Article March 28, 1914 Issue

Awakening from the Mortal Dream

COL. W. E. FELL

On the threshold of Christian Science, when the glad tidings of possible release from the bondage of sense, with its fetters of sin, disease, worry, personal antagonism, and limitation, first dawn on the consciousness of the student of this teaching, and he earnestly begins the study of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," he finds himself so engrossed in the contemplation of good as the only reality, that he feels considerable unwillingness to handle error in any of its numerous phases. Having suffered so many things from the belief of evil in the past, he would greatly prefer to hear no more on that subject. Thought reaches out with a great longing for good, and more of good; and it may be asked, Where, then, is the necessity for knowing aught but good,—God and His idea?

Assuredly there is no reason why we should know anything outside of good, inasmuch as there is nothing to know. Mortal mind, however, is not freed from evil by merely holding a pious wish to have nothing to do with it. Sooner or later the inevitable demand comes, and for the reason that mortal mind harshly obtrudes itself upon the student's vision of good with the imperative challenge, "What are you going to do about me, and the man who is mortal?" Startled and perhaps a little discouraged to find that a mere desire for good has not abolished evil, one steps down from the mount of vision to tackle and overcome the arguments of evil. A severe self-examination ensues, with the discovery that in the earnest pursuit of good the novice has overlooked or illy divined what our Leader has said concerning the overcoming of evil. Fully awakened, he finds that the problem which mortal mind has propounded for solution must be bravely met, lest evil should continue to boast itself against good, claiming for itself an equal reality with God's idea.

"But why," as our Leader says, "should we stand aghast at nothingness?" (Science and Health, p. 563.) Let us for one moment examine this negation of God's allness called mortal, material man. Let us give him the name he had in the beginning,—Adam, "nothingness" (Science and Health, p. 580). Mortal mind and its dream-man are one and inseparable; mortal mind and Adam are but the counterfeits of Mind and its idea. But how shall we describe a counterfeit? Webster says a counterfeit is "that which is made in imitation of something, with a view to deceive by passing the false for the true; a thing made to resemble something else; a forgery; as, the bank-note was a counterfeit." A counterfeit, then, in order to deceive, to pass for that which is counterfeited, must be as perfect as possible. Even so, it is utterly untrue and worthless, and can deceive only those who are ignorant of that which is counterfeited. Whoever, for instance, would counterfeit a bank-note, must do so with the greatest accuracy, and the only way to insure accuracy is to keep the eye fixed on the original and closely copy it.

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