TO determine the extent to which superstition has entered into the practice of religions among mankind is quite impossible, but it may be safely said that worship of the mysterious has been very common in religious beliefs and rites. Superstition is defined by Webster as "an excessive reverence for, or fear of, that which is unknown or mysterious; esp., a religious belief regarded as irrational and misleading." Christian Science may be characterized as rationalized religion, that is to say, it is supported by reason and buttressed by demonstration, and is, therefore, devoid of the slightest vestige of superstition. It has no mysteries, although it may appear to have, to those unfamiliar with its teaching and practice.
Of all the interpreters of the teachings and works of Christ Jesus, Mrs. Eddy is the most practical. She based her claim to recognition as a religious Leader and Founder upon the unanswerable fact that she proved what she taught. Moreover, she furnished the rule and method whereby others could prove for themselves the truthfulness of her teachings. Thus she swings entirely away from the realm of the unknown and esoteric, bringing religion within the light of demonstrable understanding, relieving it of all semblance of mystery and superstition. To the materially-minded, divine truth in all its manifold phases seems remote and mysterious; but to the spiritually receptive, it is the very essence of logic and pure reason. This accords with Jesus' memorable words spoken in reply to Nicodemus, come to inquire of him as to the questions with which he was wrestling. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," the Master declared. And later, he assured his visitor that what he was saying was not uncertain and problematical but definite and capable of proof: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness."
The unresponsive Pharisees were scarcely able to grasp the meaning of the spiritual facts which the Founder of Christianity was setting before them. Yet their inability to understand in no wise perplexed or mystified Jesus. He fully understood the situation. The "things of the Spirit" were to him Truth itself; and he saw conditions so clearly that he spoke out of absolute knowledge, leaving nothing to speculation and uncertainty. Likewise, Mrs. Eddy, having discovered divine Science and proved its propositions, speaks with authority. She can say with like assurance, "We speak that we do know." The powers that, to the unenlightened material thought, seemed supernatural and mysterious became to her the only reality, operating under the never changing divine law. She stripped the teachings of Christ Jesus of all the superstition and occultism which had come to enshroud them during the centuries, bringing their transcendent truth into the full light of day, and again revealing the means whereby all may utilize the benign power of Spirit.
