Article November 12, 1910 Issue

REALITY

ALFRED THORPE

At the outset of my inquiry into Christian Science I was faced with the apparently unusual use of certain words, and found it impossible to assimilate the teaching which was to be conveyed. This refers particularly to the use of the word "real," or its converse, "unreal."

With my previously entertained opinions as to sin, sickness, and death, it seemed utterly absurd to speak of them as "unreal," and not until I had looked carefully into the question and had sought the assistance of a good dictionary did I see in what connection our dear Leader uses certain expressions. I was able to discover by this means that the word "real" is in Christian Science intended to apply to that which expresses God and is eternal. Having arrived at this conclusion, and remembering that Jesus came about his Father's business and that this business consisted largely in the removal of the obstacles to true peace and progress, such obstacles could not, in the nature of the case, be said to be real, because if they were capable of being set aside, they were not eternal, and were therefore "unreal." As soon as I was in possession of this thought, I saw that the same method could be used in respect to other words and forms of expression; and so, many sayings which previously seemed to be void of meaning, now assumed their true guise in my thought, and I was able to grasp something of the idea which Mrs. Eddy intended us to hold. I thus gladly arrived at the inevitable conclusion that, in the light of our text-book and Mrs. Eddy's other writings, the gospel is, as St. Paul says, "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."

Before taking up the study of Christian Science, some four years ago, I had practically all my life been a Bible student, but had never read into it the beautiful meanings that I am now able to discover. I had entertained the thought that certain promises found in the "book of life" referred to times and peoples of the past, while certain others were not yet realizable; and altogether, in common with so many others, I failed to grasp that, since God is "the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever," the promises once uttered are for all time and for all peoples, therefore for us, and all others in this day and generation. The declaration of the psalmist, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, ... who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction," now takes on a new significance and I have been able to demonstrate, in my own case and in that of others, that as God's children it is natural for us to reflect health and harmony; and that discord of any kind, including sin, sickness, and death, is indeed unreal.

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