The story of mankind since the beginning of its recorded history largely depicts men's efforts to achieve freedom. As the ages have passed, the particular bondage from which they have sought release has assumed changed forms; the great urge of men is still the same—the irresistible quest for freedom.
The world has accomplished much in giving humanity great opportunities for freedom. Despite this fact, many today are fearful and apprehensive that the freedom so dearly bought may suddenly be taken from them. Indeed, there is widespread fear that our civilization itself is threatened by the overbalance of materialistic development in the world.
Christian Science lovingly comes to humanity's rescue with the simple but profound freedom-bringing fact of God's allness. This great fact is succinctly expressed by Mary Baker Eddy in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 468): "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all." This sentence is a part of that pronouncement called by Mrs. Eddy "the scientific statement of being." Since the publication of the first edition of the textbook in 1875 students of Christian Science have based their demonstrations of the healing, liberating power of God upon the pure, simple fact of God's allness contained in this statement. That Mrs. Eddy considered God's allness to be of importance in the liberation of human consciousness is evident, for she made "the scientific statement of being" a part of the Sunday services in all Churches of Christ, Scientist.
One of the facets of the word "allness" as it is applied to Deity is supremacy. And in many places in her writings, Mrs. Eddy refers to God as infinite. Nothing could approach, much less surpass, infinity. Thus we plainly see God's nature or stature as that of infinite supremacy.
During a period of far-flung military' operations one often heard of air supremacy, or complete dominion of the air. This meant that the opponent was unable to send planes into the area of combat. Naturally, air supremacy was greatly sought, because of its vital importance in bringing the contest to an early conclusion. Through this illustration one can glimpse something of the meaning placed by Christian Science upon the term "supremacy" as applied to God. The student of Christian Science happily learns that he is not primarily fighting a war against evil. He is bringing out the present, eternal supremacy of God, good, which disposes of all evil as unreal. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 480), "Where the spirit of God is, and there is no place where God is not, evil becomes nothing,—the opposite of the something of Spirit."
The student of Christian Science awakens to see that all there is to evil is his belief in it. At this point, divine Science lovingly guides him to that next and all-important step of enlightenment wherein he realizes the fact that in reality he possesses only the reflected consciousness of infinite Spirit, Mind, God, who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and [cannot] look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). Christian Science teaches and proves that man is the perfect likeness or reflection of the infinitely pure, eternal God, the All-in-all.
By stating that man is the likeness of God, Spirit, Christian Science does not for a moment mean that a mortal person is this likeness. The student joyfully achieves healing and liberation by realizing that in Science there is no such thing as a physical or mortal man, but that man is, and always has been, divine idea, or God's infinite means of eternal self-expression or manifestation.
The allness of God implies the nothingness of error. But someone may ask: "Does Christian Science assert, on the basis of God's allness, the nothingness of the evil called sin and thereby ignore sin? As a result does it encourage the student to indulge in whatever form of sin is considered attractive to the limited, mortal sense of things?" The answer must be an unqualified No. The nothingness of sin must be discerned and the sin be denied in the light of the allness of God. By consciously living in daily life the sinless qualities of God, which man reflects, we bring out or prove God's allness and consequently experience freedom from discord.
The following liberating experience afforded me a clear realization of the allness of God. During a very cold winter I was connected with a manufacturing concern located some distance from my home. Arriving at the office one morning, I soon became conscious of a burning, irritating condition which began in my legs. Whenever opportunity permitted during the day, I worked as best I could in Christian Science to see the perfection of being. Despite such efforts, however, I was aware that my whole body was becoming inflamed with the discordant condition.
Next morning I awoke at my usual hour to study the Lesson-Sermon, outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly. My body was still inflamed, and I was in considerable discomfort. The subject of the Lesson-Sermon was "God." The Golden Text was from Isaiah (45:22): "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." As I began to study earnestly, the thought came to me, "Look unto Me, God, and not to matter, body—either harmonious or discordant." I eagerly read on. All sense of a person reading from books quickly left. There was just God and His allness. When, after an hour, I had finished the study of the entire lesson and rose to groom myself for the day's activities, I suddenly noted that not a vestige of the physical discord was to be found on the body. I was completely free. My understanding of the allness of God had proved the fact of man's harmonious existence.
The earnest student of Christian Science does not seek the recognition of God's allness primarily to gain physical health, happiness, and security. As he exchanges the false, material sense of being for the true, he discerns that health, happiness, riches, and so on, are not to be found in matter at all, but are to be found in Spirit and spirituality.
Because of his growing comprehension of the fact of God's allness, the Christian Scientist is able to share the blessings of his understanding with his fellow men. There weaves throughout his advancing experience God's immortal command as given to His servant Moses (Ex. 3:12): "When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." Upon the mountain of spiritual revelation we perceive the fact of God's allness and are thereby equipped to help others. Only by continuing on this attainable level can we experience the fullness, the freedom of life in God.
