One of the most arresting phrases in the inspired writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, is to be found on page 209 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where she speaks of "the infinite calculus of Spirit." The words challenge the thinker to enter into a new and hitherto little explored realm of thought. To the spiritually-minded they open the very gates of scientific harmony, giving entrance to the new heaven and new earth visioned by St. John on Patmos: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.... And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
In infinite Spirit all must be spiritual, therefore perfect and eternal. The calculus of Spirit recognizes no postulate save that of one cause, one Mind, one substance. Hence this spiritual calculus deals not with the so-called mind that is searching for Truth outside itself, but with the Mind that is Truth, self-contained and self-sustained; not with mere energy or blind, warring forces, but with the intelligence that is omnipotence—one power, one will, altogether good, to which there can be no opposition, no resistance, no defiance. It deals not with inert, inanimate matter, but with conscious, changeless facts, the divine qualities and ideas of Mind; not with speculations, uncertainties, or inconsistencies, but with the immaculate logic of perfect Principle; in other words, with omniscience. This omniscience—all Science—includes all law, self-enforcing, from which there can be no deviation, and to which there can be no disobedience.
The calculus of Spirit deals not with human invention, but with revelation; not with time or space, but with omnipresence, in which is all real existence; which eternally is, and which unfolds its own being without birth or death, knowing neither time, chance, distance, nor vacuum. Because of his purity and goodness Jesus was able to apprehend these three great qualities of Spirit—omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence; and this apprehension enabled him to heal the sick and the sinning, to walk on the water, feed the multitude, and raise the dead. It was his understanding of Spirit's omnipresence which enabled him, without traversing space, to be instantly at the place in which it was needful for him to be, in order to bless mankind and prove the infinitude of good. This understanding of omnipresence is the only real annihilator of the belief in time and space.
The infinite calculus of Spirit deals not with persons, but with ideas which spring from the creative Mind, called God. Mrs. Eddy's discovery (based on Jesus' words and works) is that all causation is Mind, a discovery in accordance with the statement in the first chapter of Genesis, that all things exist in Mind eternally. As the ideas of God are perfect, there can be in reality no malformation, no diseased or imperfect functioning; there is only that perfect functioning of perfect ideas—man and the universe —in obedience to immutable law. It is only in the suppositional realm of the finite, expressed as the counterfeit material man and universe, that there seems to be imperfection, disease, lack, sin, and death. Here is the counterfeit concerning whom the prophet Isaiah said, "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?"
One of the synonyms for Spirit is Life; so we may reasonably speak of the infinite calculus of Life. Infinite Life can have no beginning and no end, no age or decrepitude, no dimming of faculties, no limitation of capacities or abilities, no obstruction to the fulfillment of its divine possibilities. On page 319 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes, "To calculate one's life-prospects from a material basis, would infringe upon spiritual law and misguide human hope." But one can turn resolutely away from this false, finite calculus, which limits good in every direction, and through consecrated study of Christian Science attain that spiritual understanding which enables one to bring into expression the Life that is Principle, infinite in all its manifestations of good. This expression of good will be in exact proportion to one's faithfulness, obedience, and willing surrender of all belief in a life apart from God.
Another synonym for Spirit is Love. And what may one say of the infinite calculus of Love? Divine Love is beyond the measurement of human thought. In the infinite calculus of Love all is light and loveliness, beauty and bounty. No least idea is outside its tender care, its bountiful provision, its unerring guidance. In all the realm of infinite Love there can be no least thing that is out of place, hurt, or poverty-enmeshed; no least trace of sickness, sin, or sorrow. By obeying the demands of infinite Love, recognizing its allness in our daily living, allowing no least deviation from the acknowledgment of its gracious divine activity, we find healing for all our diseases, provision for all our needs, peace that stills every fear, and the complete fulfillment of every sacred longing.
In the infinite calculus of Spirit there is only the indivisible One that is God. In that One is contained all creation. Each individual finds his true selfhood inseparably one with the infinite One, expressing all the qualities and attributes of his divine source. Each one is to God equally near, equally dear, and equally blessed. This ensures the brotherhood and equality of man. This oneness of God and man our Leader has, in her inimitable way, expressed on page 4 of "Pulpit and Press," where she says: "You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source, and daily demonstrate this. Then you will find that one is as important a factor as duodecillions in being and doing right, and thus demonstrating deific Principle." And she adds, "Each of Christ's little ones reflects the infinite One, and therefore is the seer's declaration true, that 'one on God's side is a majority.' "
In the light of this infinite calculus of Spirit, with its intelligent, Love-directed ideas, how inadequate seem the mathematical calculations in the realm of what is called matter; how mythical seem material distances, forces, and measurements! The only result that can ensue from speculative material calculations is the exposure of their nothingness. As through their own investigations or research physical scientists come to see the mythical nature of material existence, their thought will be turned to the reality of Spirit and of the spiritual universe, and their endeavors to know God and His law of Love, intelligently and scientifically.
The earth will help the woman (Rev. 12:16)—the wisdom of this world will acknowledge that through Mary Baker Eddy there has been revealed a wisdom beyond this world, and eventually the prophecy made by her will be fulfilled (Science and Health,p.209): "Material substances or mundane formations, astronomical calculations, and all the paraphernalia of speculative theories, based on the hypothesis of material law or life and intelligence resident in matter, will ultimately vanish, swallowed up in the infinite calculus of Spirit."
