Did we but realize that all the knowledge of the world's schools will never enable us to judge between Good and evil, between right and wrong, and so "overcome evil with good," did we but understand that the supposed "wisdom of this world is foolishness with God," how gladly would we become childlike, and say with the Apostle: "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil. 3: 8.) If worldly knowledge is essential to health, happiness, and success, why does Jesus say: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you"? (Matt. 6: 33.) We must abandon the belief that Jesus' teachings are not practical, for it is this very belief that keeps us in seeming bondage to sin, disease and death. Jesus came that we might be blessed with understanding. It is no evidence of divine Intelligence for a man to profess belief in Jesus Christ,—"the devils believe and tremble," says the Apostle,—but for him to prove by healing sickness and sin that Jesus Christ is a present Saviour from all error and evil, is an indication of Intelligence which outshines the brightest intellects of the world. Which ought to seem the most natural, the most useful, the most practical, a supposititious knowledge of evil which insists that man is sick and sinful, or a real knowledge of the living God, which understands that man is spiritual and therefore free from sickness and sin? We have our choice of the two; the one is blind belief, the other is spiritual understanding, the one a so-called knowledge of matter, the other a real knowledge of God, the one Mind.
Christian Science has come to reiterate the teaching of Jesus the Christ through spiritual understanding, not to teach us any new doctrine, but rather to show us how to unlearn what we have absorbed from the tree of human knowledge. Jesus said: "Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. 18: 3.) This ought to prove to us beyond all doubt that the problem of salvation is one of elimination, an emptying-out of false theories, opinions, beliefs, traditions, etc., which are foreign to the child thought. And right here is an important point for us to understand. It is this. What is termed the human intellect cannot absorb spiritual understanding. It cannot grasp the Life "hid with Christ." We cannot therefore cling to our beliefs and theories concerning the supreme Being and expect to add to these the true idea or understanding of God. The presence of either precludes the presence of the other, for light and darkness never mingle. Therefore the desire on our part to possess understanding must be the willingness to drop all false beliefs, be they in appearance good, bad, or indifferent, to turn from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, to the Tree of Life to be taught anew of God. As we have already stated, this means to unlearn all that is untrue in human consciousness when Christian Science comes to us. This may seem impracticable to "the carnal mind" or "natural man," but since he receives the Truth only by adoption being himself enmity against God, we do not look to this man for any understanding of what is practical. This man of the senses says: "Learn everything you can about evil and you will be intelligent and wise." Christian Science says: "Give up your belief in the reality of evil and so learn that God, Good, is the only Intelligence and this understanding;will destroy belief in sin, sickness, and death, all the works of the flesh enumerated by the Apostle. It goes a step farther and shows us how, through denial, to cease thinking evil. Could anything be more practical? This is what the Way-shower did; he pointed out the way and then by demonstrating what he preached, he proved the practicability of Truth for all time to come, and said: ''Follow me." Christian Science repeats this command, and it means this: "To watch our thinking." Looking away from matter into Mind, we shall find the remedy for every discord of earth. Looking into matter, we ignore Mind and pay the inevitable penalty for serving evil. It is purity of thinking alone that will enable us to overcome evil. "The minding of the Spirit is life and peace,"says the Apostle. (Rom. 8: 6, Marg. Ref.)
Error argues that there would be nothing accomplished in the world if people were to concentrate thought upon the spiritual and reject the material, but how empty this argument sounds to the Christian Scientist who has discovered that Jesus the Christ taught and demonstrated a Science, the Science of Life, the Science of God, the All-in All of Being, who has learned that Life is a Principle to be lived and not theorized about. If our thought models are anything short of perfection, what must be the outcome? Surely anything but Heaven or Harmony. Perfection is only another term for Heaven and it always has existed, yea, it is Life itself. Our problem is not to realize perfection from imperfection, but to become conscious of spiritual existence in which is no imperfection. Since Heaven or perfection is the ultimatum of our Being, is it not rational to suppose that we have to work with undivided thought and affection to attain it? Must we not sacrifice every human belief in order to reach it? Jesus did and surely he mapped out the shortest and only way. Christian Science says: "Follow the Master," for with the understanding of Life which he revealed, we shall learn of God.
