In the Glossary of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 583), Mary Baker Eddy gives the spiritual meaning of Church as "the structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." True Church, therefore, is not a material structure erected by mankind for the worship of God. The structure of Truth and Love partakes of the nature of God—spirituality, perfection, integrity, unity, harmony, and infinite good. The true Church is abundant in love, rich in spiritual ideas, and expresses the resistless attraction of Truth.
Evil has no place in Church, for evil is not a person, a law, an idea, an influence, or a deed. Mrs. Eddy states on page 49 of "Unity of Good": "Evil is without Principle. Being destitute of Principle, it is devoid of Science. Hence it is undemonstrable, without proof." Church is a divine idea, and the real man, made in God's image, includes the divine idea of Church. The correct concept of the one and only Church brings greater harmony, beauty, perfection, into our human church organization.
The suggestions of an unloving church, a poor church, an unattractive or empty church, have no foundation in fact. It is our unloving, poor, or unattractive concept of church which has to be dealt with if the outward manifestation is to be attractive and progressive. The true Church—pure, perfect, forever new and vital—lacks no good or perfect gift. Supply is always in spiritual ideas, and true Church is inseparable from the ideas of love, beauty, graciousness, vitality, freshness, and inspiration, which emanate from divine Mind. In proportion to our realization that Church is sustained and maintained by unfaltering Principle, therefore lacking not a single element of good, will our human organization be abundantly supplied with all that is necessary for its usefulness.
