The Glenwood post., 1922-06-01
Entitled Christian Science:
The Divine IInmanence
By PETER v. ROSS, C.S.B.
Member of the Board of Lectureship
of The Mother Church, The First
Church of Christ, SCIENTIST, in
Boston, Mass.


they have believed in Deity who is
not only all-powerful, all-knowing, and
everywhere present, but who is benign
and good, as st. John has said,
is Love, and who, moreover, is availa-
BILE in time of trouble, and yet, in
spite of this, disease and all the hosts
of evil have seemed to hold almost
undisputed sway.
The trouble has been that, notwith
standing our professions and belief
we have regarded God as sort of ab-
straction, far removed from our actual
life and unavailable in times of dis
tress. We have pleaded with Him to
come, instead of seeing that He is
always with us; we have entreated
Him to give, instead of knowing that
already He has bestowed everything
good and needful; we have besought
Him to heal us and save our lives from
destruction, when we should have re-
allied that, as Paul says, "He giveth
to. all life, and breath, and all things"
What is needed, if men are to escape
from the thraldom of evil and attain
that fullness of liberty to which they
are entitled, is clearer discernment
of the omnipresence, omnipotence, and
omniscience of Coda fuller sense Of
the divine immanence. On a subject
Of such supreme Importance, holding
as it does the issues of life itself,
inquiry should not and cannot rest
short of exact knowledge. Blind faith
or vacillating belief is entirely made
quate. eye shall know the TRUTH"
said Christ Jesus, "and the truth shall
make you free"
Discoverer of Christian Science
This was the conviction which came
to Mary Baker Eddy, when, something
like half century ago, the truth Of
being burst upon her thought at time
when supposedly incurable malady
was fast bearing her life away, and
suddenly, while reading her Bible, she
found herself restored to health and
strength. Speaking of her experience
on that occasion and of the cures af
fected in the early Christian era, she
says on pages 100 and ITO of Science
and Health: "I must know the Sci
ence of this healing, and I won my
way to absolute conclusions through
divine revelation, reason, and demon
stration." In following these lead
ings Of scientific revelation, the Bible
was my only textbook"
Having discovered the Science Of
spiritual healing through her search Of
the Scriptures and her conservation to
the teachings of Christ Jesus, it was
most natural for Mrs. Eddy to name
her discovery, "Christian Science.
And SINCE the time she discovered this
Science, demonstrated it, and gave it
to the world, mankind has had access
to that exact and practical knowledge
Of the nature of Deity which enables
it to appropriate the perfect gifts Of
health and happiness to which all peo-
pie instinctively feel they have right
as the sons and daughters of God
who is good. sEM
Being founded uopn the Bible, Chris
tian Science necessarily accepts the
Bible definition of God as omnipotent,
and omniscient; that is, as having all
power, all presence, all knowledge. But
Science does more than merely recog
nizc this idea of Deity, it awakens us
to the real import and significance of
that idea, and teaches us how to make
it operative in human affairs and in
our tribulations. AS showing this, let
us take the concept of God as ON
niscient, and see to what conclusions,
in the light of Christian Science, We
are led.
Divine Mind
For Deity to be omniscient is for
Deity to have all wisdom, all knowl-
edge, all intelligence. Now what is the
one short, everyday word which express
es all theseY You at once answer Min
es all these' You at once answer
"Mind,n and Mind is one of the names
which Christian Science gives to God. 1t
is one of the names by which Christian
Scientists frequently address Him. In
short, Mind is God. IF Mind is God, or
God is Mind, and there is only one
God, it follows that there really is only
one Mind, one consciousness; and God,
being good and infinite, that Mind
and that consciousness must be good
and infinite. Manifestly, then, this
Mind cannot know or experience dis
ease or any other Of the many sup
,soa GOWNS NJ evil Therefore, they