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If we were to examine the basic principles of the religions of the world, we would find a great similarity. Each points to One central Life, from Whose Self-Existence all draw their livingness, and without which nothing could exist. That is why it has made such an appeal to the more vital races of the world. In many respects, the Christian Bible is the greatest book ever written, and does truly point a way to eternal values. But it is only ONE explanation and cannot be considered the ONLY light on religion, for there are many others whose combined teachings weave the story of Truth into a complete and unified pattern.
What do you teach about Jesus?
Christ is the embodiment of divine Sonship which has come, with varying degrees of power, to people in all ages and to every person in some degree. Christ is a Universal Presence.
We do believe that in the unique personage of Jesus, this Christ was more fully orbed than in anyone of whom we have record. We do believe that in the person of Jesus more of God was manifest. We also believe that Christ comes alike to each and all. There is no one particular person predestined to become the Christ. We must understand the Christ is not a person, but a Principle. It was impossible for Jesus not to have become the Christ, as the human gave way to the Divine, as the man gave way to God, as the flesh gave way to spirit, as the will of division gave way to the will of unity--Jesus the man became a living embodiment of the Christ.
What do you teach about the nature of salvation, evil, heaven, and hell?
There cannot be a Law in the Universe which demands evil, lack, limitation, and the experience of unhappiness, to provide shades to magnify Its glory. Therefore, the mystics have taught that evil has only the power to destroy itself; that it is not God-ordained. From the viewpoint of Reality, it is an illusion, but it is not denied as an experience. It is an experience all have had. The great have not failed to recognize the appearance of evil, but they have separated the appearance from the reality. They have done away with evil as a cosmic entity—NO DEVIL, NO HELL, NO TORMENT, NO DAMNATION outside of one's own state of thought; NO PUNISHMENT outside of that which is self-inflicted, through ignorance; and NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF CONSCIOUS COOPERATION WITH THE INFINITE. Heaven and Hell are states of consciousness.
What does Science of Mind teach about the nature of sin?
We do not say that we cannot sin; what we say is, that we do sin—or make mistakes—and are thereby automatically punished AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE MISTAKES; but bondage is not real to the Universe and sin is not real to God. This does not mean that we can do whatever we wish, with disregard for the consequences; nor does the fact that we are punished for our mistakes mean that there is an evil power in the Universe; it does mean that there is an immutable Law of Cause and Effect running through everything. We are not punished for our sins but by them. Sin is its own punishment and righteousness is its own reward!
What do you believe about other spiritual traditions and faiths?
We believe in every church and in all forms of worship that affirms the omipresence of an Infinite Intelligence expressing unconditional love. Above all, we certainly believe in God! Because Truth is Infinite, It must be continuously unfolding in our consciousness and no one will ever have a complete understanding of Truth. A complete understanding of Truth would be a complete understanding of God, and a complete comprehension of God would be to become God. We know that more light will be given as we use that which we have. We repudiate any belief which says that all of Truth has been given.
Why do people suffer?
The Science of Mind ® makes a tremendous claim when it states that the individual should be free from the bondage of sickness, poverty and unhappiness. It does, however, carefully set forth the conditions under which freedom operates and the laws governing Life, stating in no uncertain terms that unless we understand these conditions and obey these laws, we will not receive full benefit from its teachings.
The world is beginning to realize that is has learned all it should through suffering and pain. Surely there can be no Intelligence in the Universe that wishes us to be sick, suffer pain, be unhappy and end in oblivion. Surely if God or Universal Intelligence is imbued with goodness, than It could not ordain that we should ultimately be other than a perfect expression of Life.
We have shown that our nature is the same as God's Nature; we should have no intellectual difficulty in realizing that an Infinite Intelligence could not make an automatic individual, and this explains why we suffer on our road to self-discovery. Our suffering is not God-ordained, because we create our own experience as we become individualized. By individuality is meant self-choice, volition, conscious mind, personified Spirit, complete freedom, and a POWER TO BACK UP THAT FREEDOM. We cannot imagine a mechanical or unspontaneous individual; to be real and free, individuality must be created in the image of Perfection and let alone to make the great discovery for itself.
Do you believe in the use of doctors and modern medicine?
As the Laws of God are broad, so should we be in dealing with them. In this Science, we believe that our life is a drama which takes place on three planes; the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. We should have no objection to any form of healing, for anything that helps to overcome suffering is good, whether it be a pill or a prayer. We believe in any method which produces results, for each has its place in the Whole.
What does the Science of Mind teach about death and immortality?
It is not merely pleasing and satisfactory to suppose that we pass from this life to the next, in full and complete retention of our faculties: it is logical. Jesus revealed himself to his followers after his resurrection, to show them that death is but a passing to a higher sphere of life and action. TO KNOW THAT WE MAINTAIN AN IDENTITY INDEPENDENT OF THE PHYSICAL BODY IS PROOF ENOUGH OF IMMORTALITY. This, together with the fact that remembrance maintains a constant stream of recollection; and the realization that mentality can operate independently of the body—performing all of its normal functions without the aid of the body—and that the new theory of matter and ether furnishes proof of the possibility of a body within a body to infinity, and that our inner being is constantly forming matter into the shape of a body; all of these evidences should prove to us that we are not going to attain immortality, but that WE ARE NOW IMMORTAL! Our contention is not that the dead live again, but that a living person never dies.
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