Article September 3, 1921 Issue

Spirit Is One

GRACE ROBERTA WASSON

"Principle and its idea is one, and this one is God, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being, and His reflection is man and the universe," writes Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, beginning on page 465 of her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." What thinking person could question that statement? Surely none. The two words, "principle" and "principal" mean practically the same thing in the Hebrew and in the Greek. The former in the Greek means, among other things, "beginning," "first." Let us ask ourselves, then, Can there be more than one beginning, or one first? The latter spelling, in the Hebrew signifies "beginning" and "first." It also means "father." So those who think that Principle is a cold, unlovable term for God need but turn to the ancient Hebrew to find Mrs. Eddy's authority for its use.

The very first Scriptural utterance is, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," while the beloved disciple offers as his first statement in the fourth gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In the light of what beginning means, might not one then say with impunity that persons, places, and things, all that the eye beholds or the fancy conceives of, are mortal mind's feeble attempt to interpret the one divine Principle which is indivisible though infinitely expressed in infinite variety? "Whatever diverges from the one divine Mind, or God,—or divides Mind into minds, Spirit into spirits, Soul into souls, and Being into beings,—is a misstatement of the unerring divine Principle of Science, which interrupts the meaning of the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of Spirit, and is of human instead of divine origin," writes Mrs. Eddy on page 56 of "Retrospection and Introspection." Mind cannot be divided, it is reflected; Principle cannot be divided, it is expressed; Life cannot be divided, it is eternally and uninterruptedly lived; Love cannot be divided, it is universally and impartially manifested; Truth cannot be divided, it is immutably set forth. This shows why the house divided never stands, but is brought to desolation.

The basis of immortality is, of necessity must be, purity. Is not purity a proof of progress? Spiritual law demands purity and progress, and the compensation is that the pure in heart see God. Solomon knew this only too well; so he wrote: "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." He must have had some inkling of the vital importance of purity, intelligence, and power, even though he fell short of living up to the zenith of his conception. He failed, however, to reach the heights of Mrs. Eddy's spiritual vision when she wrote, a little farther down on page 466 of Science and Health: "Truth is immortal; error is mortal. Truth is limitless; error is limited. Truth is intelligent; error is non-intelligent. Moreover, Truth is real, and error is unreal. This last statement contains the point you will most reluctantly admit, although first and last it is the most important to understand."

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