|
Frequently Asked Questions
|
 |
|
Click on a question to
jump to its answer or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
What is Divine Science? |
The dictionary defines "divine" as that which
pertains to God; and "science" as knowledge coordinated, arranged and
systematized.
The foundating truth of Divine Science is
God is all, both invisible and visible.
One Presence, One Mind, One Power is all.
This One that is all is perfect life, perfect love, and perfect substance.
Man is the individualized expression of God and
is ever one with this perfect life, perfect love, and perfect substance.
~~~
Divine Science is Progressive
and Inclusive. Divine Science believes in the Voice of God, in the soul of man, as the
only certain guide. Divine Science believes in the Omnipresence of God, which means that
God is everywhere present at the same time, no exceptions. If it is true, that God is
everywhere present at the same time, and it is, then we (everyone) cannot be outside of
God, even if we try.God is Love. God’s Love shines on the just and the unjust. God
does not take sides. God is Principle.
In 'Divine Science Its Principle and Practice' (a Divine
Science textbook), we find the following on page 27:
An organized teaching pertaining to God and God's
manifestation in creation would be known as divine knowledge, knowledge of Truth. And when
this knowledge is based upon eternal God-Principle as the source of all that is, it
becomes a science. Thus we have a divine science; a science of unity of the Creator and
His creation; of God action and the results; of existence proceeding from God or Being.
Hence the teaching of Divine Science is classified knowledge of Being manifesting in
existence. It is God expressing in creation. It is the Creator revealed in the creature.
A Divine Scientist believes that there are universal spiritual laws. If we live in harmony
with these laws, we experience harmony in our lives. Because God gave us consciousness,
wisdom and plain good sense to use in every aspect of our lives, especially our religious
beliefs, we never expect blind faith from someone who has become interested in our
teachings. We just ask people to try these ideas - try these methods of practical,
positive thinking and living and prove to themselves, through their own experiences, that
these spiritual principles work!
|
What do Divine
Scientists believe about God? |
Divine Scientists believe that God is omnipresent
(all-present); omnipotent (all-powerful); omniactive (all-active); and omniscient
(all-knowing). Everything, both invisible and visible, is an expression of God; God and
God acting is all there is. God is the universal Mind. God is creative intelligence,
Principle. When we live in Truth, we see God in all things. Divine Science emphasizes Omnipresence and its all
encompassing meaning, more than other faiths. If you believe that God is everywhere, then
it stands to reason that God is within you. Since what He is, is never separate from His
presence, which is everywhere, then all His qualities are everywhere. We see God as that
universal Energy that is perfect Wisdom, Love, Life, Truth, Understanding, Peace and
Goodness. If God and all He is is in us, then all these spiritual qualities are in us,
too.
Genesis 1:26 reads, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness." Divine Science teaches that there is a non-physical dimension in everyone
that is the image of God, and is endowed with a full compliment of divine qualities and
powers. Life, and all its challenges, presents an ongoing opportunity to discover and
express what we really are - spiritual beings having a human experience. Our true identity
is God's image - God's child. When we begin to see ourselves in that light, life takes on
a vastly new look. We live in a "friendly" universe. We already have the
strengths and abilities to create and attract a life experience that is fulfilling and
meaningful and that gives us an opportunity to be a source of blessings to others. One of
the greatest appeals of Divine Science is it's ability to change your view of yourself
from an ordinary, struggling person to a unique, exceptional one. Since one's self-image
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, when we really see ourselves as unlimited, as having
access to answers to our questions and solutions to our problems, we live with greater
expectation of good and a deeper connection with the source of that good - God. |
Do Divine
Scientists believe that theirs is the only true religion? |
Divine Science is an inclusive religion which understands
that some part of the Truth is found in all religions, but no one religion can claim to
have a monopoly on the whole Truth. All Religions have value in that each one fills the
needs of its members; but there is still only One God of all. |
Is Divine Science
CHRISTIAN? |
Divine Science is Christian in the deepest sense and in
the tradition of the earliest Christian churches. Divine Science is is based on the
teachings of Jesus Christ. Divine Science is also considered to be a study in Christian
metaphysics or Christian Mysticsm. Divine Science embraces the truth as taught by Jesus
the Christ through his ministry but does not exclude the relevance of other teachings that
enable us to live through love and compassion. This in no way invalidates the Bible's
historical significance, but rather adds another dimension of understanding to traditional
teaching. We also recognize the great philosophies that originated in the East. Our
religion is practical, reasonable, and livable. We believe that "a change in outer
experience comes from a change in inner awareness through the mental and spiritual law of
cause and effect." Divine Science studies the Bible's mystic teachings and looks to
Jesus the Christ (the anointed) as the Wayshower. Therefore, Divine Science is Christian. |
Do Divine Scientists
Follow the Bible? |
Divine Scientists follow the precepts and teachings of
Jesus, the Christ, which are contained in the Bible. Recognizing that the early prophets
were great men, divinely led and illumined, they find inspiration in the Old as well as
the New Testament. While they do not take literally all that the Bible holds, they learn
to search for the hidden Truths, always guided by the teachings of Jesus the Christ.
|
Do Divine
Scientists believe in Jesus? |
Yes, both as a man and as the highest expression of God
-- The Christ, or Anointed One. Divine Scientists believe that Christ represents the
divine nature of each person, of all persons. This divine nature is the universal
Presence, saying, "Lo, I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20) This Christ
nature is in everyone as a perfectly created and divine being. |
What observations
of the sacraments do Divine Scientists have? |
Divine Scientists observe the sacraments of marriage,
baptism or 'consecration of children,' and burial. They believe that every process of life
is a sacrament. As the Spirit of God is with us at all times, our sacraments are with us
at every moment, eternally. |
Can biochemists and
natural scientists believe in God? |
Scientists not only can but do believe in God. Einstein
has said: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is
blind." And Dr. Werner von Braun wrote: "Many people seem to feel that
science has somehow made religious ideas (such as immortality) untimely or old-fashioned.
I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics. Science tells us that nothing in
nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know
extinction. All it knows is transformation."
Einstein also says, "A person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be
one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish
desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings, and aspirations to which he clings
because of their superpersonal value." And again: "It is only to the
individual that a soul is given. And the highest destiny of the individual is to serve
rather than to rule, or to impose himself in any other way."
Divine Science, since its beginning, has taught principles which accord with, strengthen,
and enlarge upon present-day scientific findings. |
Does Divine Science
believe in missionary work? |
There are Divine Science churches throughout the United States and the world; Although
Divine Science does not have a missionary arm to the church. Every individual student of
Divine Science becomes a missionary according to his consciousness and call. |
Do Divine
Scientists go to hospitals or to doctors? Do they believe in vaccination? |
Yes, Divine Scientists believe that all people are God's
children, spiritual beings, created in the image of God. However, we are still unfolding
in understanding of this Truth, and doctors and hospitals are often necessary and helpful
as we grow in understanding. On all levels of unfoldment we know there is a solution for
every individual need. Each individual is spiritually guided to the right solution. |
What is a Divine
Science Practitioner? |
Divine Scientist practitioner is one has learned the
principles of Divine Science and practices these principles in his or her life. A licensed
practitioner has had special training and education to enable him or her to practice the
healing methods of Christ. A licensed practitioner is a counselor who uses prayer to
assist people in uplifting their minds, hearts, and spirits; teaches the principles of
Divine Science to facilitate the expansion and strengthening of the consciousness. The
root practice of this is the practitioner's ability to see the truth of the Divine
Presence in all people and situations and thus to facilitate the unfolding of Holy Spirit.
Healing is the result of revealing the presence and healing power of God. |
Do Divine Scientists
have ordained ministers? |
Yes; the various Divine Science
denominations ordain ministers after they have been educated
and trained. Some of these include the United
Divine Science Ministerial School, the Divine Science
School or Brooks Divinity College. Usually there is an internship
prior to ordination but this is not always the case.
|
Do Divine Scientists
believe in Heaven and Hell? |
Divine Scientists believe that we individually make our
own heaven or hell right here on earth, through our own attitude of mind, outlook, and
level of consciousness (or spiritual understanding). Divine Scientists do not believe that
individuals are burnt in fire or tortured, unless it be through thinking, through remorse,
sorrow, or regret. God can in no way cause hurt of any kind, for God knows only
Perfection, or Good. It is our own ignorance of the Truth that causes hurt of any kind.
Our own attitude, or our feeling of well-being as we see only good in all things and
conditions, will likewise produce for us 'heavenly' conditions in our lives.
Divine Science doesn't believe in hell or eternal damnation. How could a God of love
create such a place? If God the Good is everywhere, where could Hell exist? The only hell
that exists is a state of mind where negative thoughts and emotions reign supreme. Why
does God allow terrible things to happen? We have all been given free will, and that
includes the freedom to misuse our opportunities and abilities. But even when we misuse
them, God's unconditional love is still ours. We are never punished FOR our sins. We are
punished BY our sins. God never punishes us. Negative acts simply have negative results.
Jesus Christ, the greatest spiritual teacher the world has ever known, came to teach us a
method of thinking and living that connects us with a sense of God's presence and the
experience of Divinely created good. |
Do Divine
Scientists believe in sin, sickness, and death? |
Divine Scientists believe that sin is the result of
ignorance of the Truth. The word sin, from its early Greek meaning in archery, merely
meant a 'missing of the mark.'; In other words, we sin or miss the mark when we fail to
attain to our highest calling, which is the realization of our Christ nature.
Sickness is the lack of full realization of what we are, i.e. spiritual beings. Doctors
today are increasingly aware that many physical manifestations of illness are
'psychosomatic', or expressions of an inner attitude. Divine Scientists have found that
when an individual is expressing on a high level of consciousness, and knows completely
that God is omnipresent, then harmony with the one creative Power, God, results in
perfection.
For Divine Scientists, the appearance of death is only one of many experiences in the
spiritual unfoldment and development of the soul. As stated earlier,
in the paragraph on the attitude of biochemists and scientists to religion, nothing in
life is wasted. At the time of what is referred to as death, the consciousness moves into
another level of expression; but life does not cease, for all is spiritual Life,
eternally. |
Do Divine
Scientists believe in miracles? |
Divine Scientists believe that miracles are the logical
result of spiritual oneness with the Creator of all Good, God. Jesus the Christ understood
through his perfect 'at-one-ment' with God, the inner and eternal perfection of every
being. Through this absolute knowledge and faith in God, who creates perfectly, Jesus was
able to realize the Truth in every situation. The inner, eternal Truth was then
manifested, causing what is known as a miracle. Jesus Christ, the greatest spiritual
teacher the world has ever known, came to teach us a method of thinking and living that
connects us with a sense of God's presence and the experience of Divinely created good. |
Do Divine Scientists
believe in two powers (good and evil)? |
No. Divine Scientists believe in only one power, which is
the power of God, or Good. Having been given free choice, we sometimes fail to express or
apply this One Power. When we drive a car, for example, we can send it either forward or
backward, though it is still the same force we use to run it in either direction.
"Evil" in the world is a result of the actions of human beings and not the work
of dark powers. As we turn toward God and take actions rooted in love we have the power to
change any conditions in the world and manifest the time when the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights is part of all people's lives in the world. Humanity can end hunger and
disease but it is up to us to choose to do this and take actions rooted in love and
compassion to bring this into being. |
Do Divine Scientists
hold communion? |
For Divine Scientists, the taking of the bread and the
wine, or an outward expression of communion, is not practiced. Divine Scientists seek a
constant sense of mental and spiritual communion with God at all times, knowing the very
flesh and blood of our being is the spirit of the living God functioning in and through
us. Our goal is to have an ever deeper
sense of our oneness with God that leads to the experience of illumination - directly
knowing God, Himself. We will come to see the world and everything in it as God-in-action,
a Divine process toward greater order and good and each will be participants in knowing
it, experiencing it and bringing that good forth for others. Thus we seek the deepest
spiritual communion possible. |
Are Divine
Scientists restricted in their reading? |
No. Divine Science does not say 'thou shalt not' to any
individual. Individuals are responsible for their own evolution or unfoldment. Divine
Scientists realize that all beliefs or religions hold a part of the Truth; that not any
one can encompass it all. Therefore, some truth is to be found in all spiritual reading.
In time, the individual discovers what is helpful and what delays spiritual growth. Making
these choices constitutes a persons spiritual path. |
Do Divine
Scientists have a creed? |
Some have said that Divine Scientists have no creed;
others, that the Divine Science Statement of Being is a
creed, or profession of faith -- but no one is limited to it. Divine
Scientists are ever seeking to understand more fully this Statement of Being. If one could
rise in consciousness to this concept, then possibly they could be ready to move on to
something higher and better. |
Do Divine Scientists
have a leader? |
The eternal leader is God, the Holy Spirit as
demonstrated and taught by Jesus the Christ. Daily leaders are the ministers of Divine
Science churches. These leaders facilitate growth of their members but are not considered
more important than their membership. |
|
|
