CHURCH and GOVERNMENT

            I am not sure who first said these famous words:  “World affairs reflect church affairs.”  This means, that it is not the world affairs (man’s government of mortal laws) effecting material churches (material organizations) or even the divine Church (that which “rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle”), and this is an important point to remember.

            “Church.  The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.
            “The Church is that institution [which can be a textbook], which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.” (S&H 583:12-19; [My interpolation.])

            “Question. — Is there more than one God or Principle [government]?
            “Answer. — There is not.  Principle and its idea is one, and this one is God, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being, and His reflection is man and the universe.  Omni is adopted from the Latin adjective signifying all.  Hence God combines all-power or potency, all-science or true knowledge, all-presence.  The varied manifestations of Christian Science indicate Mind, never matter, and have one Principle. (S&H 465:16-466:6; [My interpolation.])

SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, AND CAPITALISM

            A Christian Scientist and I had been speaking about the Presidential candidates and I told her I liked B. Sanders but I did not like socialism because it leads to communism.  I think I also gave her the equation of socialism = communism.  She wrote back to tell me that socialism was not communism.  It seemed as if she felt that socialism was not a bad thing, that it was a good thing, and that it had merits, as she listed past Presidents who used socialistic programs.  (Just because a President uses something does not make it good or even a necessity.)  I did not plan on writing all that I did back to her, but after I received something in the mail on that very same day discussing the same topic, which was written in 1945, I felt that I had to share parts of it with her.  (What I told her was wrong but it was also right.  To find out how this is can be – read the next paragraph.)