Page:The Origin of Christian Science.djvu/123

Rh also of Mrs. Eddy's theories as to Jesus Christ, since she regards him as a human being only, that is, as possessing divinity the same in kind with that which all men possess but superior in degree, it may be. Her explanation of him must be consistent with her philosophy. In working out this problem we will see how she follows Spinoza, for whom Synesius especially blazed the way, who solved the problem quite ingeniously two hundred and fifty years ago.

Mrs. Eddy teaches that the real man exists eternally. He is without beginning of days or end of years. He belongs to God's creation and his duration is timeless. Man is God's idea or thought and God's ideas and thoughts are eternal. He co-exists with God, and does so necessarily since God cannot exist without his reflection which reflection man is. Mind is by its very nature active; that is, it must think. In thinking it must think about something; that is, it must have thoughts or ideas. Therefore the existence of God requires that men also who are his thoughts or ideas exist, and since God eternally exists they must so exist. It is easily seen that in this we have a repetition of what was said of the relation of creation to God. At times, Mrs. Eddy seems to consider that man and his ideas constitute the entire creation, though she is not so clear on this point as we wish she were. Man's ideas are of course God's ideas. God is the great circle