Revelation, Reason, and Demonstration Talk for Glenmont, Columbus, Ohio October 18, 2015 Laurance R. Doyle One of the arguments against Christian Science is that it is about blind faith, rather than being a science the Science of reality! So it may be helpful to examine Christian Science from the viewpoint of its scientific-ness. Material medicine claims to be scientific but the premises upon which it builds are actually outdated in terms of the modern foundations of current scientific thinking. It may come as a bit of a surprise but current scientific thinking about the nature of matter, consciousness, and reality have been migrating closer and closer toward the premises already laid down in the teachings of Christian Science. I m not going say, however, that quantum physics is Christian Science -- yet. The quantum physics community has been very reluctant to converge toward a metaphysical premise the call them the reluctant metaphysicians. But I am going to argue that thinking about reality in the natural science community has been coming to be more and more based upon such a metaphysical premise, in a more-or-less direct line with what Mrs. Eddy already discovered and stated about reality. In other words, as Mrs. Eddy states, that through observation, invention, study, and original thought, that mortal mind the supposed limited way of looking at creation will outgrow itself, will outgrow a material or mortal way of viewing what is really spiritual reality. And I would also argue that the less we see matter as substantial, the less hindered spiritual healing will be by a false fear of it as real. When a student of Mrs. Eddy s failed to heal a case, she told the student to Strike out for a higher sense of the unreality of matter. So let s do a bit of that today, OK? In the book Mary Baker Eddy: Years of Trial (Appendix B) Robert Peel has written, Only after the successive emergence of relativity and quantum theory could even the most rudimentary conceptual bridges be thrown between, for instance, Mrs. Eddy s explanations of mind, matter, and causation and those of the more philosophically-minded natural scientists. Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science in the middle of the 19 th Century, was well known as a
revolutionary in theology. In the 20 th Century it became clear, to anyone who cared to look into it, that she was also a revolutionary in medicine thoroughly explaining, for example, the placebo effect which seems to be so perplexing to try to explain upon the basis of a wholly materialistic premise. However, it appears to be 21 st Century science that is beginning to catch up with Mrs. Eddy as a scientist of reality, as the discoverer of the spiritual nature of being and the modern expounder of the science Christ Jesus taught. One way of stating the scientific method is that one gets an idea for a certain theory. One then uses logical inference to develop ways in which this theory may be tested. One then does the experiment to find out if the theory is correct. This is known as the scientific method. As an example, Albert Einstein had the idea for the general theory of relativity which relates to the bending of spacetime by stars, for example. He then reasoned that if this theory was true, then the spacetime around the Sun would be bent, and stars behind the Sun during a solar eclipse would appear to be wider apart then they were at another time when the Sun was not there. Sir Arthur Eddington then observed a solar eclipse and experimentally confirmed that Einstein s theory of the universe was more accurate then Newton s gravitational theory, and so Einstein was famous overnight. Let s take a look at Mrs. Eddy s discovery of Christian Science in light of the scientific method. She writes of her discovery, I knew the Principle of all harmonious Mind-action to be God, and that cures were produced in primitive Christian healing by holy, uplifting faith; but I must know the Science of this healing, and I won my way to absolute conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration. (S+H 109: 16-22). So we have here Mrs. Eddy s statement of the scientific method revelation, reason, and demonstration. She knew the Principle of harmonious Mind-action to be God, and she knew about the spiritual healing performed by primitive Christianity. But then she made a huge step she sought the Science of this healing, a Science that must exist for such healings to take place. She had recently experienced such a healing herself. Instead of just accepting her own healing as a miracle, she realized that there had to be a science, the Science, behind these healings. There must be a continuity of Principle from the earliest healings reported in the Bible up to the current day. She would write about this in terms of Christ Jesus, the scientist: Jesus of Nazareth was the most
scientific man that ever trod the globe. He plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause. (S+H 313: 23-26). This is a very good definition of the scientific process, by the way. A scientist should [plunge] beneath the material surface of things and [find] the spiritual cause. Contrary to many views of science, scientists do not take the socalled obvious evidence of the material senses as reliable. Simple examples include that the Earth is not flat, and that the Sun does not orbit the Earth but rather the other way around. These observations are in direct conflict with the evidence of the material senses, and so scientists do not contrary to common belief take the evidence of the material senses as reliable. Science actually begins when one starts by taking the evidence of intelligence as superior to, and more reliable than, the evidence of the material senses. Now this was not so easy telling a farmer 400 years ago that his farm, cows, the field he plowed that morning, were all zooming around the at 18 ½ miles per second may not have been easy for him to accept. But the evidence of intelligence was beginning to rule over the evidence of the material senses. So was Christ Jesus a scientist, as Mrs. Eddy states? From what Jesus stated about his own mission it certainly sounds so. Christ Jesus did not say that he came to start a new religion. When asked about his mission he said, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. (John 10: 24-25). So he said that he came to bear witness to the truth. If you lived 2,000 years ago and you wanted to teach the scientific method, -- the idea that experimental results are more reliable than human opinion -- how would you say it? Say you wanted to get this idea across to your disciples? How might you say it in Bible language? The religious establishment of the time once asked Christ Jesus who bore witness for him, and he replied that it was not human authority that bore witness to the truth of what he taught. He said, If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John [this is John the Baptist], and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. (John 5: 31-33, 34 to :, 36-37). So Christ Jesus said that, rather than even the highest human authority, it was his
healing works that were the true test of the truth of what he taught. So we have, perhaps for the first time in history, a statement of the scientific method that experimental verification is more important and reliable than human authority. And healing is, indeed, the ultimate verification. Christ Jesus also added -- in case his disciples were not getting it -- If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. So now he was excluding human opinion altogether. Healing works are the experimental verification of the spiritual reality of God s creation. In modern scientific language, one might say You are not to blindly believe a theory without experimental verification. This is a tenant of the natural science community. Christ Jesus stated this in other ways as well. For example, he said: By their fruits ye shall know them. (Matt. 7: 20). Mrs. Eddy writes, Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that Mind is All-inall, that the only realities are the divine Mind and idea. This great fact is not, however, seen to be supported by sensible evidence, until its divine Principle is demonstrated by healing the sick and thus proved absolute and divine. This proof once seen, no other conclusion can be reached. (S+H 109: 4-10). But if such Christian healing is really a science, then others should be able to follow Jesus example in demonstrating healing also. Well, Christ Jesus taught this as well. Jesus said, (John 14: 12), Verily, verily I say unto you, the works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do, because I go unto my Father. So Jesus taught that this spiritual understanding of healing could be applied by others in other words Jesus said it was not his personal karisma that healed. He said he was able to do these healing works because he went unto his Father, God, for the healings. He was not talking about leaving, he was talking about going to the Source, Creator, Principle of the universe, divine Love, for his healing works. And what was being healed? In every case, it was a misconception of reality, wasn t it? Healing is the turning of thought from a limited, material viewpoint to the spiritually perfect, unlimited creation of infinite Mind. One of the teachings of Christ Jesus concerning himself was, I can of mine own self do nothing. He did not say very little. He said he could do nothing of himself. You know there is an old Zen Buddhist saying, It is never too late to do nothing, and I think of Jesus saying he
could do nothing of himself. So I take that saying to mean that it is never too late to let God do it. Mary Baker Eddy, writes of Jesus, Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he taught and practised. His proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and Love. (S+H 26: 28-32). So Jesus taught that there was an infinitely powerful, omnipresent, and always-loving Principle of the universe that wipes out false notions of mortality and limitation, and he always relied upon his healing works to bear witness to this. He talked about and demonstrated a creation of such perfection that even a glimpse of this underlying reality would heal. Jesus called this divine Principle of perfection, Father. A man would come up to Jesus and say, Look, I have a withered hand, and Jesus would say, No you don t! The man would look again and see he must have been mistaken, as his hand was whole. What looked like a fixing to others was a knowing to Jesus. Christ Jesus -- and Christian Science today -- heal with reality. Mrs. Eddy describes of Jesus healing method. She writes, Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy. (S+H 476: 32-5). So Mrs. Eddy great discovery of Christian Science is that reality is spiritual and perfect. In Jesus own words, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5: 48). So why do we call these modern healings in Christian Science demonstrations? One way of looking at this may be from the standpoint that we know that Christ Jesus overcame every mortal limitation thrown at him. One might say that Christ Jesus did all the experimental verification for all of us already, illustrating the love and perfection of his Father in overcoming sickness, sin, death, and rising from the grave and then ascending. A religious friend of mine once asked me if I believed Jesus was coming back and before I could stop myself, I said, What do you want him to do the this time? Didn t he really already do it all for us? So in science when one does an experiment it is to find out if something is true or not to
either verify or disprove a theory. But in the classroom one does a demonstration of experiments whose outcome is already known as an illustration for the students. Well, Christ Jesus really did all the experiment verification we need with regard to Christian healing, so we call him the Way Shower. Christ Jesus did all the proving over every possible apparent condition of limitation, so we can but demonstrate what he already proved. And what did he prove? So we call our healing demonstrations of the Truth because we are but illustrating what Christ Jesus has already verified, the perfect, spiritual creation of our Father, divine Mind. Mrs. Eddy writes, Christian Science differs from material science, but not on that account is it less scientific. On the contrary, Christian Science is pre-eminently scientific, being based on Truth, the Principle of all science. (S+H 123: 30-2). So why does the natural science seem to have such a difficult time with recognizing Christian Science as science? In part it is because natural science is still, at various levels, trying to accommodate the evidence of the material senses with the evidence of the spiritual senses. As the philosopher Bertrand Russell stated, Physics is based upon the notion that things are as they appear, and then proceeds to show that things are not as they appear. Well this process does not yet seem to be complete. But also, in classical physics the experiment is out there, separated from the experimenter. In modern physics it appears that what the experimenter can know about the experiment can affect the results, so consciousness is involved at some level. But in Christian Science we are not the experimenter, we are the experiment. That is, we do not demonstrate God; rather God demonstrates us! This does not mean that Christian Science healing is not scientific. But it does mean that the human mind is not a factor in the Principle of Christian Science. So experimental verification is demonstrable in Christian Science but one cannot do Christian Science without God, because in Christian Science we are the experiment, one might say. It might be said that we do not so much demonstrate God as God demonstrates us! That might be just a little bit difficult for the ego of the human mind to swallow at first. {As Mrs. Eddy stated with regard to other writings, They regard the human mind as a healing agent, whereas this mind is not a factor in the Principle of Christian Science. (S+H x: 7-9).} So where is natural science heading that I would see signs that it is heading in the metaphysical direction? Mrs. Eddy writes Academics of the right sort are requisite.
Observation, invention, study, and original thought are expansive and should promote the growth of mortal mind out of it- self, out of all that is mortal. (S+H 195: 19-22). I ll just quote what some physicists have written and let you decide where things might be heading. One of the founders of quantum physics was Werner Heisenberg who discovered the uncertainty principle which states that there is a fundamental uncertainty in the measurement of anything material. He writes, "Some physicist would prefer to come back to the idea of an objective real world whose smallest parts exist objectively in the same sense as stones or trees exist independently of whether we observe them. This however is impossible. So there appears to be an inseparability of material sense observation and the very coming into existence of matter. How interesting then to read what Mrs. Eddy wrote over one hundred years ago about the nature of matter. In the latter part of the 19th Century she wrote, The material atom is an outlined falsity of consciousness,. (Un. of Good 35: 26-27 to 1st,). But in modern physics the role of consciousness is just recently being seen as essential to the explanation of foundational quantum experiments. Another of the founders of quantum physics, Irwin Schrödinger whose equation is famous in quantum physics circles -- indicated that physics may not, by itself, be up to overcoming the notion of materialsim. He wrote, Discoveries in physics cannot, in themselves so I believe have the authority of forcing us to put an end to the habit of picturing the physical world as a reality. So picturing the physical world as reality is simply a habit which apparently physics alone can not, by itself, put an end to. But I would say Christian Science is up to putting an end to this so-called physical-world illusion and does so with every healing. So 21st century physics has arrived at the point where it is saying, not just that matter is not substantial, but that according to the most popular interpretation of quantum physics (called the Copenhagen Interpretation ) that the elementary particles that are supposed to make up matter do not exist unless they are measured or consciously observed. Mrs. Eddy defines Matter in parts as, Mythology; mortality; another name for mortal mind; (S+H 591: 8-9 to 1 st ;). It might be difficult for the modern physicist to believe these words were written in the
19 th Century. The famous astrophysicist, Sir Arthur Eddington remember he was the one to experimentally confirm Einstein s Theory of General Relativity using a solar eclipse? He observed this about science: It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept the view that the substratum of everything is of mental character. But no one can deny that mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience, and that everything else is remote inference. That s a pretty metaphysically insightful statement. And as just one more of many examples, the astrophysicist, Sir James Jeans, stated, The universe can best be pictured as consisting of pure thought. In the book, Years of Authority by Robert Peel (p. 112), Mrs. Eddy wrote to Rev. Frank L. Phalen the following: Christian Science like all Science must be discovered or learned. It is not a native of the senses and cometh not with [material] observation.indeed the testimony of or the evidence before the senses contradict it but not more flatly than they disputed the facts of astronomy and then accepted them through the understanding.it is only more difficult to understand Christian Science than astronomy because the former [Christian Science] wars against the whole mortal man and the latter [astronomy] against only a part of him. Then she concludes the letter with, I never know where to stop on this subject. Mrs. Eddy writes, A material world implies a mortal mind and man a creator. The scientific divine creation declares immortal Mind and the universe created by God. Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout His creation, and the immortality of man and the universe. (S+H 507: 21-28). So Christian Science is indeed scientific. Through the scientific process -- revelation, reason, and demonstration the Principle of the universe is revealed. Before I conclude, I would like to acknowledge the Christian Science practitioners and nurses today. This, of course, could be the subject of many more talks. I will just say that by their very compassion in the temporal means of caring for the sick, they point to the eternal care of divine Love. Following Christ Jesus example, as Mrs. Eddy writes (S+H 25: 31-32), The divinity of
the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus, they employ great humanity and the practical love that allows the patient, working with the practitioner, to see the reality of his divine perfection and thereby be healed. The Christian Science nurse is there in the front lines in the battle with materialism where the metaphysics hits the road, so to speak. They so help to lift the burden of personal care that the patient can deal with his spiritual nature and thereby see the reality of his spiritual perfection. The humanity of the Christian Science nurse helps to point the way to the divinity of the Christly perfect man we all are, and we should not forget to thank God for them. Thank you!