Abraham, according to the delightfully instructive pastoral in the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of Genesis, talks with God at the door of his tent under the Mamre oaks. God promises him a son. Sarah, listening behind the door, laughs incredulously. And when she denies her indiscretion, the Almighty charges, "Nay; but thou didst laugh."
Thus by story, a favorite form of Oriental discourse, is portrayed the closeness of the Supreme Being to humble folk. Studied intellectualism makes God distant if not doubtful. Christian Science brings the Eternal down from His chimerical throne of remoteness and uncertainty and makes Him a living presence with His people. Men and women, as a result, are beginning to feel this presence as definitely as they feel the summer breeze. The immanence of God has become a scientific fact, which appeals to reason and confirms revelation.
Down through the centuries Deity, now and then, has been referred to by religionists and philosophers as Mind, Life, Love, Spirit, but it remained for Mary Baker Eddy, in her presentation of Christian Science, to elucidate these words and so to vivify her message that he who runs may read and respond. The result is that today people speak of God comprehendingly, as she speaks of Him.
