Editorial August 6, 1910 Issue

THE SPIRITUAL IS THE REAL

Archibald McLellan

Christian Science, through its insistence upon the reality and allness of good, of necessity throws into corresponding relief the reverse of this proposition, namely, the unreality and nothingness of evil. Nevertheless, because of the very emphasis thus placed on evil's nothingness and unreality, many casual or superficial critics have run away with the belief that Christian Science is a negative system; whereas the negative is apparent only because of the reality of that which is true, just as the negative nature of darkness is apparent because of the reality of light.

This erroneous belief about Christian Science is largely responsible for the many ridiculous statements made by critics who imagine that Christian Scientists entirely ignore sin, disease, and suffering; that they heartlessly brush aside the appeals of those who are in need with such sayings as, "All you have to do is to think you are well," "Imagine you are warm, and you will not need an overcoat," ad libitum. Perhaps the wittiest presentation of this belief was the cartoon which appeared in one of the comic papers some time ago, which pictured a Christian Scientist in the attitude of sitting on an imaginary chair, with his feet resting on an imaginary table, and reading an imaginary newspaper.

Paul taught that "the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal," yet these critics utterly fail to understand that in Christian Science the word "real" is used in precisely this sense, that is, to express only that which is spiritual and eternal,—"the things which are not seen." Nor do they seem to be able to discriminate between the word "Mind," which when capitalized is in Christian Science teaching a synonym for God, and the so-called human mind, which is used interchangeably with the terms brain or intellect.

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