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CHURCH—A PURE CONCEPT

From the January 1953 issue of The Christian Science Journal


The Church of Christ, Scientist, is established to support and to disseminate the Science of Christ, which teaches the substance and permanence of all that is truly Godlike and the consequent nothingness of that which is contrary to the deific nature and purpose. This Science stands in sharp contrast to superstitious conceptions of God and His creation. The real Church is a spiritual concept, not a material one. Therefore it is absolutely pure, strong, good, useful, and permanent. Mary Baker Eddy discovered the Science of Christ, which lifted her thought above superstitious beliefs about God, before she established the Church of Christ, Scientist, as we have it today. With this knowledge she healed many cases of acute and chronic sickness.

Jesus demonstrated a pure concept of Church. He knew God to be one Spirit, perfect and without blemish. He knew, too, that this truth disposes of all notions that matter is what it claims or seems to be. Mrs. Eddy says of Jesus' demonstration (No and Yes. p. 38): "He established the only true idealism on the basis that God is All, and He is good, and good is Spirit; hence there is no intelligent sin, evil mind or matter: and this is the only true philosophy and realism. This divine mystery of godliness was the rock of Truth, on which he built his Church of the new-born, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail."

Jesus exercised his knowledge, and in countless cases of healing of disease, sin, and death illustrated "his Church of the newborn." One such case is his healing of the man blind from his birth. This man's avowal to the Pharisees shows a keen discernment between the superstitious beliefs about religion, which they represented, and the scientific truth of God and man, which Jesus presented and demonstrated. The man apparently knew intuitively that his healing came from God through His messenger, Christ Jesus, for he said (John 9:30-33): "Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing." No false argument of scholastic theology entertained or expressed by the Pharisees could have hidden from him at that moment the impressions he had gained in being healed.

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