What is Religious Science?
Religious Science is a spiritual philosophy for the
modern man and woman. It is based on the Truth which arises in every culture in the form of science, philosophy, and religion.
Religious Science views religion as a source of wisdom for revealing the Truth about the seemingly unknown forces that shape
our universe. This enables us to participate in our own life as a co-creator with the Divine. Religious Science was founded
by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world's Spiritual paths for most of his
life. In 1927, he wrote The Science of Mind, which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of
the world's faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles of Religious Science. He never intended to begin a new faith,
but was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.
What
Does Your "V" Symbol Mean?
The V symbol of Religious Science can be interpreted
on many different levels. On a Universal level, the top of the V shows the Universal Spirit (God), then the universal subjectivity,
which is the medium of all thought, power, and action, then, at the bottom, at particularization of our manifestation of Spirit.
The point drawn through the center symbolizes the descent of Spirit into matter, or form. It is necessary
that Spirit be manifested in order to express Itself. The descending line shows that all comes from the One (God)). Humanity
reenacts the whole Universal Life, and the nature of humanity is identical with Spirit. What is true of the Whole is true
of any of its individual undivided parts. Humanity comes to a point of individualization in the Whole and is subject to the
Law of the Whole. (Paraphrased from The Science of Mind by Dr. Ernest Holmes, p. 569.)
What
About Meditation?
Meditation is the time honored technique for taming, training and transforming the
mind. Religious Science endorses all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind stilling
techniques. It is through meditation that we come into a state of God communion and thereby experience a greater sense of
unity of all life.
What About Prayer?
Religious Science honors and endorses
all forms of sincere prayer. In addition, it teaches a unique and scientific form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment.
This is a powerful, affirmative method of prayer that was developed by Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science.
It involves a five step process that embodies all of the elements of the creative process of Life itself.
What is An Affirmation?
The term affirmation is normally associated
with a verbal statement that is made about some goal that we are trying to achieve, or some experience we desire to have.
However, the act of affirmation is really much more than that. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your
doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement,
act, or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we "act as if"
our highest aspirations were already a reality.
What About Sin?
The original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or "miss the mark" of spiritual perfection. A sin
is not a thing, it is merely an activity that produces an undesirable effect in our lives. In other words, we are punished
by our sins, not for them.
What About Evil?
Religious Science does not
deny the appearance of evil. However, it teaches that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is
called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only power acting, which is Spirit. The obstruction of Spirit's
expression always occurs in the mind through the holding of false beliefs. According to Religious Science, the only presence
acting in the universe is God, which is always Good. Evil is merely the way that we withhold our expression and experience
of that good by accepting false beliefs into our minds.
Do You Believe in the Devil?
Religious Science believes that, since the only power acting anywhere is God, the devil simply cannot exist as a
force acting in opposition to God's expression through Spirit. Therefore, there really is no devil. There is only the manifestation
of falsely held beliefs within our minds, which produces that appearance of some sinister invisible force, or being, acting
in our lives. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else, is a way of avoiding responsibility
for our own experience of life.
Do You Believe in Heaven and Hell?
Religious Science believes that heaven and hell are states of mind. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with
the Life that surrounds us. Hell is a state of mind that we experience when we don't understand why something unpleasant
is happening to us. We can choose to create our own heaven or hell on Earth, and take our beliefs with us when we go through
the transition the world calls death to the next plane of existence.
