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GOD'S GOVERNMENT OR TYRANNY?

From the April 1951 issue of The Christian Science Journal


That famous epigram by William Penn, "Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants," is a reminder that was never more needed than today.

In the light of Christian Science, as discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, we know that the law of God has been rendered demonstrably available to all. "The term Science, properly understood," she tells us, "refers only to the laws of God and to His government of the universe, inclusive of man" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 128). Every so-called law that is not based on God's law is "more honour'd in the breach than the observance." When Moses proclaimed God's law to the people of Israel, in the desert of Sinai, the Ten Commandments became the model code of a true theocracy which, had they been lived up to by the people, would have established the kingdom of heaven on earth. The desire of the Israelites, however, to be like other nations and to have a temporal king who would rule over them, ultimately led them into civil war and thence into foreign captivity. Nations that have rejected the fundamentals of the Ten Commandments and have relied exclusively on physical force for protection not only have failed to promote the welfare of their own people, but have eventually suffered for their moral blindness.

While in our parliamentary systems majority rule is a great improvement over pagan dictatorship, it cannot be said that a majority is always right. On the other hand, the voice of Truth speaking through a single individual has been known to change the course of public opinion. This was notably the case when Elijah's faith overthrew the worship of Baal in Israel's northern kingdom. The Word of God spoke even more loudly when Christ Jesus laid the foundation for the kingdom of heaven on earth through his gospel of healing. In our own time God has spoken again to mankind through the revelation of Christian Science, which is fulfilling the Master's prediction.

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