Editorial June 28, 1919 Issue

Dominion

Ella W. Hoag

There is no subject closer to the hearts of men than that of dominion. Men are constantly reaching out for an understanding of it, that they may gain the advantages which all recognize must accrue from its possession. That dominion implies power goes without saying; and the important questions to be decided are, What is its nature? How is it to be gained? Where is it to be exercised? In the Bible we learn that God gave man dominion. It is therefore a faculty which He must have intended all His children to express equally; hence the desire to possess and use it must be natural and right. Since dominion is the gift of God, it must be like Him; it must partake of His qualities and of His alone. All Christians unite in attributing power to God, naming Him Omnipotence, All-power. Then any true dominion which men may exercise must of necessity be that which is the reflection of the power of God, good.

Christian Science, in its revelation of God as infinite, divine Mind, also shows that all dominion must be mental and must consist of the activity of right thinking in each individual consciousness. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 106) we read, "Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love." Then for man to express perfect dominion he must be governed alone by God, divine Mind. In other words, the only way men can ever express dominion is by reflecting the thoughts of divine Mind to the exclusion of all other so-called thinking.

It is in Christian Science that we learn to know what God's thoughts are, and it is consequently in Christian Science that we learn to distinguish between right and wrong thinking,—learn to cling to and utilize the thoughts of God, divine Mind, with all their inherent power, and thus prove all other thinking to be evil, false, useless, unreal. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 252) we read: "Christian Science classifies thought thus: Right thoughts are reality and power; wrong thoughts are unreality and powerless, possessing the nature of dreams. Good thoughts are potent; evil thoughts are impotent, and they should appear thus."

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Among the Churches
June 28, 1919
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