A Member's Personal View

by Dr. Brace I. Knapp

Religious Science, or the Science of Mind, appeals to me because I feel it is a religion freed from all shackles of creed and dogma. In certain aspects, it recaptures the essence of what Jesus originally said, such as "The Kingdom of God is within you" or "The Holy Spirit is within you as your comforter." Our concept of the Divine Mind or Universal Intelligence, Oversoul -- by whatever name -- is that Holy Spirit is within us. It is my belief that Jesus never intended to found a church, but that he preached reform and a personal examination of one's own conscience in its relationship to God. He presented God as a loving father and personal God rather than the earlier Hebrew concept of a powerful, stern and righteous judge who destroyed his enemies and enjoyed sacrifices to himself in the temple. Jesus continued what the prophets had started -- expanding the concept of God from a tribal or national God of the Hebrews, to a universal God and Holy Spirit interested in everyone regardless of nationality, race or politics. Love of neighbor (or "fellow man") and being interested in others was the prime message. By a conscious realization that every person or every one of our "neighbors" or brothers has a piece of the Divine Mind within him, and by thinking of God Himself, you are at the same time thinking of your fellow man. If you truly concentrate on the goodness of God and that He can do nothing but good, then He would certainly be doing good to Himself. And since we are a part of God, simply by this concentration and believing in His goodness, we would be doing good to other parts of God, i.e., our neighbor. When a person is in the right relationship or in a higher consciousness to feel at one with God, then there will be no way to do anything but the right thing or the right "social action" for your fellow man. Because of your level of consciousness in Religious Science, you are automatically responding to any situation that affects the welfare of your brother. You are already helping him when you use the law of Mind.

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