Francis William Cousins, C.S.B., of Manchester,
England
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
In this lecture we are going to consider freedom. At the outset this would seem to be a very simple matter, and I suppose the first thought that comes to us when the word "freedom" is used is its political aspect. In what is known today as the Western World there is political freedom. Nothing seems to be so deep-seated in the consciousness of mankind as the desire for freedom. In the world today there is much activity to bring about political freedom, but there is a still greater need to gain freedom from other limitations in our own daily experience.
Down through the ages people who have been held captive have often become submissive to their conditions and have failed to keep alive within themselves the spirit of freedom. In time, therefore, they have lost sight of their divine rights. Likewise, many of us have failed to realize that our submission to material beliefs has brought us to a point where we lack spiritual freedom.
Many students of the Bible are familiar with the story in the Old Testament, Chapters 1 to 20, of the book of Exodus, describing the bondage of the children of Israel, and their endeavors to become free from their hard taskmasters, the Egyptians. The children of Israel had to learn many things before they could throw off the yoke of bondage. Their leader, Moses, had to bring them in their journey to freedom to the point where they could accept the necessary degree of self-discipline, as outlined by the Ten Commandments.
The children of Israel were a nation of individuals. Yet, they had allowed themselves to become subservient to an apparently mightier people, the Egyptians. Freedom for the Israelites was delayed because of their reluctance to persevere in their journey to the promised land. On occasions their hearts failed them, and they were almost ready to go back into their state of bondage, rather than face up to their problems and overcome them.
Moses was a noble leader who had been prepared by much experience and prayer to God to guide this people to the land of freedom. The story of how Moses as a babe was placed in the bulrushes (Exodus, Chapter 2) to hide him from the wrath of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is interesting. This incident resulted in Moses' being found by Pharaoh's own daughter and in his being brought up and educated by her. This Moses was eventually to be the one to lead his own people, the children of Israel, out of captivity.
We can always be sure that when we once realize that we are being held captive, that is, restricted, and we turn to God to seek deliverance, we shall find that our deliverer has already been prepared and is now available to lead us to freedom. This deliverer, as we shall later see, is the Christ.
Whilst we may consider ourselves free people politically, we know, nevertheless, that, there are many things that claim to hold us in subjection — for instance, sickness, sin, fear, ignorance, lack, death. We cannot begin to attain our freedom from any one of these forms of limitation until we wake up to the fact that they are illegitimate, and that we have, therefore, been sentenced to suffer these hardships without a just cause. Why are they illegitimate? Because they are not good, they have no foundation in Truth. They have grown upon unenlightened thought by false education.
Christian Science reveals the truth that man is spiritual, created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore expresses complete freedom from all forms of limitation. As we demonstrate the rules of Christian Science we realize the spiritual nature of man and find this freedom.
The noble individual of this age who through her writings is leading multitudes of people out of their sense of limitation and subjection is Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, who in 1866 discovered the healing and liberating Truth that is the Christ. Just as Isaac Newton was led to his discovery of the force of gravity by reasoning upon the falling apple, so Mrs. Eddy, reasoning upon her own healing from the effects of an accident, was led to the discovery that the ever present Christ is available to man today and heals sickness and sin by one and the same process. She gave to us in the textbook of Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and in her other writings clear instructions as to how we can gain our freedom from all manner of limiting conditions. She revealed to the world that the healing and saving Christ is the manifestation of God, coming to human consciousness to destroy all forms of false teaching and its resulting discord, namely, sin, disease, and death.
This manifestation of God was understood so clearly by Jesus that he could bring to men freedom from their immediate problems. By so doing he established that path that should be followed to gain full freedom. To understand Jesus' mission, as our Saviour, is to realize that we too can demonstrate the laws of God as he did, and thus free ourselves and others from the limitations which result from a belief in a power apart from God.
On page 587 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defines God as: "The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." Like Moses, she realized that God is ever present. Can that fact be expressed in a better way than by the two little words "I AM" which God gave Moses as His (God's) name? I do not think so. But I think it is extremely interesting that Mrs. Eddy should preface her definition with this name "I AM," for in its original meaning it denotes the all-powerful first cause.
If God is ever present and is "all-knowing," can there be any ignorance in God's reflection, man? Can the "all-seeing" be reflected by blindness or lack of perception? Can the "all-acting" be expressed in sleep or death? Can the "all-wise" result in foolish or timid mistakes? The "all-loving" does not become reflected in fear. The "eternal" is not concerned with time and age, or space. "All substance" does not express lack. "Intelligence" can only be reflected by true knowledge.
It is possible that one may have been accepting a lie about himself and therefore a lie about God. He may have believed that sin in some form has pleasure attached to it; but this is untrue, for sin brings suffering and death. Sin is believing something to be true that is untrue, in other words, believing in a lie — the lie that God is not the great I AM and therefore all-presence. The fact that sin is a lie about God and man means that it will be destroyed in the measure that the truth is realized.
We may have believed that suffering was sent to us by God as a corrective means. We may have believed that we can gain something for ourselves by a sharp deal. Or, have we believed, perhaps, that God was not sufficiently present to provide for us and for our families? Have we believed that divine intelligence does not govern but leaves room for accident? Do we believe that we are in submission to personal domination from others? If we so believe, then we are accepting things untrue about God and man, and when they become accepted by us, not rejected, they lull us into a false and limited sense. We then find ourselves limited in other directions, too, and realize that we have lost our freedom.
Collectively, these lies are known in Christian Science as mortal mind. Paul called them the "carnal mind" and in his epistle to the Romans said that the carnal mind is enmity against God. Mrs. Eddy has defined mortal mind in part (Science and Health, p. 591), as "Nothing claiming to be something," and then she goes on, "for Mind is immortal" (ibid.). All our limitations are the result of "nothing claiming to be something."
We cannot expect to enter into the joyous freedom which is rightfully ours until we learn something of the fetters that bind us, and begin to reach out for a knowledge and an understanding of God. Jesus was the greatest demonstrator of the knowledge of God the world has ever known. It is this understanding of God which is the healing Christ. This healing power is just as applicable today as it was in Jesus' time and, therefore, we shall find that the Christ is demonstrable in our own experience. Through our understanding of the Christ we can, today, be healed and saved.
It will be well to consider some of the specific
instances, as recorded in the New Testament, where Jesus brought freedom both
from wrong thinking and from physical limitations. (All my Bible references and
quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible, and this is used by
all Christian Science churches in the English-speaking world for their
services.)
Let us see how Jesus brought freedom when he healed sickness. In the fourth chapter of John's Gospel we read (verses 46-53) how the nobleman besought Jesus to come and heal his son, "for he was at the point of death," and we read that "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth." Surely, Jesus could not make this statement to the nobleman without at the same time realizing that every idea of God reflects life and health, and, therefore, Jesus' words were for all time and for all people. Jesus was of course referring to spiritual man, who is the effect of spiritual cause, the manifestation of "I AM."
It would be well here to clarify our thought about man as understood in Christian Science. I have referred to man as the idea of God. What a tremendous thing it is, to be the idea, the emanation, or expression of divine Mind! What joy it must give us all, what happiness, to realize that we are the immediate object of God's understanding, never for a moment separated from our heavenly Father, and therefore always at one with His love and wisdom. The realization, through the teachings of Christian Science, that we can demonstrate this truth in our present experience is what brings to us the happiness and enthusiasm which is so characteristic of Christian Scientists.
Returning to our story, we find that the Gospel says, "And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." This nobleman had servants who had started on their journey to meet their master. The truth of Jesus' statement that the idea of God, the representative of God, liveth had come into their consciousness, so that they were able to meet their master with the news, "Thy son liveth." The nobleman, possibly because of his own fear, needed still to be convinced of the truth of Jesus' statement, and so he questioned his servants as to when the healing had taken place. And when they told him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him," the truth that "thy son liveth" was borne into his consciousness. The story ends by telling us that "himself believed, and his whole house."
This incident illustrates the effect of Christ-healing, for it not only healed the nobleman's son physically, but it brought to the father freedom from fear, which is one of the basis elements of sickness. In other words, it brought regeneration, or salvation, which always accompanies Christ-healing.
One of the rules given to us in the Christian Science textbook is (p. 412), "To prevent disease or to cure it, the power of Truth, of divine Spirit, must break the dream of the material senses."
The Christian Science Bible Lessons, which Christian Scientists study daily, are in effect proclaiming to the world every day, "Thy son liveth." The study of the Lesson-Sermons, published in the Christian Science Quarterly, is bringing liberation to men and women from self-imposed bondage.
What about gaining freedom from sin? The belief that an individual is not fully able to control his thoughts is the basis of much wrong thinking and acting. Christian Science, however, shows us that we can certainly control our own thinking, on the basis of the one divine Mind, and that we do not have to accept into consciousness false statements or beliefs that are put out by others, deliberately or mistakenly.
Mrs. Eddy gives guidance on this point in Science and Health (p. 392). She writes: "Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously." Each individual has his own mentality to guard, and he should see that this is always protected from intrusion. Such protection can only come from constant vigilance and we can all be alert to see that no wrong thinking is permitted to establish itself for the reason that we are not performing our duty of standing porter at the door of thought.
Jesus' command (Mark 12:31), "Love thy neighbour as thyself," was a call to be sure that we do not impart to our fellow beings something that is not true, that does not emanate from the divine Mind. The Discoverer of Christian Science realized that, preeminently, honesty and integrity must be expressed in order to demonstrate the healing power of Christian Science. To this end she gave as one of the By-Laws in her Church Manual (p. 40) "A Rule for Motives and Acts." In this she states that "The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously."
Whilst we can free ourselves of much evil by the alert attention to the business of "standing porter" we must also be very alert to recognize the subtle suggestions that present themselves to us as being likable, and consequently we willingly let them pass the sentry. Often they are in disguise — they even present themselves as having something good about them: for instance, the belief that using tobacco can soothe the nerves and help in concentration, and the thought that alcohol contains in itself power to give courage and a sense of well-being. The truth is they do not possess these qualities. The only source of peace and clear thinking is God. Man needs no artificial stimulus or comforter, but as God's reflection possesses the fullness of satisfaction and completeness. Indeed, realization of this is the fulfillment of the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3).
Did you ever hear of a better way to gain freedom from sin than by adherence to the First Commandment? The First Commandment is the greatest liberator of all time. One gains freedom from sickness, from fear, from poverty, and from all limitations by obedience to the First Commandment.
What seems to be one of the greatest difficulties men and women have to face is the overcoming of fear. A large percentage of all physical diseases have their origin in this mesmeric sense. You note I describe it thus — "mesmeric." Webster's dictionary tells us that mesmerism is "The art of inducing an extraordinary or abnormal state of the nervous system, in which the actor claims to control the actions, and communicate directly with the mind, of the recipient."
You will note that "the actor claims to control the actions . . . of the recipient." The word "claims" is the important one to note, because it is a false claimant. What it is really claiming is that God, the great "I AM," is not ever present, or will not be present at some particular time. My friends, these are false claims, and our first step in overcoming and destroying fear is to know that such claims are false. You would not hesitate to defend your right if someone falsely claimed your possessions. We should be just as quick to assert our lawful right to that which is ours, namely, our confidence in the ever-presence of good. What is the practical way to master fear? Mrs. Eddy says on page 454 of Science and Health, "The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All-power destroys fear, and plants the feet in the true path."
Here I should like to tell you of a healing which illustrates the ever-presence of God, good.
A few years ago a friend of mine was suffering from a very painful stomach condition. He had had much treatment from his physician, but in spite of all the devoted help given him, there was no relief from the pain and sickness. His wife was an ardent student of Christian Science, and she had tried as best she could to help her husband. They studied together the Christian Science Lesson-Sermon. However, a time came when he was to fulfill certain professional engagements which were very important to his career.
In desperation he agreed to have Christian Science treatment. A practitioner was called, and work in Christian Science was taken up for this man. Although treatment continued, the problem had not been completely met by the day before his first important professional engagement. To the patient it seemed as if God had only twenty-four hours to complete this work of healing. The practitioner, however, knew that such a situation required the patient to awake to the realization of his perfection as the image and likeness of God. This was not a question of time at all.
The practitioner was led to Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 421, line 15, of Science and Health: "Insist vehemently on the great fact which covers the whole ground, that God, Spirit, is all, and that there is none beside Him. There is no disease. When the supposed suffering is gone from mortal mind, there can be no pain; and when the fear is destroyed, the inflammation will subside." The practitioner kept this positive statement constantly before him.
That evening the patient's family was visited by friends, and although the sick man felt somewhat disinclined to entertain, he realized that that was selfish. He tried to do all he could to give his friends a pleasant evening, and thereby he was opening the door to a healing thought — trying to do something for others. When, later, he retired he slept the night through — the first time he had done this for a long while. On awakening the following morning he had no pain. He hesitated to move, as this might bring on the pain again, but it did not return. He got up, dressed, had breakfast, and still there was no pain. As it was Sunday morning, he went to church with his wife. He found that although he had previously read the Lesson-Sermon, when he heard it in church it seemed as if every word had been written for him.
That man had no more pain — he was healed and regenerated! I saw him a few months ago, and he expressed great joy for his healing in Christian Science. What had taken place was a change of concept of himself from that of a mortal, material, physical person, to a reflection of God, Spirit. The practitioner had helped him to do this; but the patient's work was to open the door of his thought to be receptive to the truth; he was able and willing to do this by expressing unselfishness upon the visit of his friends.
Jesus' method of dealing with the false laws of heredity brought immediate freedom for those who were in bondage to this pernicious lie. This fact was instanced by the healing described in the ninth chapter of John's Gospel. Here is recorded the healing by Jesus of the man who was blind from his birth. You will remember that Jesus was asked by his disciples, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents." The general belief of those times that such a malady was occasioned by parental faults was not admitted by Jesus. His one desire was to see the man liberated by realizing that God was superior to all forms of material limitations. He told his disciples on that occasion, that the works of God should be made manifest in the man. Jesus showed his disregard for matter in any form in enabling the man to see.
Only divine perception can give us true sight. Purity of heart enables us to see God, as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus' teaching revealed the individuality of man. Each healing he accomplished helped the individual to see that he possessed as a divine right the present ability to express full freedom, happiness, and health, and that this freedom could be gained directly and immediately by understanding man's unity with God: thus showing that in truth, in reality, each individual is the direct offspring of God. It is the false belief of human parentage that brings with it the false laws of heredity. Just as Jesus proclaimed, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), so we can claim our sonship with our heavenly Father, our God-given heritage, that is good only. Let us acknowledge no human parentage as able to impart questionable conditions of either health or character.
Another form of limitation which grows upon the unenlightened thought is that of doctrinal teaching which excludes the activity of reasoning — the acceptance of theories that will not stand the test of modern thought. The progress made along the lines of natural science has left erstwhile religious people somewhat skeptical. They do not want to believe in, or worship, a God who is the author of their sorrows and limitations, or one who even permits these things. So, many people have ceased to believe in a doctrinal God, which seems to them to be manifested more in forms of punishment than in approbation and reward.
It is interesting to see what happened when Jesus addressed himself to the theological teaching of his time. He saw how people were restricted in their outlook and restricted even in their human experience. In Luke's Gospel, Chapter 6, we read that on one occasion Jesus found a man in the synagogue whose right hand was withered. In spite of the law that it was wrong to heal on the sabbath day, he freed the man from the effects of such crippling and withering beliefs. He healed the hand. Jesus made it clear that by doing good men observed the sabbath more than by merely accepting time-honored rules and ceremonies that had no God-given authority to support them.
One of the first steps we can all take on our road to complete freedom is to begin to use reason in our attempt to escape from the bondage of false teaching. Mrs. Eddy has written on pages 327 and 328 of the textbook: "Reason is the most active human faculty. Let that inform the sentiments and awaken the man's dormant sense of moral obligation, and by degrees he will learn the nothingness of the pleasures of human sense and the grandeur and bliss of a spiritual sense, which silences the material or corporeal. Then he not only will be saved, but is saved."
Just think of the years of bondage that have enslaved people who knew only of a deity formed of doctrinal beliefs. Those who adhered to such beliefs were never able to prove their teachings by works of healing. Such marvelous works of healing and freedom which Jesus brought about had, therefore, to be explained in some way by the theologians of his time. Consequently, the teaching grew that Jesus was imbued with some power, commonly called miraculous, which accounted for his success in his healing works. In Jesus' day those who taught false doctrines were discomforted by the proofs which he continually produced of his understanding of God, and gradually their misunderstanding turned to hatred, which found its expression in the persecution of the Master.
The evidence of healing placed before the world today by Christian Science similarly causes disquiet to doctrinal theories. Mrs. Eddy asks the question on page 37 of Science and Health, "When will Jesus' professed followers learn to emulate him in all his ways and to imitate his mighty works?" Then she continues by saying that "Those who procured the martyrdom of that righteous man would gladly have turned his sacred career into a mutilated doctrinal platform." Freedom from the withering and limiting effect of belief in false gods will be found in a reasoned appreciation and understanding of the definition of God already quoted, which includes these seven synonyms for God: Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth, Love.
The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science has placed upon individual Christian Scientists the responsibility of demonstrating their understanding of her teachings. The Church of Christ, Scientist, is designed to reinstate primitive Christian healing, and the members of this church are glad to have the privilege of giving testimony in their Wednesday evening meetings to the healing and regenerating power of Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy has said in the Church Manual (page 47) that "Testimony in regard to the healing of the sick is highly important. More than a mere rehearsal of blessings, it scales the pinnacle of praise and illustrates the demonstration of Christ, 'who healeth all thy diseases' (Psalm 103:3)."
Economic freedom is something that most individuals are earnestly seeking. The very suggestion of lack gives rise to much fear. Mistaken human belief endeavors to offset the fear of lack by many means that would not have found favor with Jesus — means such as gambling, exploitation of labor, unfair labor relations, and sharp business practices. The accumulation of money is usually thought of as the means of economic freedom; but such reliance on material things brings its own fears, fear that in some way we might lose our material possessions. Understanding the law underlying true supply is the only way to complete economic freedom.
If a large sum of money had been placed to our credit in a certain bank, no doubt the first thing we should do would be to establish our identity with the bank officials concerned, for, unless we do, we shall not be able to obtain our money. Let us establish clearly our God-given identity, and we shall find that we have access to our divine inheritance. Mrs. Eddy has said in "Miscellaneous Writings," page 307, "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies." Are spiritual ideas of any use to us? Indeed yes, they are our richest possession. So often the question of adequate employment is looked upon as the only means of providing economic freedom. Surely, to be rightfully engaged in some constructive activity is important, but to limit economic freedom to this question of employment is not meeting the situation fully. It is wrong to think that this is the only way in which divine Love can fulfill its function of supplying our needs. The supply of spiritual ideas can be manifested in infinite ways.
Now I should like to read to you a short account of how one young man was able to see that the spiritual idea brought material supply, and further showed him that he could not in any way be impoverished by right giving. This is his story:
"As a young man I was serving an apprenticeship, without salary, as a pupil architect, and I was laboriously saving up in order to obtain enough money to buy needed books for my work. An announcement was made at the Christian Science church I attended to the effect that on the following Sunday a collection would be taken for the special purpose of raising a certain sum for the church's building program. I did not see that I could do very much myself; for, upon reflection, I thought that to take my share of this 'giving' opportunity I would have to sacrifice half of my valued savings. Then I quickly realized that if my thinking were sufficiently clear I might become God's instrument in helping to supply the church needs. To work for God in this way could never leave me impoverished.
"Then I said to myself, 'Well, Father, I know that supply comes from You, and I am willing to be the channel.' Shortly after this I was visited by a man who had heard of my studies and who requested me to make an examination of some property he desired to purchase.
"No mention was made of my fee for this service, but I had already decided that I was going to make my contribution to the church's need. He gave me the exact amount that I intended to contribute. I was so delighted with this result that I attended church twice on the Sunday concerned. At the first service I contributed my own savings to the collection, and then at the second I contributed the fee I had received. I was convinced that it was well worth donating my savings in order to have had this experience. This, however, was not the last of the matter, for the stranger called again and told me he had decided not to buy the property already examined, and asked if I would look at another. The same fee was given to me this second time.
"I had often pondered Mrs. Eddy's statement in Science and Health (p. 79), 'Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us.' In this experience the truth of this statement was being proved to me, and I realized that the spiritual idea goes on giving us daily supplies.
"I never knew that man's name, I had not seen him before this incident, nor have I seen him since. I do not even know whether he bought the property!"
Do you not see a similarity in this story to the one concerning Elijah and the widow of Zarephath related in the seventeenth chapter of the first book of Kings? Let me refresh your memory of this story. Elijah, the man of God, asked the widow of Zarephath to make him a cake, although to do this she had to overcome her fear that her supply of meal and oil would not be sufficient to provide for her son and herself if she first supplied the man of God. However, on being obedient to Elijah's demand she found that her supply continued. The Bible says (verse 14 of this chapter), "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail."
The architect has continued in his profession, receiving over and over again the fruits of that demonstration of supply based on a willingness to serve God. He could not in any way be impoverished by his desire to give!
The fact that Jesus overcame the claim of death is sufficient for us to know that we must "take up arms" against this condition which has been called by Paul, "the last enemy." The thought of death gives pain to many, mainly because we fear its coming, and do not know what it means to us. Jesus made it clear, that his mission was to teach us more of Life. His statement (John 10:10), "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," is the promise, surely, of a greater sense of freedom and happiness here and now. His great missionary work of healing and teaching was preparing him for the demonstration he was to make, that death had no reality, that it did not affect his true spiritual consciousness.
How do we begin on this necessary demonstration? Well, firstly, let us look at the effect upon us of this false claim. Many people are greatly grieved by the loss of a loved one. Does not this sorrow come from the false concept that all the qualities of God are bound up in the physicality of another? We grieve because we appear to have lost the love, kindness, companionship, protection, etc., which we saw in our dear one. If we had been able to see that these qualities of God were ever present, not confined to some physical being, we would readily have seen that they were not removed because some person was no longer physically with us. The important thing is to begin now to realize that ever-present God is expressed through His qualities, and ever will be. So that which we really loved and appreciated is with us at all times wherever we are. By this process of thought we shall find that we have no cause for grief, and in doing this we are also working our way out of all there is to the sorrow of death. We are beginning to ascend in thought, and the result of this is that even the last enemy to be overcome will lose its grip upon us.
We have today been considering the many ways in which we need to be awakened to the full freedom with which man is endowed as an idea of God.
For over eighty years now, Christian Science has been awakening many to this fact, so much so that a far greater measure of freedom is experienced today by all. It is, perhaps, not surprising that much impetus has been given to research, and as a result of this, men are extending their influence and experience beyond the earth's limits. We speak freely today of the "space age." Is it any wonder that in the realm of material science great strides are being made to destroy the limits that hold us captive? Jesus demonstrated freedom from material laws, insofar as they were known in his time, by walking on the water, feeding the multitudes, stilling the waves. Whether men are able to travel to the moon is not so important as whether they are able to free themselves from the limitations of matter. There is nothing to fear in this greater knowledge of the material universe, as long as we progressively awake to the understanding of the spiritual universe which is man's true heritage.
Now let us recapitulate. We have considered the need of mankind to gain complete freedom from the limitations of sickness, sin, fear, false laws of heredity, the results of false doctrines, freedom from lack and from sorrow and grief.
The understanding of Christ, Truth, destroys sickness. The understanding of Soul destroys sin. The understanding of Love destroys fear. The false laws of heredity are overcome by understanding the divine Mind. The effects of the teaching of false doctrines are destroyed by the understanding of divine Principle. The understanding of Spirit overcomes lack, and the realization of the true meaning of Life destroys death. In other words, our complete freedom is demonstrated by our understanding of God as defined by those seven synonyms Mrs. Eddy has given us, and in turn this means by complete obedience to the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3).
Could we have greater freedom than is indicated by this statement of Mrs. Eddy's (Science and Health, p. 340)? "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfills the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed."
[Nov. 12, 1965.]