Editorial November 27, 1926 Issue

Right Ideas

Albert F. Gilmore

Mrs. Eddy repeatedly emphasizes the power of the right idea to destroy erroneous beliefs. She lays much stress upon the reality of the former, the unreality of the latter. Realizing the necessity of clearly distinguishing between the true and the false, under the marginal heading "Illusions not ideas," in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 88), she inquires, "How are veritable ideas to be distinguished from illusions?" She replies: "By learning the origin of each. Ideas are emanations from the divine Mind." And she defines thoughts which originate in the so-called mortal mind as nothing more than mortal material beliefs. Thus is set before us the seeming conflict between ideas, verities, and their counterfeits, erroneous beliefs of mortal mind, which possess no measure of reality because they are not from God.

The Christian Science practitioner is confronted with the task of convincing one in need that error is not a reality, that discord in whatsoever aspect it may seem to present itself is not from God, hence possesses no verity, and is to be eliminated by putting truth in its place. One cannot hold to the true idea and a false concept at the same time. The one is accepted to the exclusion of the other. Hence, in order to bring harmony in the place of discord, the right idea must supplant the false belief. The far-reaching meaning of this process may not be readily grasped. Its import is tremendous; for it involves nothing less than the complete regeneration of consciousness, the making over of our thinking whereby are gained the kingdom of heaven and eternal life.

Christ Jesus declared unqualifiedly, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Words convey ideas; and these words convey divine ideas which, accepted and made one's own, usher one into man's true state, into eternal life and perpetual bliss. How important, then, becomes the task of selection, if we would make sure that the thoughts which we entertain are righteous and worthy. Upon right choice of thoughts depends the whole trend of our lives. If we are holding in thought only divine ideas, emanations from God, thoughts which deal exclusively with the reality and verity of being, we are holding to the right course and the way will continuously open to new and higher views of Truth. If, on the contrary, we hold to the false, the beliefs of mortal mind, we are permitting ourelves to be grossly deceived, for we are accepting the false as true; thus we are party to our own undoing.

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