THE ultimate purpose of spiritual education is to lift mankind progressively out of the deceptive dream of materiality and sin into the joy-inspiring, spiritual sense of immortal being. To some, immortality may appear to be of such a hazy, indeterminate nature as to preclude its acceptance in thought as a present possibility.
Christian Science, the Science of true existence, challenges this conclusion and offers to the world spiritual education that lends wings to noble aspirations. It inculcates a firm faith and calm assurance that God, the infinite All-in-all, is the Supreme Being. Its teachings enable one to perceive man as the present perfect reflection of this one and only Being. Every glimpse of God and man in this oneness of immortal being loosens the fetters of ignorance and sin, dispels the darkness of materiality and death, and expands one's spiritual capacity to reflect true wisdom. Spiritual blessings comprise the ultimate demonstration of Christian Science, and they greatly transcend and outshine the benefits of physical healing which its practice inevitably adds to one's human experience.
Some mortals believe that a final disintegration of material existence will come through a terrible cataclysm. The following message of hope from the pen of our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, in her "Miscellaneous Writings" assures us that there are no valid grounds for such belief (p. 356): "The pent-up elements of mortal mind need no terrible detonation to free them. Envy, rivalry, hate need no temporary indulgence that they be destroyed through suffering; they should be stifled from lack of air and freedom."
