CREATION
Creation rests in the Mind of God as the ideal
of that Mind and known by that Mind. Therefore, the
Divine Scientist understands the nature of God as Mind,
interprets visible creation in the light of its spiritual
nature. We see every physical manifestation as externalized
ideas in the Mind of God taking form according to individual
consciousness.
MAN
Man rests in the Mind of God as the Christ
Idea. Man is the individualized expression of God, and
is ever one with Perfect Life, Perfect Love, Perfect
Intelligence, and Perfect Substance. Man is the image
and likeness of God and his true individuality is the
Christ. Therefore, whatever God is, man is, because
he is one with his Father in Heaven. Whatever is true
of man was true at the beginning of Creation. Man's
thought of himself changes as he expands in consciousness;
and from change of thought comes change in his outer
experiences.
THOUGHT
The purpose of right thinking is to recognize
the true nature of our Being in God, to recognize the
unity of Spirit, Soul, and Body, and to declare the
perfection of God on earth as it is in Heaven. Man becomes
aware of the good that is always at hand through right
thinking. A pattern of thought produces a like pattern
in a man's life.
TRUTH
Truth is the eternal, changeless, underlying
principle of life. It is always with us, yesterday,
today, and forever. There is no new truth because the
Divine pattern can never change. All was created in
the beginning and was declared good and very good. The
only thing that changes is our false conception of God
and our recognition of the true nature of our being.
GOD
AND THE DEVIL
Divine Science teaches there is only God, the
One; there is no devil or evil power. In fact, the practice
of the presence of this one power is the basic principle
of this teaching.
EVIL
Divine Science teaches that evil is a false
belief in a presence and power other than God. Man's
unfolding process causes him to see only partially the
truth of his nature and the spiritual reality of the
world around him; and these false images in man's mind
causes a misconception of life. To believe a lie is
to make ourselves susceptible to its power. As soon
as the Truth is perceived, the belief in the power of
evil dissolves and a man's world changes.
JESUS
Jesus, having in the flesh incarnated, or fully
manifested the Christ of His Being, became the perfect
effect of perfect cause. Therefore, we can no longer
separate the Christ and Jesus. He, who was Jesus of
Nazareth, historically speaking, became the full embodiment
of the Christ Idea.
THE
HOLY TRINITY
Divine Scientists believe that God is Mind;
that Mind and Intelligence are behind all creation.
This One Mind acts through thought and thought expresses
as Word. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us." (John 1:14; R.S.V.) Flesh means matter of
any kind. Divine Scientists see a new trinity that applies
to this new thought of all creation coming forth from
Mind -- Universal Mind, infinite and unlimited Mind.
Through thought, the Word comes into expression as idea
just as our ideas take outward form and so come into
visibility, or into the outer world. Therefore, we say
there is one Creator, one Creative Action, which is
the movement of Mind, and one Creation.
"In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without
him was not anything made that was made. ....and
the Word was made flesh."
(John 1:1-3, 14 R.S.V.) |
THE
VIRGIN BIRTH
Divine
Scientists interpret the Immaculate Conception as the
realization that man's origin and source is perfection,
or God. Man is not born of blood, nor of the flesh,
nor of the will of man alone, but by the Will of God.
That which is born of Spirit is Spirit. Like begets
like. We are born of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of
Wholeness, and all Good. The old teaching would have
us believe that we are born of sin and conceived in
iniquity. This new teaching gives us a new understanding
that we are of God, pure, immaculate, and divine. "Call
no man on earth your Father..." Heredity, therefore,
is not something we need to fear any longer for our
heritage is spiritual, not material. Our ills do not
come from our parents or our grandparents. God is our
only Father; therefore, we find all the good of God
belonging fully to each one of us. Our Source is Divine
Perfection.
BAPTISM
Divine Scientists are baptized when the individual
is immersed in Spirit. Here man is released from false
beliefs in the outer world and becomes aware of the
perfect state of being.
COMMUNION
We believe that communion takes place in consciousness
during quiet periods of contemplation and meditation.
Divine Scientists try to hold a constant spiritual communion
with God at all times, for they know the very flesh
and blood of their being is the Spirit of the Living
God functioning in and through them. The actual taking
of bread and wine, therefore, no longer becomes necessary.
MIRACLES
Divine Science teaches that miracles are the
logical result of Spiritual Oneness with God. Jesus
the Christ, when confronted with the material world,
was able to realize this Oneness in every situation.
Through his inner understanding of the perfection of
every being and his absolute knowledge and faith in
the Father as the source of all good, the inner eternal
Truth was manifested bringing forth what the world would
call a miracle.
PRAYER
True prayer is practicing the Presence of God.
It is acknowledging by thought and deed the true nature
of our being. Prayer is a state of receptivity in which
Truth is realized. It is communion with God for the
sole purpose of experiencing His Presence. The added
things that come to man through true prayer provide
those things that are truly beautiful and good in his
life. By this quiet turning to God, man opens his mentality
to the flow of the great Universal Mind and receives
what has been there all the time.
"Talking
about God is not the same as experiencing God. I
have found that whenever prayer becomes an intimate
feeling rather than an intellectual analysis, the
soul consciousness takes wings, and demonstrations
come quickly and easily. Feeling is the key to prayer.
Perhaps you have noticed, too, that we do not always
demonstrate what we think; but we always demonstrate
what we feel."
Dr. Max H. Ballard, Minister Emeritus |
HEALING
Divine Science teaches the principle of healing as it
was taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ. It is just
as possible today to demonstrate a healing of mind,
body, and affairs as it was 2,000 years ago. The same
One Power that forgives us our trespasses just as willingly
heals all our diseases.
SIN
Divine Science teaches that sin is the result
of man's ignorance of the truth of his nature. In fact,
the early Greek meaning of the word is translated as
the "missing of the mark." The mark is Oneness
with God. We sin, or miss the mark, when we fail to
attain our highest calling, which is the realization
of our Christ nature.
SIN
AND ATONEMENT
We are individualized expressions of God and
we are responsible for our own atonement. Therefore,
Divine Scientists believe we have atoned for our sin
when we know our Oneness with God.
SICKNESS
Sickness is the result of a belief in two powers;
a lack of the full realization that we are, in Truth,
spiritual beings. Through experience, Divine Science
has shown that when an individual is expressing on a
high level of consciousness and knows completely that
he is Spirit, he cannot be ill, for he is in complete
harmony with the one creative power, God. Modern medicine
has come to a partial acknowledgment that physical illness
is the expression of an inner attitude towards life.
However, we do not teach that a person should not consult
a physician if the situation in his life warrants it.
Since we are all individuals on our own path of unfoldment,
it would be folly to interfere in any way with an individual's
choice to seek the help he needs at the moment.
DEATH
Divine Science teaches that death is only one
of many experiences in the spiritual unfoldment of the
soul. At this time, the soul simply moves into another
level of expression. Life never ceases for all is life
eternally expressing through a multitude of forms. What
is true at one point in life is true at all points in
life; therefore, man, the spiritual being, can not and
does not die. "Science tells us that nothing in
nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear
without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All
it knows is transformation." - Dr. Werner von Braun.
LIFE
AFTER DEATH
We believe in the continuity of life and that
we all are contained within God now as immortal, perfect
expressions of Him. All life is is in an evolutionary
state and change is a constant factor not to be feared
but embraced. Even after death, man continues its individualized
expression as God's beloved Son. "I will never
leave you nor forsake you," is the promise given
to us by the Father in Heaven.
HEAVEN
AND HELL
In Divine Science, we teach that heaven and
hell are states of consciousness. According to our belief,
we are sometimes in heaven and we are sometimes in hell
right here on earth. Man suffers only as a result of
his own state of awareness, his view of life. Conversely,
he avoids hurt of any kind to the degree he is aware
of God in Heaven. All things on the earth plane of expression
are the result of the Law of Cause and Effect, for the
law is "as in mind, so in manifestation."
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