Editorial February 11, 1933 Issue

Spiritual Understanding and Its Application

Duncan Sinclair

Spiritual understanding is an expression often on the lips of Christian Scientists. It is the understanding of God and His creation, of true being, of reality. Spiritual understanding is thus a very comprehensive term. Sometimes one hears it said that it is impossible to know accurately the truth about God and His creation, since Deity cannot be apprehended through the material senses. But those who say so are forgetful of the fact that spiritual sense exists, spiritual sense which is the only true sense—and that it correctly informs us of God and the real creation.

Spiritual sense, then, the sense which is the basis of spiritual understanding, tells us that God is infinite, omnipresent Mind; that He is infinite good; and that His creation, which is the reflection of Himself, is altogether good, and spiritual. In other words, spiritual sense reveals the eternal truth that God and His spiritual creation exist without an opposite; that true being is absolutely perfect, absolutely harmonious.

With the understanding of true being or reality which Christian Science gives, one is enabled to distinguish between that which really exists and that which has only a supposititious existence—error, as it is designated in Christian Science. Thus, since God is infinite Mind or spirit, matter, of which material sense appears to take cognizance, has no reality. Similarly, since God is infinite good, evil has no reality. In this way the Christian Scientist is equipped through spiritual understanding to discern between Spirit and matter, Truth and error, good and evil. Further, since spiritual sense informs him that God is infinite Life, he is in possession of the understanding which empowers him to deny as real the seeming opposite of Life called death. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 346 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "We treat error through the understanding of Truth, because Truth is error's antidote."

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