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Science and Christian Healing.
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It might have been in an effort to combat the rising empiricism that Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science has created her scientific development structure, which she had incorporated in the form of an outline into the body of her major works. The structure is basically a four by four matrix within which a vast array of spiritual concepts are set up to be explored. No answers are given as to what is right, and what is not. Only the basic architecture is defined. The rest has been left open for discovery.
A four by four matrix, of course, can be seen variously. It can be seen as four columns of vertically interconnected elements which represent a certain type of development. It can also be seen as a structure of four rows of horizontally interconnected elements which can be understood to represent four distinct domains of perception, or main points, or cardinal points, to be considered.
Mary Baker Eddy presents a scientific definition of four cardinal points, as related to the biblical city foursquare.*(Revelation 21). She describes these four essential cardinal points as "the Word", "Christ", "Christianity," and "Christian Science". Please refer to Appendix A, Figure 1, for the definition of these cardinal points, and their hierarchical interrelationship. Figure 1 presents the native state, a reflective structure, in which the divine (the absolute) and its manifest (the Christ) are reflected "on earth as they are in heaven."
This reflective structure, however, does not represent the state of humanity when the infinite or absolute domain becomes ignored, or rejected as a valid point of reference against which to judge reality. Then, as was noted in Volume 1a and 1b, the row pertaining to "Christianity" becomes split in half. The history of Christianity bears this out. It has been marked by great spiritual achievements, but also by terrible regressions into inhumanity. The only thing that Christianity is not noted for, however, is a tendency to be standing still. In reality, there is no status quo, no standing still. Christianity represents as self-contained duality, in this regard. Christianity can be seen as an entry point into this structure. It represents an upwards oriented quality centered on the Christ perception, the same that was brought to light by Christ Jesus. It can also represent a downwards oriented focus, leading towards depravity. However, Christianity is scientific by nature. Its developments in Christ-Science set up a confrontation against depravities. The scientific nature of Christianity, therefore, puts Christianity at the center of a very dynamic confrontational structure. The confrontation is not between people or ideologies, but between the Christ idea and human errors; between Truth and depravities; between Love and mythologies; and between the light and beauty of the Soul of man, confronting evils. Thereby, everything that falls out of context with the Christ, the spiritual idea of God, becomes confronted, to be corrected. See, Appendix A, Figure 2.
It is the scientific nature of Christianity that causes the confrontations to occur, without which humanity would sink to a very low state of homogenous insanity, and remain dormant there as during the dark ages. The scientific nature of Christianity reinterprets the Christ Science as Christian Science which deals with human errors and failures that God, or Truth, can have no knowledge of. The framework of this Christian Science is to bring human perception back into line with reality. See Figure 3.
If God is acknowledged as being infinite and perfect - as Principle, Truth, or perfect Mind, the creative cause of the universe - this all causative Mind cannot entertain errors, or be 'conscious' of anything that is not a facet of truth. But human thought, encumbered about with illusions errs until Science establishes a more correct perception. This is what Christian Science is designed to accomplish. It deals with human errors which are always contrary to Principle, and corrects them according to Principle.
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