothing was worn and poor, but the man was clean and respectable. His reformation and transformation had begun. He established himself in a small business; he became interested in church activities, and in due time became a member of a branch church; he was reconciled to his wife, from whom he had been separated, and they re-established their home.
Several years later, the same lecturer was lecturing in another city and was presented to the usher staff. A splendid looking man stepped up and introduced himself as the one who entered the lecture auditorium on the cold Sunday afternoon. Was he the same man? Through the reformation of his thought, his physical body had been transformed. The beliefs that had identified him as an emaciated, dirty, and drunken human being were gone, and he presented a better belief of a human body because the human mind had yielded to the divine sense of harmony in Soul. He was proving his true identity as a child of God, and thus presented the evidences of a better human being.
It will be helpful for you to study and ponder what Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" on page 185: "Self-renunciation of all that constitutes a so-called material man, and the acknowledgment and achievement of his spiritual identity as the child of God, is Science that opens the very flood-gates of heaven; whence good flows into every avenue of being, cleansing mortals of all uncleanness, destroying all suffering and demonstrating the true image and likeness."
The recognition that man's identity is the individual manifestation of Soul, not in a human body, reveals the verity of man's being, his oneness with God. Man's oneness with God establishes the fact that identity, preexistence, and immortality are his by divine right.
This fact is useless unless we can claim and use it right where we seem to be. Christian Science shows you how to claim your identity in Soul, how to demonstrate health, substance, abundance, and all that is good. It shows you how to demonstrate and embody the attributes of God so that there is no room for belief in a poor man, a sick man, an unhappy man, or a dead man. Christian Science shows you how to prove the statements of Christ Jesus: "I and my Father are one;" "Glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was;" and "Before Abraham was, I am." With positive assurance claim as your own these eternal verities.
You will soon agree with Mrs. Eddy's statement in "Miscellaneous Writings," page 47, where she says: "Science reverses the evidence of material sense with the spiritual sense that God, Spirit, is the only substance; and that man, His image and likeness, is spiritual, not material. This great Truth does not destroy but substantiates man's identity, together with his immortality and preexistence, or his spiritual coexistence with his Maker."
[Delivered March 28, 1944, in the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana, under the auspices of Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Indianapolis, and published in The Marion County Mail of Indianapolis, March 31, 1944.]