An instant.
That's all it took to correct that title. Right? (Or at least find something wrong with it.)
Because we've all learned what three 3's unfailingly are. When a statement shows up declaring something three 3's aren't, we immediately know it's not true. We detect it, reject it, and correct it just as fast, because we have a built-in knowledge of what's right.
Everything in mathematics, from basic arithmetic to the most advanced theoretical math, simply has to be accurate. Its principles have to be properly stated and acted on, or the operation is useless. We all know this. That's why we correct mathematical misstatements so quickly. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were always as prompt about misstatements of divine Principle?
Mrs. Eddy was. She knew what she was talking about when she said, "We cannot build safely on false foundations." Science and Health, p. 201; Her revelation rejected and still rejects centuries' upon centuries' worth of false, baseless notions about existence. It discards layer after encrusted layer of conclusions drawn from incorrect evidence of the physical senses.
And all on the basis of "one." One Mind and Mind's idea. One Spirit and its expression. One Life and its being. Love and its image, Soul and its emanation, Truth and its reflection, is one. All true being is inseparably identified with God, the one divine Principle.
This is the accurate, unfailing foundation on which to build a progressively spiritualized consciousness, hence experience.
Mrs. Eddy believed literally in obeying the first commandment. The question "Is there more than one God or Principle?" she answered with a categorical "There is not." ibid., p. 465; Having determined, through acknowledging and acting from the basis of only one God, Principle, what limitless and instantaneous power and dominion is available to solve human problems, she devoted her life to helping mankind do likewise.
Christ Jesus had done this supremely. He knew the foundation: "I and my Father are one."John 10:30; He stuck to it: "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." 14:10; He enlarged upon it: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." v.12; He rejected any slightest deviation: "Father, . . . not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt. 26:39; And he expected his followers to expand from the same foundation: "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8;
Think of how well those first Christians did—witnessing to the Christ from city to nation, through alien territory to what seemed then "the uttermost part of the earth"! And Christian Science is ready to do the same thing today, for Truth is ever operative, instantly available and infinitely applicable wherever we are. What's needed is a clear, absolute, continuous consciousness of spiritual fact, prepared to detect and correct spurious material suppositions. That's where the discipline of Christian Science comes in—and the founding work of Mrs. Eddy.
To forward her discovery of the very Science of the New Testament and Old, Mrs. Eddy pressed beyond her first spontaneous experience and healing. She healed others. She taught others to heal and then to teach. She rooted these teachings in a written textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, undeviating in its adherence to Principle. She went on to provide her Church in perpetuity with an impersonal pastor, the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, and to protect its government with a book of Rules and By-Laws, the Manual of The Mother Church.
In a profoundly perceptive comment on the Church Manual called "Mental Digestion," Mrs. Eddy observes poignantly, "Heaps upon heaps of praise confront me, and for what? That which I said in my heart would never be needed,—namely, laws of limitation for a Christian Scientist." There follow several more revealing sentences, and she concludes, "This church is impartial. Its rules apply not to one member only, but to one and all equally. Of this I am sure, that each Rule and By-law in this Manual will increase the spirituality of him who obeys it, invigorate his capacity to heal the sick, to comfort such as mourn, and to awaken the sinner." The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 229-230.
Obedience is the key: the discipline of discipleship.
Just as the multiplication table is constantly being turned to, the world over, as a basis for everyday transactions, so the student of Christian Science is always turning to the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings, including the Manual, as his guides in following divine Principle. Instant obedience helps him perceive the healing Truth more keenly, see quicker results from his prayer.
Especially, perhaps, as parent or Sunday School teacher, he strives to be obedient to Principle. He works to follow the rules, to set an example himself, to see that the rules are understood and practiced by his youngsters. What, then, if the rules suddenly seem flouted? If youthful Scientists, even while they experience healing, are casual or caustic about traditional ways of conducting church activities? Are they being disrespectful, unappreciative, ignorant, and rude? Or, as in "new math," could there be new ways of obeying?
Is it possible—just barely possible—that some of these young people see something grown-ups don't? After all, from the moment they first came on the scene their parents and Sunday School teachers have been insisting on their wholly individual spiritual identity. Should it be unsettling now to have them act on that individuality?
Perhaps they're urging, "Here's this tremendous Principle. Let's use it! Why spend time over formalities? Why not get on with the world work? Go forward! Apply!"
Here's something, for example, many of today's youngsters know. There's an instance, quite within the realm of practical mathematics, where "3X3 = 13" is a true statement.
You see, "3X3 = 9" is true only in the decimal system, or "Base 10" math, which employs ten digits, 0 through 9, to express itself. We use this system so constantly that we seldom if ever think of its specifics. But these specifics simply express a larger principle, which can be recorded on various bases, using different quantities of digits. The same techniques we learned for handling Base 10 can also be applied to other bases.
The binary system, for example, or "Base 2" math, uses only two digits, 0 and 1. (The binary system, of course, is a favorite language of computers. It's been indispensable for such processes as landing men on the moon, transmitting photographic and other data from outer space, instant "memory-bank" record-keeping, and so on.)
The Base 10 statement 3 X 3 = 9 translates into binary or Base 2 language as 112 X 112 = 10012. (Those particular binary expressions are pronounced "one-one" and "one-zero-zero-one.")
Similarly, the senary system, "Base 6" math, expresses itself in six digits, 0 through 5. And Base 10's 3 X 3 = 9 translates into senary language as 36 X 36 = 136 (pronounced not "thirteen" but "one-three").
Confusing as this may seem to those of us trained only in the rigid technique of repositioning figures to achieve certain results in Base 10 math, it's perfectly clear to people accustomed to think and practice math in terms of concepts, place values, applied reason and logic. Nothing has changed in mathematical principle. Its application is merely being enlarged and extended and made available for a greater variety of uses and users. Understandably, the users are often young.
But young or old, all recognize that mathematical principle controls and protects the system and the statements expressing it—and the mathematician as well. No mistakes occur when principle is adhered to. Not harm but unprecedented progress accompanies expanded application of mathematical truth.
If such is the case with principles of math, how much more so with divine Principle? To scientific metaphysics, as long as the basis is one, the foundation is sure, no matter how wide the outreach.
Are some dubious, for example, about new colorful jackets and updated layouts and contents of Christian Science periodicals and pamphlets? Are others concerned about those who carry the healing work into, say, city halls, drug counseling centers, and communes? Does it seem somehow irreverent to apply divine Principle for solutions needed in champion-level sports, in winning politics, in advanced engineering and physics?
"Ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth," Christ Jesus said. Today that's the solar system. And let's face it—earthlings obviously didn't reach the moon by muleback.
No, the primary thing in Christian Science is actual adherence to divine Principle —constantly "touching base," so to speak, however wide the application. The Bible, the textbook, and the Manual are inseparable from that infinite base and will never fail to guide. Always and forever the spiritual foundation is one.
And just as in mathematics, "Base One" has no zero: 1 X 1 = 1. Always and all ways.
One is All.
Right on!
