THE theological world of thought has held, for many centuries, certain fundamental interpretations of Christ Jesus' life and work which have molded religious teaching in definite directions concerning the vital elements of salvation. Fixed creedal beliefs have placed certain constructions upon certain evident truths, and have declared salvation to be dependent upon the acceptance of whatever specific belief may thereby have been outlined as true. Throughout the ages these beliefs have shifted with the changing view-points of the succeeding generations, but at no time has scholastic theology presented a statement of Christian teaching which would compass the complete destruction of sin, sickness, and eventually, death; nor have scholastics ever been united in their concepts of doctrine, or ever nearer unity of faith than has been indicated by innumerable groups of personal leaders with their personal followings, segregated according to their differences, and not their concord, of opinion.
The Science of Christianity, which has been brought to the world through Mrs. Eddy's life-work, rescues religious thought from this widely-varying confusion of belief inasmuch as it deals with every point which popular theology has set forth, and does this from the basis of science instead of from the standpoint of personal opinion. To the accepted belief about salvation, whether it be traditional or modern, Christian Science comes with a revelation of Principle which unfolds facts concerning such matters as pertain to salvation, and this revealed knowledge entirely removes from the question all intellectual speculation, with all its differences and disagreements. The coming of Christian Science means that a broader, deeper sense of Christianity is leavening the traditions of men, preserving and purifying whatever in them may have been good, and demolishing whatever in them may have been limited or erroneous.
It is sometimes supposed that Christian Science makes direct attack upon the many forms of doctrinal belief which mortals have cherished, and that its teaching has an aggressive attitude toward past and present religious theories. On the contrary, Christian Science, analyzing fairly and honestly every point handled by theology, honors and preserves all that has ever been true in the field of religion. It has something to say concerning all the great questions which are dear to the theologians, and because it is the Science of Christianity it deals with such subjects as the new birth, baptism, conviction of sin, judgment, the resurrection, the ascension, and all the features of the sacrament, from the mount of revelation, scattering the valley fogs of confused human opinions which have for so long shrouded these questions in mystery. Thus Christian Science does not ignore man-made doctrines, does not denounce them; spares, in them all that coincides with Truth; but without apology it lifts the whole field of religious thought from the material to the spiritual, from unsatisfying speculation to the perception of revealed and demonstrable truth.
