"THE CENTRAL FACT OF THE BIBLE"

In the Manual of The Mother Church in Article XX, which governs all Christian Science Sunday Schools, our beloved Leader has put forward a wonderful concept of spiritual education. This can be utilized not only in the Sunday school, but also in the home, for the purpose of giving to our children the Christian and scientific knowledge of God and His laws, which will enable them to demonstrate their God-given dominion. In this Article, Mrs. Eddy states that the children shall be taught the Scriptures, and she specifies that the first or foundational lessons shall be three great basic teachings, namely, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, with its spiritual interpretation from our textbook (pp. 16, 17), and the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3-12). As we study these lessons in the light of Christian Science, we see that they epitomize the teachings of the Scriptures, and contain the basic elements of true religion.

In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," our Leader writes (p. 131), "The central fact of the Bible is the superiority of spiritual over physical power." The subjects given as the first lessons for the Sunday school epitomize this "central fact." The Commandments rebuke the tendencies of physical sense. Obedience to moral and spiritual law is attained through the triumph of Spirit over matter. The Beatitudes unfold the qualities which are needed in the overcoming of mortal selfhood. The Lord's Prayer, with its spiritual interpretation, begins and continues with the affirmation of the allness of Spirit. It is understood as thought rises above material sense; and, when understood in its spiritual significance, it meets all human needs.

In teaching the Commandments we stress the need for honoring and obeying God, and deal specifically with sin, which constitutes disobedience to the laws of God. We cannot ignore the mortal tendencies to disobey these laws; for the beliefs of mortal selfhood must be fearlessly and impersonally uncovered and seen as no part of the real man. Christian Science shows the unreality of evil, and if we would protect ourselves and others from evil, we must be awake to the danger of making evil seem real by indulging in it. We read in the Christian Science textbook (p. 569), "Every mortal at some period, here or hereafter, must grapple with and overcome the mortal belief in a power opposed to God." The Commandments are the signposts leading to an understanding of Principle, which serves to correct the mortal tendency to indulge in evil.

A wonderful instance of inspirational teaching is given in Luke's Gospel, when, on the way to Emmaus, Jesus expounded the Scriptures to two of his followers. Afterwards, when he had left them, one said to the other, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" As we study the foundational lessons in the light of Christian Science, we too may gain a glimpse of that marvelous light so that we can reveal to receptive hearts the wonders of spiritual reality.

Thomas a Kempis wrote, "He to whom the Eternal Word speaketh is delivered from many an opinion." As parents and Sunday school teachers, it is our duty to let the eternal Word speak to the children through the inspired pages of the Bible, which are illumined by the teachings of divine Science. Spiritual education is not mere abstract instruction, for we cannot make children good by merely teaching them maxims.

The Bible contains many records of triumphant faith, courage, endurance, spiritual integrity, of trials, victories, and spiritual achievements. These illumine the foundational lessons and make them applicable to the problems of today. We do not teach the children in the Sunday school human dogmas or opinions, but spiritual facts which they can prove in daily life. Children should be taught to recognize and love "the beauty of holiness" as portrayed in the Scriptures. They should learn through experience the joys of obedience and goodness. The actual experience of loving instead of hating, of obeying instead of disobeying, teaches them more of the meaning of spirituality than any sermon.

Running like a golden thread through the Bible narratives is the spiritual triumph over the material senses through the power of Spirit, from the realization of Enoch, who walked with God, to that of Paul, who proved the viper powerless. We can trace this "central fact of the Bible" in the story of Abraham, who went out to seek a new country; of Jacob, who wrestled with error and conquered it; of Joseph, who overcame hate, resentment, and lack not only for himself but for a nation. And again, it can be traced in the records of the children of Israel seeking the promised land; in Nehemiah's faithfulness to his great undertaking; in Daniel's courage and consecration; in Isaiah's trumpet call; in the prayer and praise of the Psalms; and in the fulfillment of the Bible promises in the life of Christ Jesus and his triumph over the grave. Children need to become familiar with all these examples of the triumph of righteousness, ever returning to the basic lessons, which are the rock against which human opinions beat in vain.

Through the teachings of Christian Science we are able to show the children that Moses did not of himself originate the Commandments, or Christ Jesus the Beatitudes, any more than Mrs. Eddy, apart from God, wrote "the scientific statement of being" (Science and Health, p. 468). All these spiritual messages point to foundational facts of being which have always been true. Christ Jesus lived the Commandments, and breathed new life into them by interpreting them through the law of Love. Verily, "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

Teachers in the Sunday school need the coöperation of the parents in their effort to help the children; and, needless to say, parents should not depend on the Sunday school alone to teach their children the essential lessons of divine Science. Christian Science reveals the way of Life, and the foundational lessons are needed in the home, wherein are afforded daily opportunities to obey God, good, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to prove the blessings of humility, meekness, mercy, purity, and peace, and to learn how to pray aright. Our children come in touch with many material influences outside the Sunday school and the home. It seems that there are material counterinfluences at work which try to undermine the teaching of the moral law and make it appear that to evade it is both clever and commendable. The subtle argument is that human nature is so weak that Christianly scientific ideals are too transcendental for exemplification in daily life. But this is not the case.

For their protection, our young people need to be well grounded in the power and efficiency of spiritual thinking, from the babes in the primary class to the eager young girls and boys who are looking out on life with vivid expectation. From their ranks will come good citizens, workers for the redemption of humanity, practitioners, church workers, Readers, and officers; they need to be taught how to protect themselves from the temptations which they are likely to encounter in the world. They need to gain a right sense of business, a right sense of companionship, a right sense of values.

The understanding of God as Father-Mother and the desire to reflect Love furnish the keynote of inspired teaching, and prevent us from becoming stereotyped or dull. Members of all classes—from the youngest to the oldest—need tender, nourishing, protecting care, that they may gain the understanding of their real spiritual selfhood and find their way to freedom through the overcoming of all that is unlike God.

The spirit of fatherhood and motherhood expressed in the verses written by our Leader "To the Sunday School Children" (Poems, p. 43) finds an echo in the heart of every earnest worker in the Christian Science Sunday School: