Christian Science teaches the allness of God, good, and the consequent nothingness of evil, or error. It does not theorize on this question; it demonstrates the difference between the real and the unreal through healing.
One who honestly applies the fact of God's allness to disease may prove that the disease is but an error of belief. A clear consciousness of the allness of good excludes the possibility of the consciousness of disease. If the disease were real, it would not disappear; but when understanding brings the consciousness of good's allness the disease does disappear, and health is established as ever present.
The healing power of Christian Science can be demonstrated only in the degree that the allness of good is actually perceived. We cannot demonstrate it by merely talking about or thinking about the allness of good; good must be discerned, understood, realized. In order to do this, we must remove all that would obstruct a clear view of good as God, Spirit, Mind, Principle.
If we have a room with a beautiful view from the window and weeds grow up and obstruct the view, the suggestion that we would rather not cut down the weeds because to do so would take our mind off the view would be recognized quickly as absurd. But this is exactly the kind of suggestion that comes to us as we are studying to understand and apply Christian Science in our daily lives.
Healing comes only when we behold the absolute real. The evils of belief in matter as alive or substantial or intelligent or true appear in such forms as selfish want, mental laziness, impatience, envy, or pride and prevent us from beholding reality. These evils deny the allness of Spirit, God, good. But that is not all. Mortal mind argues that it is not necessary to destroy these errors, that we may ignore them and at the same time go on enjoying the view. If we do not handle these suggestions and proceed to destroy the evils, we may wonder why we are not demonstrating Truth in its infinite power. The fact is that unless we are eliminating error, we are not beholding the absolute real; and demonstration is impossible.
Mrs. Eddy has given us a thorough discussion of animal magnetism—the term used in Christian Science to denote evil's claim to hypnotic power—in an article entitled "Ways That Are Vain." This article appears in her book "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" and begins with these words (pp. 210, 211): "Certain individuals entertain the notion that Christian Science Mind-healing should be two-sided, and only denounce error in general,—saying nothing, in particular, of error that is damning men. They are sticklers for a false, convenient peace, straining at gnats and swallowing camels. The unseen wrong to individuals and society they are too cowardly, too ignorant, or too wicked to uncover, and excuse themselves by denying that this evil exists. This mistaken way, of hiding sin in order to maintain harmony, has licensed evil, allowing it first to smoulder, and then break out in devouring flames."
In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus told us, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). Such perfection is a joy to contemplate, but we can do little more than imagine perfection if we are not willing to face error and grapple with it as this sermon of the Master indicates.
Speaking of Jesus, the author of Hebrews wrote (4:15) "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." There can be no doubt that Jesus beheld the absolute real, for his healing work bore unfailing witness to the omnipresence and omnipotence of God, good. But his preaching showed his knowledge of the claims of evil; and he insisted that his followers face evil's temptations, as he himself had done, and thereby attain perfection "even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Jesus was our Way-shower. The way he showed us is the way which leads to the ascension above all evil, above all materiality and discord, into the consciousness of infinite Love, the government of good, the harmony of Soul. He said, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Surely his Sermon on the Mount, wherein we find not only the Beatitudes but warnings against hypocrisy, against serving two masters, against judging, against casting pearls before swine, against false prophets, against mere lip service, depicts the strait gate, which must be entered before we begin treading the narrow way to the life divine.
Unless we are healing as Jesus did, we cannot honestly say that we are beholding the absolute real. We need to work to detect the errors which would obstruct our view of reality. We must uproot them. Having done so, we may behold reality; and by studying, we may learn to understand it better. Then we may detect still more quickly obstructions or distortions and act more spontaneously to destroy them.
On page 468 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, we find a statement which provides the factual basis for every Christian Science treatment. Our Leader has provided for the reading of it at every Sunday church service. It is significant that "the scientific statement of being" begins by handling error. The opening sentence is, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter," and is followed by this sentence: "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all."
