Article May 22, 1909 Issue

NOT EXPLANATION BUT CORRECTION

SAMUEL GREENWOOD

The writer is in receipt of a list of questions which practically cover the entire problem of human existence and destiny, but he could only refer the questioner to the Christian Science text-book for his answers. The teachings of Christian Science, as elucidated in Mrs. Eddy's writings, afford the only scientific or effective explanation of the phenomena of mortal existence, an explanation which divests the material concept of all claim to reality, and reveals the allness of God. The purpose of Christian Science is to deliver mankind from their belief that intelligence and life are separate from God, not to solve any mysteries or accept the illusions of that belief. As has been well said, it is not explanation mortals need, so much as a knowledge of the truth that makes free.

The difficulty sometimes experienced in readily apprehending the teachings of Christian Science is largely due to one's former education, wherein good and evil were held to be equally real, and man to be of both human and divine creation. It is obvious that Christian Science would seem obscure viewed from that standpoint. Believing in evil as real, mortals naturally believe it to have a real origin, and until the infinitude of God is discerned in Christian Science their search for that origin goes on. When the ordinary person begins to look into the subject of Christian Science he generally measures his concept of it by his former beliefs, or attempts to reconcile the new with the old, but in either case he usually encounters many problems which he thinks should be explained. Even after the new student becomes convinced of the truth of Christian Science, he is apt to ask the how and the why of conditions which he admits are not true, not realizing that, in asking these questions, he assumes that error has some truth to be explained.

All that any one needs to be saved from is error of some sort. The boy who knows that two and two are four needs no salvation from such knowledge, because it is true; but the boy who believes that two and two are five does need salvation from that belief, because it is not true and leads to wrong results. When he learns the mathematical truth involved in that problem his salvation from mathematical error is accomplished, for his false belief is thereby destroyed. Now if this boy were to ask an explanation of how he came to believe that twice two are five, what would you answer him? How would you account for the figure five on his slate? What could you truthfully tell him except that it was a mistake, and therefore not true? Evidently the only effective way to explain the situation would be to prove to him that twice two are four, which would leave no error to be explained. In like manner, the only effective way to solve the problem of evil is to demonstrate the reality of good. To attempt the explanation of what one believes to be untrue is to place oneself in the predicament of having to be saved from his own explanation.

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NOT EXPLANATION BUT CORRECTION

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