Editorial May 12, 1917 Issue

Letting God Outline

William D. McCrackan

Outlining materially robs life of elasticity and hedges it about with limitations. It places every individual and every undertaking in a frame of matter from which escape is difficult; moreover, this habit is scientifically and Christianly unsound, because God, Spirit, really does all the outlining and does it for the best. In the Glossary of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, under the heading "Mind" we read, "Deity, which outlines but is not outlined" (p. 591). Yet how persistent is the attempt of mortals to belittle man, thus restricting their friends, their own capabilities, their business enterprises, their sources of income, their spiritual progress, and their careers, by seeking to establish hard and fast material conditions which stifle spiritual spontaneity.

From birth itself the child is subjected to a process of being outlined, both with reference to the past and the future. The color of the eyes and hair, the temperament and special aptitudes, are linked to ancestral conditions; the prospects of success in a profession or a trade are made the subject of prophecy for the future, and so the child encased in this mental frame begins the rôle of living a human life. If the prophecy were strictly scientific, it would place the child in the arms of a heavenly Father-Mother God, and a glorious unfoldment would then be possible, endowing the child with gifts of grace and beauty, talent and power, and out of this would grow a fearless human, not designed for suffering, but for the sunshine of spiritual joy, developing evermore into the likeness of perfection. We read on page 63 of Science and Health: "In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry." In Science man's future is just as definitely assured as is his divine origin.

Christian Science does not teach that human beings should not make their moves, but that these moves should be in accordance with God's outlining and not with the world's. Christian Scientists can be conscious through inspiration that, as Mrs. Eddy writes on page 506 of Science and Health, "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear."

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