Christian Scientists believe that both Heaven and Hell are merely a "state of mind." The question "Do Christian Scientists believe in heaven and hell?" is answered this way on the website christianscience.com :
Not as places or as part of an afterlife, but certainly as a state of mind. Christian Science theology does not include a final judgment day. Every day each individual can make a new choice that determines the path he or she is on - a path away from God or towards Him.
Now, doesn't that feel good? Phew, what a relief!
The Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy to "to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing." In truth, the Holy Spirit's power of healing by prayer and the laying of hands has not been lost - it has instead become under-utilized by a skeptical body that may be a bit lacking in faith. But, we must understand that our Holy, Triune God does not always heal our bodies and minds in ways that we think are best.
The Christian Science theology does not believe in a Triune God. This theology proffers that Jesus is "promised Messiah" but also claims that Jesus Himself said He was not the Father, and that God, the Father, alone should be worshiped. And yet, the Holy Bible - the very same Bible that Christian Science claims to adhere to, says in the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, verses 27 through 30 :
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.
This writer underlined the last sentence above for emphasis. The words written in John 10:27-30 were spoken by Jesus Himself. It was Jesus who said that He and His Father were "one." Yes, Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah; and He came once and will come again. However, His role in the Triune Godhead should not be diminished in any human heart or by any religion. Jesus is Savior and He is Lord. And as part of the Triune (trinity, three-part) Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - He is as much God as the Father and Holy Spirit.
As the Storm is intensifying within the Supernatural and seeping through the cracks into our natural world, Americans in the final quarter of 2010 are increasingly drawing toward "Spirituality" as a means to cope with the deteriorating economy and fearful life circumstances that they are living within. As the Storm intensifies, Satan is using these false spirits to deceive and destroy. Whether it be Christ Scientist, Scientology (which is not Christ Scientist), Emergent church, Word of Faith, Kingdom Now, Mormonism, Wicca, Islam, or you pick the movement or religion - it is at the very least a move away from God's true word and at the worst a path to eternal death.
These are the End Times. The Rapture of Christ's church of true believers is imminent and the seven-year Great Tribulation will follow for those left behind. The One World System - which will be religious, monetary, geographic, and military - is being built today and will be run by the Son of Perdition as the Anti-Christ during the Great Tribulation. The book of Revelation is real, true prophecy and not a colorful book of allegory that reads like a Science Fiction mini-novel.
There have been for years and continues to be many spiritual and religious movements, and they seem to be gaining steam as 2010 winds down. The movement that we need to making is toward Jesus Christ - who is the Son of God, fully God, and payment for our sins as our atoning sacrifice. He cannot be minimized, reduced in value, or bypassed in lieu of another pathway. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only pathway to a real and glorious Heavenly New Jerusalem and to sidestep Him will ultimately reveal to you that Hell is much more than just a state of mind. Christ is love and faith in Him in truth as Savior, Lord, and 1/3 of the Godhead will bring you to an eternal reality far more beautiful than the most positive mental state.
May we pray?
Dear Lord - we reach out to You today on behalf of the lost and the deceived. To so many, You are a commitment that is too difficult to keep and a loss of control that they are to insecure to relinquish. We ask you today Lord, as the hour of the Wedding Feast draws ever nearer, that your Holy Spirit would manifest itself through Your children in powerful and effulgent ways. Please let us be the light to the lost on this Earth, that they would see us as a window to You and desire to know You in truth and in power. Jesus, the name above all names! Even so, come quickly! In Your glorious name we pray - amen.
With due respect for the author's comments, the reader should know that Christian Scientists do believe in the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, they do not believe that Jesus is God.
ReplyDeleteThe citation quoted from John begins with all that the Father does and ends with one sentence about Jesus' oneness with the Father. All other references in the Bible that Jesus makes are about him going to his Father, not to himself as the Father. Ex: Matthew 7:21 "He that doeth the will of my Father"; Matthew 10:32 "him will I confess also before my Father"; Matthew 11:27 "All things are delivered unto me of my Father"; In the garden of Gethsemane, "Oh my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done."
I have learned from the teachings of Christian Science that the statement, "I and my Father are one" means that just as the rays emanate from the sun and have all properties of the sun, but are not the sun - the origin of the rays, so Christ Jesus emanates from his Father and expresses all the attributes of God, Spirit, but is not God, Himself.
That doesn't weaken his position as the Son of God but strengthens it and gives hope to mankind for their salvation. Jesus said, "He believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me." I believe that Jesus is indicating a higher power that governs all creation, including himself.