Milford chronicle., 1956-11-30

asked the clergyman which Scrip
tural selections he planned to use,
so that there would be no duplica-
tions. Evidently surprised, the
minister asked, "Do you use the
Bible?" He added, 81 thought
Christian Scientists had a book
which replaced the Bible" This
incident occurred recently in a
large city. There is still misunder-
standing as to the place the Bible
occupies in Christian Science.
Probably no religion places
greater emphasis on the study of
the Bible than does Christian Sci
ence. The earnest student of Chris
tian Science reads the Bible, King
James Version, daily, and studies it
thoroughly to gain its spiritual
meaning. Christian Science church
services, both the Sunday services
and the Wednesday testimonial
meetings, consist in part of read
ings from the Bible and correla-
tive passages from Science and
Health. The Manual of The Mother
Church provides that children in
the Christian Science Sunday
School shall be taught the Scrip
lures.
Christian Science is based on the
inspired word of the Bible, espe-
cially upon the life, teachings, and
works of Christ Jesus. 1t was her
great desire to find the rule under
lying Scriptural healingS that led
Mrs. Eddy to search the Scriptures
diligently until she had found the
rule. Christian Scientists accept
the inspired word of the Bible as
their guide in attaining present and
eternal salvation from sin and dis
cordant material conditions.
AS understood in the light Of
Christian Science the Bible is
sound and workable. A lad in
Christian Science Sunday School
said, 81 tried the Bible and it
works" The Bible deals with uues-
tions which the thoughtful investi-
gator is bound to ask sometime,
and it deals with them in a way
satisfying to the most eager
Searcher. It reveals God as the
only creator, the great I AM,
changeless, eternal, inexpendable.
1t shows that God is divine Love,
that He is good, not in the sense
of good being an attribute of God
but in the sense that God actually
is omnipotent good.
From childhood, Mrs. Eddy
turned to the Bible for spiritual
light and inspiration. We find evi-
dence in the New Testament that
Christ Jesus was a student of
Scripture, and so it is natural for
us to turn Fundamentally to the
holy record for correct informa-
ton concerning the nature of God
and man, for the spiritual light and
understanding which heals disease
and reveals the way of freedom.
The Liberating Power of the
Christ, Truth
No one can reasonably doubt
that Christ Jesus understood and
experienced true freedom. He
proved that truth makes free by
his mighty works of healing and
regeneration. His clear view of the
naturalness and nowness of good
dispelled beliefs of sickness, limita-
ton, insuficiency, and impairment
as promptly and naturally as light
'dispels darkness. Spiritual light
dispels mental darkness, whether
the darkness appears as injury,
disease, failure, fear, or discour-
agement.
1t is sometimes objected that
Christian Scientists do not confess
Christ Jesus as their personal Sa-
viour in the way that others pro-
fess to do. This objection is an
swered by a fuller understanding
of Jesus, of his mission, of the
Christ, and of the teachings of
Christian Science. Christian Sci
ence shows that Christ Jesus is our
Saviour in that he showed how we
are saved from sin, sickness, and
death by obeying his commands
and following his example. Chris
tian Science acknowledges the
Christ as Saviour. The earnest stu
dent looks to the Christ, Truth, and
not to person for salvation from
sin and disease. Jesus is not God.
Speaking of his true spiritual self
hood, he said: 81 and my Father are
one" (John 10:30); "My Father is
greater than - John 1929. He
inferred that man is one in quality
with God, fully expressing the di-
vine nature or Christ, and that
God, divine Mind, is greater than
human personality.
Man is not God. He expresses
the divine nature, and is as neceS-
s;rry to God as God is to him. A
single mathematical fact is not the
vyEole of mathematics, although
partaking of the nature of the SCI
ence of numbers and necessary to
its completeness. Is not the drop
of water necessary 70 the ocean
and vice versaI Christian Science
teaches that there is one God, and
that man is His image and like
ness.
Persistent affirmation of the
reality of good and the nothingness
and unreality of evil bears witness
to the Christ. Such affirmation is
the prayer which reaches the heart
of divinity, dispels the illusion of
sin, disease, and death, and brings
to light mans normal state of
health and harmony. Subjection of
the human will to the divine, re-
placement of envy, jealousy, fear,
and strife with love, gentleness,
and conviction of the presence and
power of God, is evidence of the
activity of the Christ in individual
consciousness.
Man Rejecting God Is Loving
and Free
"HcW can I believe that man is
perfect when imperfections appear
on all sides?" asks an inquirer.
Christian Science does not teach
that mortals are perfect, but that
the real man, the true selfhood of
each one of us, is perfect now, not
shall be but is inexhauStible, COM