ON page 242 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" Mrs. Eddy writes, "Christian Science is absolute; it is neither behind the point of perfection nor advancing towards it; it is at this point and must be practised therefrom." And a sentence or two farther on she adds, "In practising Christian Science you must state its Principle correctly, or you forfeit your ability to demonstrate it." There is a ring of certainty in the words of the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science which prompts investigation on the part of those who approach this Science desirous of knowing what it teaches, and how its teaching brings about healing. Christian Science is the Science of being, the Science of God and His creation; and Mrs. Eddy's assurance that this is so, runs through every page of her writings.
Christian Science is absolute Science in that it reveals the absolute truth; that is, the truth of real being, as distinguished from a false sense of being. And it is exact Science because the rules whereby it can be applied are invariable. Thinkers generally are agreed that the knowledge gained through the material senses is always superficial, never absolute. We have but to think of what the sense of sight presents in order to be convinced of this. Briefly, this sense shows us multitudinous objects, varying in form and color, and in their position relative to each other; but it never penetrates beyond the surface of the objects, never gives the slightest indication of what is termed their structure. It is left to the physicist, by means of reason and experiment, to investigate the constitution, as he calls it, of material objects, and to theorize upon that which he apparently discovers. No natural scientist dares, however, to say that his investigations reveal absolute truth. He goes from one theory to another, the last perhaps more subtle than its predecessor, but beyond theory he cannot go.
It is perfectly clear, to those who understand Christian Science, that the truths of real or absolute being will never be discovered through the investigations of natural science. How can we say this? Because, as Christian Science shows, matter, that upon which the investigations are made, is unreal—a false or illusory state of consciousness. Experimentation upon so-called matter is, from the purely metaphysical point of view, like investigating an insubstantial dream.
