Promise perpetual
This understanding of man's power, when he is
328:15 equipped by God, has sadly disappeared from Christian
history. For centuries it has been dormant, a
lost element of Christianity. Our missionaries
328:18 carry the Bible to India, but can it be said that they
explain it practically, as Jesus did, when hundreds of
persons die there annually from serpent-bites? Under-
328:21 standing spiritual law and knowing that there is no mate-
rial law, Jesus said: "These signs shall follow them that
believe, . . . they shall take up serpents, and if they
328:24 drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." It
were well had Christendom believed and obeyed this
328:27 sacred saying.
Jesus' promise is perpetual. Had it been given only
to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would
328:30 read you, not /they/. The purpose of his great life-work
extends through time and includes universal humanity.
Its Principle is infinite, reaching beyond the pale of a
329:1 single period or of a limited following. As time moves
on, the healing elements of pure Christianity will be fairly
329:3 dealt with; they will be sought and taught, and will glow
in all the grandeur of universal goodness.
Imitation of Jesus
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little under-
329:6 standing of Christian Science proves the truth of all that
I say of it. Because you cannot walk on the
water and raise the dead, you have no right to
329:9 question the great might of divine Science in these direc-
tions. Be thankful that Jesus, who was the true demon-
strator of Science, did these things, and left his example for
329:12 us. In Science we can use only what we understand. We
must prove our faith by demonstration.
One should not tarry in the storm if the body is freez-
329:15 ing, nor should he remain in the devouring flames. Un-
til one is able to prevent bad results, he should avoid their
occasion. To be discouraged, is to resemble a pupil in
329:18 addition, who attempts to solve a problem of Euclid, and
denies the rule of the problem because he fails in his first
effort.
Error destroyed, not pardoned
329:21 There is no hypocrisy in Science. Principle is impera-
tive. You cannot mock it by human will. Science is a
divine demand, not a human. Always right,
329:24 its divine Principle never repents, but main-
tains the claim of Truth by quenching error.
The pardon of divine mercy is the destruction of error. If
329:27 men understood their real spiritual source to be all bless-
edness, they would struggle for recourse to the spiritual
and be at peace; but the deeper the error into which mor-
329:30 tal mind is plunged, the more intense the opposition to
spirituality, till error yields to Truth.
The hopeful outlook
Human resistance to divine Science weakens in pro-
330:1 portion as mortals give up error for Truth and the un-
derstanding of being supersedes mere belief. Until the
330:3 author of this book learned the vastness of
Christian Science, the fixedness of mortal illu-
sions, and the human hatred of Truth, she cherished
330:6 sanguine hopes that Christian Science would meet with
immiediate and universal acceptance.