There can be no question that Christian Science made its first appeal to humanity with the declaration that Mind is the healer of disease and that it includes all reality. Very few, perhaps, paused to argue this proposition, nor did they need to do so, for the evidence of Mind's healing power followed so closely upon the declaration of it that denials were practically ruled out of court. The second part of the statement, which is really included in the first, was however accepted more slowly by most people, for in this case conviction must be reached in the way mentioned by Mrs. Eddy, who says: "I won my way to absolute conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration" (Science and Health, p. 109). On the following page she says that "reason and revelation were reconciled;" and this also is the experience of all earnest truth seekers who accept the basic teaching of Christian Science, namely, the allness of God, infinite Mind.
It is interesting to note that in no other language than English have we a word which, strictly speaking, corresponds to Mind. Modern teachers of philosophy have admitted this, and have thought that the word originated in the Sanskrit; but be this as it may, the important consideration for students of Christian Science is to grasp the tremendous significance of the "scientific statement of being," which says, "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" (Science and Health, p. 468). As this becomes more and more clearly understood, the difference between divine Mind and the "carnal mind" is made clear, and without a clear sense of this distinction it would be impossible to demonstrate healing in Christian Science.
In studying the works of those who present the views of ancient and modern philosophers, it is made clear that the mind presented therein is one which is conscious of matter, hence of all evil, and which is dependent for its manifestation upon materiality. While it is true that some of the world's great thinkers, that is, apart from those who follow closely the teachings of Christ Jesus, have had wonderful glimpses of the truth about mind, yet in no case are they consistent, because their concept of mind includes the acceptance of physical sense evidence, and so the Mind that was in Christ Jesus is not to be found in the writings of these learned men. St. Paul had undoubtedly wrestled with all the advanced theories of philosphers, and it is altogether likely that he was acquainted with Plato's teachings, yet he did not hesitate to say in his first epistle to the Corinthians, "Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" to which he added, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men."
