Harold Molter, C.S.B., of Chicago, Illinois
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
The same power utilized by Christ Jesus in the healing of disease and sin is available to mankind today through spiritual understanding of God and man, Harold Molter, C.S.B., of Chicago, said in a Christian Science lecture at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, last night.
Mr. Molter, who is on a nationwide tour as a member of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship, spoke under the auspices of The Mother Church. His subject was "Christian Science: The Hope of the World Fulfilled."
He declared that Christian Science "presents the spiritual interpretation of the words and works of Jesus and of Biblical prophets and apostles" which "enlightens, blesses, heals, and guides all who are receptive to good."
The lecturer was introduced by Miss Helen Appleton, C.S., Second Reader of The Mother Church, who said that "Christian Science through its healing and redeeming ministry . . . justifies its claim to be the hope of the world fulfilled."
Mr. Molter spoke substantially as follows:
This lecture, entitled "Christian Science: The Hope of the World Fulfilled," has but one purpose: to bring to you some of the fundamental facts of Christian Science, and to show you why it is the hope of the world. Every Christian Science church maintains a Reading Room, open to the public, where one can find the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer, Founder, and Leader of Christian Science, and other authorized Christian Science literature. At the Reading Rooms one may also obtain information regarding the Christian Science church services and other activities, including its Sunday Schools and the Wednesday meetings, at which testimonies of Christian Science healing are given by members of the congregation. One may also learn how to study the Christian Science Bible Lessons, which comprise the sermons that are read at the Sunday services of all Christian Science churches throughout the world.
Christian Science derives its authority from the Bible. It presents the spiritual interpretation of the words and works of Jesus and of Biblical prophets and apostles. Christian Science is a practical religion. It is a spiritual system which explains God aright and sets forth the Christlike way of living. It always fulfills its divine purpose when it is accepted in individual human consciousness as a friend and counselor and honestly applied in daily living. It enlightens, blesses, heals, and guides all who are receptive to good, and it is an ever-available help in trouble. It is the divinely inspired messenger of salvation for every individual, home, community, and nation. It is indeed the hope of the world.
Throughout the whole course of human history mankind has struggled for deliverance from the bondage of its own self-imposed material gods, the creatures of its own imaginings. In her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy writes (pp. 186, 187): "The human mind has been an idolater from the beginning, having other gods and believing in more than the one Mind. . . . With pagan blindness, it attributes to some material god or medicine an ability beyond itself."
From earliest times men have sought to explain the origin of the material world by inventing material idols or gods with human forms, and have bowed down to the senseless inventions of their vain imaginings. These gods, endowed by men with all the qualities of the human mind, were supposed to be capable not only of sending health, prosperity, and peace to the world, but also disease, want, war, and death.
The early Hebrews evidently adopted some of the myths of creation from their pagan neighbors, although they generally worshiped but one God, whom they named Jehovah or Yahwah, and whom they pictured as a great warrior possessed of some of the worst passions of the human mind, including the ability to punish and kill the helpless victims of his creation.
It is generally agreed among Bible authorities that one of the myths which the Hebrews adopted, at least in part, from their neighbors, is the Adam and Eve account of creation, as recorded in the second and third chapters of Genesis. This story is an attempt of the human mind to explain the nature and origin of man. In this myth, the material Jehovah forms the first man from clay, and breathes the breath of life into his nostrils. This man, called Adam, is supposed to be both material and mental, and is regarded as the father of the human race of mortals.
The concept of a material creator and a material creation enslaved the lives of the Hebrews throughout their entire history, until Christ Jesus came to reject and refute it in its entirety as a lie.
In the chapter entitled "Genesis," in her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy shows how Jesus refuted this myth. He proclaimed that the true God is Spirit and that Spirit, not a material God, is the creator of all that is real (John 4:24 and Matt. 23:9). He exposed the unreality of a talking serpent by defining all evil as a lie, as that which has no real existence (John 8:44). He indicated that the creator is a loving Father incapable of tempting His children, but providing all good for them (Matt. 7:17,18 and Matt. 6:30). He claimed that God is not fearful that man will become like Him and live forever, but that the eternal creator has endowed His man with eternal life. He told his followers to strive for perfection, even as their "Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48 and John 10:28). He maintained that God never punishes His children (John 5:22), and assured his followers that if they continued in his teachings they would know the truth about God and man, and this truth would free them from the false beliefs and discords of so-called material existence (John 8:31,32). These facts entirely refute the Adam and Eve myth of creation.
Throughout his entire ministry Jesus healed the sick, reformed the sinner, relieved men of human fear and discords, and raised the dead. And he declared that his followers would do the mighty works which he did and even greater works. He proved conclusively that the way out of the bondage of human idolatry lay in the rejection of the Adam myth contained in the second chapter of Genesis, and in the acceptance of the true account of creation given in the first chapter of Genesis, when Elohim, or Spirit, made all and recognized it as perfect.
The practical aspect of the spiritual concept of creation presented in the Bible and interpreted in Christian Science is seen in the following experience. A young child was present when one of his friends who was skiing met with an accident which resulted in a fractured bone. Within a week the injured child, who had received Christian Science treatment, was healed without material aid, and resumed his skiing. His playmate was greatly impressed with the quick recovery of his friend, and decided to attend the Christian Science Sunday School. The parents reluctantly consented and later at his request, purchased for him a copy of Science and Health. His mother, who knew nothing of Christian Science, decided to see what had caused her son’s interest; so she went to a Christian Science Reading Room and obtained all of Mrs. Eddy’s works, including a Concordance to her writings. Then she made a careful study of all the references on "heaven" and the "kingdom of heaven". This opened to her a clear realization of her spiritual perfection as a child of God, and at the end of several weeks of earnest study she found that she had been healed of a cancer.
Jesus informed his disciples that he desired to tell them many things, but that they were not ready to receive the revelation. However he promised them that the Comforter would come after his resurrection and ascension, and reveal all things to mankind. For some time after his disappearance to human view the disciples of Jesus followed in the way which he taught. Despite great difficulties and persecution they helped to liberate human thought from the effects of the Adam myth of creation.
Several centuries later, the first Christian emperor sat upon the throne at Rome. Then politics entered the scene. Gradually the practice of pure Christianity, with its spiritual basis, was largely replaced by man-made creeds and pagan rites. The Adam myth was again adopted by the Christian church as the explanation of creation, and the Christian world began to worship an unknown material God. The discords of matter were accepted as realities, and men were promised only a distant hope of salvation to be achieved after the change called death.
In the year 1821 there was born in the little town of Bow, New Hampshire, a child who was to reveal the promised Comforter as ever present to free mankind from the slavery of the Adam myth and lead it to the recognition of a perfect God and His perfect spiritual creation.
This child, whom the world today knows as Mary Baker Eddy, grew up in a deeply religious atmosphere. As a little girl she established the practice of regular, systematic prayer. In one instance she was quickly healed of a fever when her mother told her of God’s love for His children and advised her to turn to Him in prayer. She could not accept the old Calvinistic belief in a God of wrath and the doctrine of original sin, but thought of God as a loving creator who provides only good for His children. For years she suffered from physical ills and encountered many earthly trials and disappointments. Always of an inquiring mind, she turned away from the thought of a material creator and searched for proofs of Spirit, or divine Mind, as the cause of every effect.
In 1866, when Mrs. Eddy lay at the point of death as the result of an accident, she turned to her Bible for comfort and read the account of the healing of the palsied man as recorded in the ninth chapter of Matthew. Suddenly she discerned that the same power which enabled Jesus to heal was ever present and available to all of God's children. She was immediately healed, and for three years searched the Scriptures earnestly for the basic law or rule of right Christian practice. The result of her research and proof are presented in her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."
Mrs. Eddy expected that the world would immediately accept her spiritual interpretation of the Scriptures. However, she encountered great opposition from the public and especially from clergymen. Deserted by family and friends, she worked alone with God, seeking His guidance and gathering around her the few receptive and humble followers who faintly glimpsed something of the significance of her great mission.
For almost forty-five years after her discovery she toiled against great odds and constant persecution to give to mankind the scientific religious system which, in her own words (Church Manual, p. 17), has as its object: "To organize a church designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing."
At a period when woman's place was considered to be in the home and few women took part in business activities and church government, Mrs. Eddy not only managed her own business affairs and arranged for the publication of her own writings, but she also became the Founder and Leader of a world-wide religious organization which is destined, by its divine origin, to educate mankind in the Science of the Christ, a Science which is the hope of the world for salvation from all human ills.
Christian Science reveals to mankind the true nature of God. On the night before his betrayal Jesus had a long talk with his disciples. In answer to a question he said: "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:9,10). It remained for Mrs. Eddy in Christian Science to explain Jesus' statement that the Father was in him and that he was one with the Father. Jesus proved that the nature of his mentality was Godlike, that his thoughts originated in the one divine Mind, and that he really lived in this Mind as a spiritual identity reflecting all of God's pure spiritual ideas. As we learn the nature of the sun by studying its rays, and the nature of the ocean by examining a drop of its water, so Christian Science unfolds to us the nature of God through His beloved son as manifested in the words and works of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus advises men how to become Christlike or Godlike is a clear presentation of the mentality of the Master. He was always loving and unselfish, and thus we know that God is Love. He manifested divine wisdom and discernment in all of his actions, and thus we know that God is Mind. He was pure in thought and innocent of evil. This shows that God is Spirit. He proved that God's law meets all human needs and governs man's entire career. By this we know that God is Soul. He recognized no other creator than the eternal and perfect One, and thus he showed that God is Principle. He manifested honesty, consistency, and absolute justice in all his ways. And thus he proved that God must be Truth. In his resurrection and ascension he conquered the beliefs of hatred and death. By this he proved for all time and revealed that God is eternal Life.
Through reason, revelation, and demonstration, and supported by the authority of the Bible, Mrs. Eddy summarized the fundamental facts regarding God's nature in the chapter entitled "Glossary" in Science and Health (p. 587) as follows: "God. 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."
A mere intellectual grasp of God's nature is inadequate for a complete understanding of Him. The prophet Jeremiah quotes God as saying, "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). The word "heart" in Biblical language signifies the pure affection. We love and understand God and our neighbor aright only as we express Godlike qualities in our daily lives.
To love aright is to know and see everything as God knows and sees it — as eternal, indestructible, perfect, spiritual, hence lovely and lovable. This activity of spiritual seeing and knowing is true prayer. In her book "No and Yes" (p. 39) Mrs. Eddy writes: "True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection. Prayer is the utilization of the love wherewith He loves us. Prayer begets an awakened desire to be and do good. It makes new and scientific discoveries of God, of His goodness and power. It shows us more clearly than we saw before, what we already have and are; and most of all, it shows us what God is." The customary practice of fearfully beseeching or blindly pleading with a material God to change persons or conditions to suit our wishes is the opposite of true prayer and is usually fruitless. But the constant practice of meekness, patience, sincerity, and unselfed love, coupled with the desire to do God's will, unfolds to us the perfect Mind or divine consciousness, which includes within itself not a material myth of creation, but the perfect universe of countless, orderly, lovely and lovable spiritual ideas.
Several years ago I was invited by two friends to take a short canoe trip on a lake in Maine. We started out just before twilight and soon reached the open lake, where we encountered high waves. It was my first experience in a canoe, and I was frightened, not only because there were large rocks in the lake but also because the friend paddling in the bow of the canoe was totally blind and the one in the stern had very little sight. They asked me to lie flat on my back on the bottom of the canoe. Being a student of Christian Science I knew that it was necessary to quiet fear by seeking a clearer view of God and His perfect creation. Then I looked straight up into the sky and there, in the clearness of the night, shone thousands of glittering stars. I realized that those stars were held in their courses by some great power outside of themselves. Their orderly response to this unseen power reminded me of the one infinite and ever-present power, originating in what is termed Spirit or divine consciousness, which at that very moment harmoniously governed the entire universe of God's ideas. My consciousness was so filled with the contemplation of the great facts of spiritual existence that I never again thought of my surroundings until the quiet lapping of wavelets brought to me the realization that we had reached our destination safely. In this experience I had gained a new and higher concept of God and a clearer understanding of the nature of the Christ-consciousness.
Christ Jesus, above all others, beheld and maintained the correct spiritual concept of God and His creation throughout his entire career. Jesus appeared first to mankind as a human babe, born of a virgin, but his Father was God, or Spirit. Human sense viewed him as material, but from God he inherited a spiritual individuality which has nothing in common with the flesh. This dual appearing of the human and the divine concept of man was named Jesus the Christ.
As Mary's offspring, Jesus called himself the Son of man, but, as the offspring of Spirit, he identified himself as the Son of God. As the Son of God he was constantly showing forth in daily thought and deed the very nature and qualities of God. His mentality was imbued with Godlike purity or spirituality. It became progressively more and more spiritual until, at the ascension, it was entirely freed from earthly or mortal elements. The Godlikeness or spirituality, ever active in the mentality of Jesus, is the Christ or Saviour which enabled him to heal the sick and sinning, to raise the dead, and to accomplish all of his mighty works. When he said that he and the Father were one, he did not mean that he was God. He meant that he had the same pure and perfect spiritual nature that God has. He, representing the real man, was as perfect as God in the qualities of his mentality. To the Pharisees he said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). Thus he indicated that the Christ which he presented had existed before Abraham, and he assured his disciples that it would continue to be active in human consciousness until it had destroyed all erroneous concepts of creation and replaced them with spiritual ideas.
Throughout the greater part of the Christian era men have considered the human Jesus to be the Saviour of the world. They have claimed that Jesus died on the cross to appease the wrath of God and that all men are saved by him through the shedding of his blood on the cross. Yet the mere shedding of human blood has not saved humanity from its enslaving beliefs, as witness the present condition of the world. But the love which he expressed and the Christlikeness which he lived constitute the true blood or eternal life of the Christ, which sustained Jesus through his experience on the cross and in the tomb. Traditional Christianity says that Jesus died for us, but Christian Science says that although his material body seemed to die his Christ-endowed mentality never died. It enabled him to raise his body and to prove Love to be the master of hate and the deathless Life of man in God's likeness. Mrs. Eddy writes in her book "No and Yes" (p. 35); "It was not to appease the wrath of God, but to show the allness of Love and the nothingness of hate, sin, and death, that Jesus suffered. He lived that we also might live."
Jesus said (John 8:12), "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." A lamp by itself is of no help to anyone in the darkness, but when it is touched by a flame, it ignites and sends forth its rays into the surrounding atmosphere, illumining clearly every object upon which its rays fall. The mentality of Jesus was so enlightened by and imbued with the Christ, Truth, the power and activity of God, that it dispelled the dark shadows of the Adam myth, just as light extinguishes darkness, and revealed the eternal perfection of man and the universe created by Spirit.
The divine activity and power of the Christ to take away the sins and discords of men, and to bring peace to a confused and distracted world, is clearly presented in the following poem from the Christian Science Hymnal (Hymn No. 412):
"O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking,
O captive, rise and sing, for thou are free;
The Christ is here, all dreams of error breaking,
Unloosing bonds of all captivity.
He comes to bless thee on his wings of healing;
To banish pain, and wipe all tears away;
He comes anew, to humble hearts revealing
The mounting footsteps of the upward way.
"He comes to give thee joy for desolation,
Beauty for ashes of the vanished years;
For every tear to bring full compensation,
To give thee confidence for all thy fears.
He comes to call the dumb to joyful singing;
The deaf to hear; the blinded eyes to see;
The glorious tidings of salvation bringing.
O captive, rise, thy Saviour comes to thee."
In Science and Health, page 107, Mrs. Eddy refers to Jesus' statement in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." She then declares that the power of the Christ or law of God, presented in Christian Science, constitutes the spiritual leaven which is leavening all modes of thought, including those represented by material science, material theology, and material medicine. This spiritual leaven is constantly stirring human consciousness in preparation for a higher spiritual basis by casting out its false beliefs and replacing them with the facts of spiritual Science, theology, and medicine.
Christian Science reveals that the spiritual facts regarding the nature of God and man are the direct opposite of the claims of traditional theology. For example, the evidence of the material senses, upon which the so-called material sciences are built, declares that all things are composed of material elements and that these elements are brought together into certain combinations to form man and the universe. Material science maintains that the human body is constituted of physical organs. It declares that at birth there is instilled into each individual in some mysterious manner the breath of human life or consciousness. In this material man, we see the Adam myth reappearing. And this is the man generally recognized by present-day theology as the only real man.
Now what says Christian Science? It declares that man is not made up of material organs and elements, for he is the son of God, therefore wholly spiritual. Instead of being composed of material elements, he is constituted of countless spiritual thoughts or ideas. These thoughts or ideas include all of the qualities or characteristics of Spirit, such as divine intelligence, spirituality, unselfishness, freedom, harmony, joy, indestructibility, immortality, love, and absolute perfection. These qualities, forever active, are the essential characteristics or spiritual elements which are included in God's perfect creation of spiritual ideas. These ideas, held in perfect relationships, are the spiritual forms or identities of divine Mind. The recognition and acceptance of these facts of spiritual creation by human consciousness begins immediately to act as a leaven, casting out the concepts of material science, medicine, and theology, and replacing them in consciousness with the spiritual facts of creation.
My friends, does the thought of a spiritual creation composed of qualities of God seem abstract to you or difficult to comprehend? Then let me show you how practical it is. Would you like to live in a community where the people are cooperative, friendly, honest, industrious, and unselfish? Or would you prefer to live in a community where the people are all dishonest, lazy, hateful, selfish, and unfriendly? You can readily see how the qualities of men's thoughts make not only the men but the environment in which they live. A hateful or sinful thought can make a murderer or a thief, and a loving, unselfish thought can make a benefactor of the race. Mrs. Eddy once wrote in an article to a newspaper (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 277), "The characters and lives of men determine the peace, prosperity, and life of nations."
I knew a man who was quite despondent and poverty-stricken, ill and undernourished. He had a family to support and was without funds and employment. Five years later I met this man, but failed to recognize him. He appeared in excellent health, joyous and buoyant, and he had an air of assurance and strength. He held an excellent position of trust and was supporting his wife and children as he had never expected to do. How did he account for the change in his health and affairs, I asked him. Then he told me that he had become an earnest student of Christian Science. The leaven of Truth had stirred his consciousness and completely changed his concept of himself and his environment from a material to a spiritual basis. This had resulted in a healthy body and an improved environment, for which he was grateful. The Christ, Truth, is available in Christian Science to everyone today who is willing to accept it. It is the Saviour of mankind. It is the hope of the world.
In the realm of business the leaven of the Christ is an ever-available help. A number of years ago an old and well-established business went through a period of reorganization which brought it almost to the brink of dissolution and great loss to the owners. Among those who were financially interested in the business were several Christian Scientists. Rejecting the material evidence of a disintegrating corporation, they reversed this lie, and accepted only the testimony of Christian Science. They recognized the fact that all real business is the perfect and continuous activity of spiritual ideas, cooperating with each other in the fulfillment of God's perfect purpose. They rejected the Adam picture of a material organization, made up of material employers and employees, engaged in the manufacture of material things, and their sale to material customers for material gain. Christian Science had taught them to look away from material testimony and to seek to show forth Christ-qualities. Since God's ideas are ever governed by the laws of Truth, there can be no mistakes, no dishonesty, no discord, no misunderstandings. Since they are governed by Life, they can experience no delay, no overaction nor inaction, no dissolution nor deterioration. Since they are governed by the power of Love, these ideas can never be fearful nor lack any of the resources of God. They are constantly manifesting the spiritual qualities of unceasing industry, intelligence, honesty, usefulness, and Christlike consideration for each other.
With such spiritual testimony as a leaven, the false concept of business was displaced by the Christ-concept, and in a comparatively short time the company attained a newer and higher plane of successful activity than ever before. It was one of the comparatively few organizations which survived the business depression and paid dividends regularly during that era of seeming lack and desperation.
Any businessman, whether successful or struggling with a problem of finance or organization, can find the facts of Christian Science in the authorized Christian Science literature and through our church activities. If he sincerely accepts and persistently applies the right ideas to the human problem, they will act as a purifying leaven to save him from the destructive claims of materiality and establish his feet on a firm foundation of spiritual security.
In the realm of medicine, Christian Science is preeminently the perfect physician. It is the enduring star of hope to the sick, and promises salvation from all fleshly ills. It rejects all physical discords as effects of the Adam myth. Jesus recognized this when he said of sick people that Satan had bound them. One of the definitions of Satan is the "adversary." Hence Satan is any adverse or false belief about God's creation. Thus Jesus indicated that sickness is the result of a lie entertained in human consciousness, tempting the individual to believe that he is sick.
The Christian Scientist is not interested in physical examination, diagnosis, medical treatment, hygienic rules of diet and exercise, to keep the body in health. He knows that none of these practices can tell him about God's man, the perfect idea of Spirit, which he really is. The Christian Scientist does not study physical anatomy to learn about the structure of the so-called material body, but he practices spiritual anatomy, which Mrs. Eddy defines in Science and Health (p. 462) as follows: "Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to discover their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the important question. This branch of study is indispensable to the excision of error."
A man once approached a Christian Scientist, greatly disturbed because a physician had examined him and ordered an immediate operation to correct an internal condition. He had lost many pounds of weight and was in great fear. In his despair, he dismissed the doctors and turned wholeheartedly to Christian Science.
The Christian Scientist from whom he sought help was momentarily stunned by the story which he heard, for he appeared to be suffering from a similar physical disorder. However, in accordance with the teachings of Christian Science, he rejected the material testimony for the evidence of Spirit. He knew that God's man does not possess a material body, but is the embodiment of perfect spiritual ideas, held together in eternal, harmonious, perfect relationships. These ideas do not disturb, or fight each other, but bless each other, and all are sustained in complete, indestructible, and unchangeable perfection. Gradually this leaven of Truth changed the thought of both practitioner and patient about themselves and their environment, and in a few months both men were healed. In her book "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 268) Mrs. Eddy writes: "God's preparations for the sick are potions of His own qualities." She adds, "Then let us not adulterate His preparations for the sick with material means." Human systems of medicine prescribe material remedies, but Christian Science prescribes liberal potions of the qualities of God. When honestly accepted and practiced, these qualities constitute the sure remedy for every physical ill.
In the field of family relationships Christian Science presents the Christ as the unfailing Comforter. The word Comforter, as used by Jesus, means more than one who comforts and brings peace. It really means "advocate" or one who corrects, guides, and presents true testimony. Thus the Christ serves Christian Scientists as a comforter, guide, and adviser. It reveals God as the Father and Mother of all. It testifies that the real family does not consist of groups of mortals, but includes the entire universe of perfect, harmonious, spiritual ideas, governed by divine Love, and held in perfect associations and relationships. These spiritual facts, accepted in the consciousness of only one member of a family, act as a great leavening power. They bring hope, peace, and right activity to all groups, whether family, community, national, or international.
Christ Jesus, in his glorious example of true living, has given us a clear concept of home, which he calls the kingdom of heaven. He tells us that this home can be found within ourselves. Mrs. Eddy defines "heaven" in Science and Health (p. 587) as follows: "Harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul." In this spiritual atmosphere there are no homeless persons, no refugees, no poverty-stricken areas. Anyone whose consciousness is imbued with the pure qualities of the Christ finds himself in the true dwelling place of Spirit. He need never feel lonesome or homeless, insecure or neglected, for he is always at home in the atmosphere of Soul, surrounded by the angels of God's presence. This spiritual concept of home leads to many opportunities for Christian service, and to the establishment of pleasant and profitable human, social, and home relationships.
In such an atmosphere there is no favoritism, no controversy, no domination nor slavery. Parents and children reflecting God's pure love and understanding see each other in their true spiritual aspect. Thus they love as God loves. The true concept of man entertained by parents will reveal to them that the children are not immature, ungrateful, and unpredictable mortals, but considerate, obedient, and perfect spiritual ideas, reflecting true spiritual sonship; and children will find that their parents are not inconsiderate, unfair, dominating persons, but cooperative, just, loving individuals, reflecting the divine nature of the infinite Father-Mother God.
It is well for both children and parents to remember the great power of a good example. Let them seek to follow the Christ and its true exemplar, Jesus, in all of their ways. Let them always ask themselves in any situation, "What would Jesus say?" "How would Jesus act?" and they will find the right answer, through Christian Science, to every problem that presents itself.
What is true of family relationships is true also of national and international activities and associations. At the present stage of the world's history, mankind sees the spectacle of the nations of this world working earnestly, through their authorized representatives, to establish permanent freedom, peace, and security on earth. These efforts are commendable, and should lead to better human relationships as the people and their representatives manifest the Christ-qualities in all relationships. What is needed and should be expected today, in all fields of endeavor, is not compromise, but perfect agreements concluded on the basis of the one governing Mind, the source of all right decision and action. Christ is the one and only hope of the world, for the establishment of permanent peace, prosperity, and security on earth.
A man who was placed in high public office turned often to Christian Science for comfort and guidance, amid the confusion of the political scene. At one time he saw the way clearly to save the taxpayers a large sum of money, and proposed certain steps to attain that goal. But his colleagues were all against him. His attention was called to Mrs. Eddy's statement in Science and Health (p. 340): "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfills the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed." The spiritual import of this truth so enlightened the thought of the government official that in a short time a majority of his associates were won to the support of his proposal and the whole community was blessed.
Christian Science is the panacea for all human ills, because it declares one infinite, perfect God or Spirit, and its one perfect, infinite creation. It matters not how great the lack, how poignant the fear, how deep the wound, how complex the problem, how confused the situation, how hopeless the outlook, the Comforter is ever at hand and available to all. We have simply to turn to it for guidance and comfort. And there is nothing to sacrifice but a false-sense of ourselves and our environment.
To Mary Magdalene, a social outcast, burdened with physical and moral ills, came the redeeming Christ, to cast out seven devils of uncleanness. Truth instantly and completely reformed her, and lifted her from the depths of degradation to such heights of spiritual exaltation and vision that she became the first of Jesus' followers to recognize him after the resurrection.
To Mary Baker Eddy, the woman forsaken by family and friends, came the vision of the healing Christ, which enabled her to give birth to Christian Science, the human herald of the divine Redeemer that brings hope and salvation to a troubled world.
To a Christian Scientist who awakened one night in great pain and the fear of death came the reassuring words of truth from the lips of a Christian Science practitioner, and she put herself into the arms of the great Shepherd and fell quietly asleep to rise refreshed the following morning.
In Mrs. Eddy's address to the Annual Meeting of her church in 1899 (Miscellany, p. 132), she summarizes the saving power of the Christ in the following statement: "Divine Love is our only physician, and never loses a case. It binds up the broken-hearted; heals the poor body, whose whole head is sick and whose whole heart is faint; comforts such as mourn, wipes away the unavailing, tired tear, brings back the wanderer to the Father's house in which are many mansions, many welcomes, many pardons for the penitent."
Friends, this divine Comforter is here and now and ever available to take away the sins and discords of the world. It is revealed in Christian Science, the star of hope that leads every sincere seeker to the recognition of his heaven-bestowed, spiritual identity and inheritance as a son of God. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).
[Delivered Feb. 12, 1953, in The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, and published in The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 13, 1953.]