Just to clear up a few misconceptions about Christian Science which
you have stated here.
Christian Science does not state that the physical universe does not
exist, nor that we are not really here. What it reveals is that the
physical world is an illusion of the material senses which mortal
mind (the mind unillumined by spiritual consciousness) decrees as
being real and substantial and as having power. Christian Science
teaches that this belief in the solidness and permanence and supposed
power of the material universe needs to be transformed by
spiritualizing thought through prayer to uplift consciousness to a
divine state of Mind, whereby we are mentally lifted above the
aggressive claims of matter and find our true state of being in God,
which is Spirit. Since God is Spirit and man was formed in His image
and likeness, then man is actually spiritual, and is in truth above
all materiality, mental or physical. This is what Jesus proved by his
healing mission by demonstrating the superiority of spiritual being
over material consciousness. This was accomplished !
thr
ough his lifeand teaching and healing works, and especially by his
demonstration of the supremacy of spiritual power when he overcame
death through the Resurrection and by his ultimate demonstration of
spiritual power over supposed material laws when he ascended
completely beyond the material realm in the Ascension.
Christian Science most certainly does not claim that disease is all
in our heads, but that disease is the physical manifestation of dis -
ease in thought, or erroneous thinking which is not any persons
responsibility or blame, it is simply an error, which can be treated
much like the proper application of mathematics treats a
miscalculation, through scientific prayer to know and understand the
truth of being as wholly spiritual and upheld and maintained by God,
in whose image and likeness we are all created, and 'in whom we live
and move and have our being.' Scientific prayer is the constant
effort to see and know creation as God Himself sees it, as being
whole and complete and as 'very good'. For we know that 'God is of
purer eyes than to behold evil'. If God is omnipotent, and
omniscient, all-knowing and all powerful, then what is there beyond
His knowledge and power which can possibly know something different
about His creation and see it as less than 'very good'. It i!
s s
cientifically impossible if you allow that God is indeed omnipotent
and omniscient and when you allow that God is also omnipresent- all
present or all presence, and all power and all knowledge or truth
here and now, then there is absolutely no room for anything less than
His perfect likeness to be manifested throughout His creation.
Any thing less than this is actually in violation of the first
commandment, to' have no other gods before me.' If we are honest and
sincere as Christians, and faithfully obey the first commandment,
which is scientifically done when we know that 'the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ',and we follow Jesus
teachings faithfully, then we will have 'that mind in us which was
also in Christ Jesus', and we won't know any discord or dis - ease
because we are at one with that Mind (God) which is the all knowing,
all powerful and all present Mind or supreme intelligence of all
creation. The first commandment is of utmost importance in this, for
if we allow that God is the only power and intelligence and presence
of the universe, then we cannot allow for any other presence or power
or intelligence. Our faithfulness to this is crucial, and our faith
can be improved through spiritual understanding to the point that
faith becomes an absolute trust grounded !
in
spiritual understanding. By our faith we truly learn what it means to
be Christian, to have that mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus.
And this mind heals any discord or dis - ease which might try to
establish itself by claiming that there is another power other than
God, or eternal omnipresent and omnipotent good.
Also, there is no mention whatsoever of Adam in Gen 1, and I
certainly didn't allude to it. Adam is not introduced until Gen 2. I
maintain that the man and the entire account of creation in Gen 1 is
the spiritual creation, entirely seperate from the material account
of creation in Gen 2. THis is my belief and since this discussion
board advocates the discussion of both physical science and
religious teachings, then I believe I am quite in the right to
espouse these ideas here. After all discussion and discourse is what
helps to synthesize ideas from concept to application.
I hope this helps clear up any confusion, and I'm sorry if you find
my discussions either confusing or irrelevant. It certainly isn't
confusing or irrelevant to me. I hope you allow that this does not
violate the truce I talked about in another post, but like you have a
sore spot with cults, I have a sore spot with misconceptions, and
feel it is right to try to shed light on these things so that these
misconceptions don't multiply.
With Peace,
Stuart Kirkley
--On Thu, 25 Apr 2002 23:43:43 MikeSatterlee wrote: >Walt, > >Cults are a sore spot with me. But that's a long story. > >So far as there being intelligent Christian Scientists, even though, as you >say, their belief system seems to be a bit "Loony," I am sure you are right. >The same, for some odd reason, can be said of just about any religion, even >the absolute "looniest." Practicers of Voodoo, the Royal Order of tree >Worshipers, you name it. > >Heck, who am I to call someone else's religious beliefs "unscientific"? >Christian Scientists tell us we are not really here, that the physical world >is all a dream. Germs do not cause disease. Disease is all in our head, as is >everything else. Loony? Who am I to call anyone else's religious beliefs >"Loony"? After all, I believe Jesus Christ while on earth was both fully God >and fully man, that He turned water into wine, restored sight to the blind, >raised the dead, rose from the dead Himself and ascended to heaven. Are any >of these religious beliefs of mine "scientific"? No. In fact they are >probably just as unscientific and just as "Loony" as anything Mary Baker Eddy >ever taught. > >Why then are we here discussing science? Someone please remind me. So what if >the Bible conflicts with science? Why not believe it anyway? If Jesus could >simultaneously be both fully God and fully man, why could there not have >simultaneously been a worldwide flood and no flood at all? > >If Mary Baker Eddy might have been right, and maybe the physical world does >not even exist, why are we here discussing physical science at all? > >This all started because Stu offered the Christian Science solution to the >"two adams" in Gen 1 and 2. The first one was real. The second one was all a >dream, as is everything else we now see around us. I thought that "solution" >was ridiculous and totally unscientific and said so. But because it is a >teaching of an established "religion" it seems it is not politically correct >to here criticize this "solution." > >I can't understand why "Christian Scientists" are here discussing the >physical sciences anyway. After all, the physical world does not really exist. > >As you can see, this whole topic of discussion both confuses me and >frustrates me. Maybe someone else can make some sense of it. > >Mike >
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