A serious look reveals that Christian Science denies the substance and intelligence

of matter because these beliefs deny the omnipotence and omnipresence of Spirit.
This isn't overlooking what the five physical senses are saying. It's actually
breaking through the dream and revealing the true nature of the universe, unseen
by the senses.

The Bible teaches that God is infinite. So, if God is Spirit, as Jesus declared, and
He fills all space, then his universe must be spiritual, not material.

The Bible also indicates that God is Mind. A mind can't contain solid objects, but it
can and does contain the concepts, or ideas, of these objects.

This gives you a peek at what Christian Science means when it insists that Mind's,
God's, universe is composed of spiritual ideas, not material things. And each
spiritual idea is perfect, indestructible, eternal. The sun, stars, trees, grass, are
beautiful, to our physical sense of them. I like to think that in their true nature,
they're even more beautiful, because they are spiritual ideas, manifestations of
divine Mind.

Where does God's man fit into all of this? "Man" is the term the Bible and Christian
Science uses for the male and female of God's creating. It's also the family name for
the sons and daughters of God. This man, as described in the first chapter of
Genesis, is a spiritual idea of divine Mind, the highest idea in all His universe. Man
is, in fact, God's masterpiece.

How can we understand that existence really is spiritual and not material? God has
given each one of us the capacity to understand spiritual things, and we call it
spiritual sense. There's a lovely description of this in the book of Job, where Elihu
says to Job: "There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them
understanding."

No doubt the Master's spiritual sense helped him prove that matter was not the solid
substance it appeared to be. Look at the conquest he made over the world's
conviction that matter has power and intelligence. He walked on the water, he
passed through the walls of a room, and he quieted a raging storm. It's clear that
Jesus knew something wonderful, and powerful, about God and man.

THE REVELATION THAT CAME TO MRS. EDDY HELPS HUMANITY

The three factors I mentioned, that are usually present whenever there's a spiritual
awakening, were certainly evident in the life of Mary Baker Eddy.

Reading biographies of Mrs. Eddy puts a lot of things into perspective. When you
read about various events in her experience, the struggles she had to establish her
church, you can trace her awakening from the Adam-dream.

Mrs. Eddy's mental readiness for the revelation of Truth, and her willingness to
yield to the influence of the Christ, are obvious to anyone who studies her writings.

Mrs. Eddy was spiritually-minded even as a child. She was brought up in a religious
home with a deep love of the Bible. She once told a friend that while other children
were out playing, she sometimes preferred to read the Scriptures.

So, it was natural for her to turn to God after the tragic loss of loved ones. And it
was natural for her, during a lifetime of physical suffering, to question why
Christians weren't doing the healing works of Jesus and his disciples. And it was
just as natural for her to devote her life in search of the answer.

This revelation of Truth didn't come to Mrs. Eddy all at once, in one great burst of
light. It's true that she had a severe experience that changed the entire course of her
life. She saw something about God and man she'd never seen before. But,
compared to what was revealed to her later, over the ensuing years, that initial
discovery turned out to be just a glimpse.

Here's how she explains it: "I knew the Principle of all harmonious Mind-action to
be God, and that cures were produced in primitive Christian healing by holy, uplifting
faith; but I must know the Science of this healing, and I won my way to absolute
conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration. The revelation of
Truth in the understanding came to me gradually and apparently through divine
power."

When those who are unfamiliar with Christian Science awaken to this revelation of Truth,
they'll understand why Christian Scientists hold Mrs. Eddy in such high regard. Right
now, there are many who think Mrs. Eddy's followers worship her. It may be that some
Christian Scientists have given this impression, without meaning to.

But such personal sense, clinging to personality, was not encouraged by Mrs. Eddy. In
fact, her teachings turn thought away from personality -- and from Mrs. Eddy -- to God,
man's divine source.

But adulation of those whom we admire is a human weakness that many of us have. It's
sort of a stage we pass through on our road to spiritual maturity. Still, there's quite a
difference between adulation and a genuine appreciation of the good someone's life
represents. Appreciation is a form of gratitude. And gratitude is a Christly quality
because it flows from divine Love.

I can remember a fine healing of severe colds my two children had in one day, when I
spent that day joyously thanking God for the lifework of all who had advanced
Christianity. I went back as far as Moses!

You see, prayer in Christian Science is based on the two great commandments of Jesus.
We can't really love God without loving His children. We can't think of ourselves as
God's man and see our neighbor as a sinful mortal.

Knowing this, we can pray more effectively for mankind. We can see, for instance, that
the immorality and sensuality that seems so rampant today, are lies about God's pure and
holy man. And God's universal family can't be broken up by separation or divorce.
Every member of God's family is nourished and cherished by divine Love's constant
outpouring of goodness. God's man has never gone to war, nor caused a war.

You can see that the spiritual understanding of God and man Christian Science teaches
helps contribute to the healing of humanity's problems. And it helps each one of us
remain at peace in the midst of what Adam's man believes is a turbulent world.

Now let's review briefly what we've learned from our discussion today. I've shown

you that three factors are usually present in spiritual awakening: a mental readiness,

the influence of the Christ, and an acceptance of the revelation of Truth. You may have

also observed that the same three factors are often present in spiritual healing. Certainly

both awakening and healing require spiritual enlightenment -- fresh glimpses of the

Truth about God and His creation, including His man.

We've seen the distinction Christian Science makes between God's man and the false
concept about man which we've called in this lecture "Adam's man."

We've considered the role of the Christ and how it awakens mankind collectively, and
each one of us individually, to the spiritual nature of God and His universe.

We've seen the importance of putting on the Mind of Christ, and we've reminded
ourselves that God has given us the spiritual sense to understand all these things. And
the wonderful part of it all is that we don't have to wait for some future state to enjoy
this heritage as God's man. It's ours now.

Now, I'd like to share this with you. Remember back when I told you about that word
"mortal?" Had you thought about this? Every time you deny that you are a mortal, and
declare and affirm and joyously acknowledge that you are, in fact, the spiritual image

and likeness of God, you are raising yourself from the dead. And every time you deny

that someone else is a mortal, and declare and affirm and joyously acknowledge that

that one is, in fact, the spiritual image and likeness of God, you're helping to raise that

one from the dead. This is something very precious to think about.


The Apostle John beautifully perceived the difference between God's man and Adam's
kind of man. It shines all through his writings. One of my favorite passages is found in
the first epistle of John, third chapter -- and this is from the King James Version.

It goes like this:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God."

An interesting modern translation puts it this way:

"Consider the incredible love the Father hath shown us in allowing us to be called 'children
of God.' And this is not just what we are called, but what we are. This explains why the
world will no more recognize us than it recognized Christ. Here and now, my dear friends,
we are God's children."



ABOUT DOROTHY H. JONES:

A native of Texas, Dorothy H. Jones had a successful career as a writer, in addition

to raising a family. Her articles and stories appeared in numerous magazines, and she

published six novels for teenage girls. Her last book, "Abbie Burgess: Lighthouse

Heroine" a long-distance collaboration with a pen-pal in Maine, is still in print as a

popular classic in Maine, as well as appearing in several school textbook anthologies.

She also taught fiction writing at writers' conferences, and conducted seminars on

writing for the Christian Science periodicals.

Mrs. Jones found Christian Science in 1957. She became a member of the First Church
of Christ, Scientist, Decatur, Georgia and The Mother Church in Boston, and soon had
Christian Science class instruction with Israel Pickens of Mobile, Alabama. Later, she
moved to Falls Church, Virginia and became a member of First Church, Arlington.

Over the years she served the church in various capacities, including Second Reader,

Sunday School teacher, Board Member, and Assistant Committee on Publication. In the

latter capacity, she gave talks to schools and church groups for over twelve years,

introducing others to Christian Science and answering their questions. She was a

frequent contributor to the Christian Science periodicals, including over 80 of the

daily religious columns for The Christian Science Monitor. Dividing her time between

her writing career and a growing healing practice, she eventually chose to devote

herself fully to the healing ministry, and in 1970, Mrs. Jones became a "Journal-listed"

Christian Science practitioner. But she continued to write for the periodicals, and was

a frequent guest speaker at Christian Science Association Meetings. In 1979, she was

appointed to The Board of Lectureship, and served for two years, travelling throughout

the United States and Canada.

See links below for other writings of Mrs. Jones found on this web site.