THE Christian Scientist's faith in God rests on strong foundations. It mounts far above personal desire, willful intention, or pious mysticism. It is inspired by infinite Love, and it unites promise and fulfillment with shining links of confident expectation. In human affairs there is no substitute for faith. Willingness to believe that effect will follow cause in orderly sequence, even in such simple actions as the winding of a clock or the writing of a check, illustrates the necessity of faith.
In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of this Science, sums up the rule of faith in a short and telling sentence (p. 15), "Trustworthiness is the foundation of enlightened faith."
Christ Jesus laid great stress on faith. When his disciples approached him with the plea (Luke 17:5), "Increase our faith," he replied in sweeping terms, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root. and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Christian Science teaches that faith which is based on the Science of spiritual creation need accept none of the limitations imposed by human belief or physical law. Intellectual drive and hypnotic self-deception have no place in such faith. It is rooted in the understanding of God's allness and strengthened by manifold proofs of His power.
