Article June 21, 1919 Issue

Resistance to Error

MARIE CHISWELL HOUGH

The writer often recalls with what enthusiasm and self-assurance, as a very new student of Christian Science, she first heard and responded to the words of an older student, "In Christian Science we learn not to ignore error, but to resist it." This appealed to her immediately. Here at last was something very worth while, a demand upon her for activity, a chance to do her part and help in the work in a way she felt she understood. There was one phase of error in particular of which she had been very much afraid. She had always turned from even a contemplation of it as being too frightful to face; but now that this demand had come to her she would confront this error and resist it. She promptly took inventory of her resources of resistance, and found them to be very satisfactory. Her intelligence, her will, and her very impulses seemed to assure her of faithful cooperation. She felt really impatient with herself over the former fears, and now was rather pleased than otherwise over the fact that she had such a formidable foe to resist, one really worthy of her efforts.

No longer did she ignore this error, but rather prided herself on the vigorous and unflagging campaign of resistance she had inaugurated, and on the fact that the foe was being held at bay. The time came, however, when the struggle lost its first charm of novelty; the personal glory and self-satisfaction waned; her will power seemed to weaken, and her intelligence seemed to demand new fields of activity; so she needs must make every effort to keep lined up in the work of resistance. Furthermore, the foe seemed to gain daily new strength and activity, to be nearer than ever before, to be seeking new entrances and avenues into her fortifications, and thus kept her so busy at her arduous task of resisting that she found little time or inclination for anything else. There was no joy, no peace, no rest, no victory in the struggle, and she found herself almost hopelessly frightened and weary in the seeming field of combat.

At last she began to question. What was wrong? She had felt that she could not fail in Christian Science. She was trying to do right; she had tried with all her strength to resist the error, but had seemed only to hinder and obstruct her own happiness and peace. Slowly she turned to page 393 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, and read over again that passage which had at first appealed to her merely as a confirmation of what the older student had told her: "Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man."

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