Editorial June 16, 1934 Issue

The Perfection of Being

Duncan Sinclair

Christian Science is doing a very courageous thing today: it is declaring to the world the perfection of God and the perfection of His entire creation, in the face of what appears to be prevailing imperfection. Throughout the earth, disease, sin, and death seem to be in evidence. Throughout the entire vegetable and animal kingdoms, material sense bears witness to disintegration and decay. But in spite of all that material sense may argue to the contrary, Christian Science insists that God is perfect, and that His universe reflects His perfection. Probably the skeptic hears with derision what Christian Science has to say. Those who believe vaguely in God, who know but little about Him and His creation, may, however, ask for enlightenment, being desirous of understanding how the great divine fact of the perfection of being can be scientifically upheld.

Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, maintains that God is infinite good; that He is infinite Mind or Spirit. What logically follows from this? The everlasting truth that good alone is real; that Mind and its manifestation—its ideas—alone are real. But to maintain that good alone is real is to hold that perfection alone is real. And, further, since God, good, is Mind, His creation of ideas must be perfect. Our Leader writes on page 353 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "Perfection underlies reality. Without perfection, nothing is wholly real." Whoever, then, admits that God is infinite good is forced to the conclusion that all that really exists is perfect, and that it must ever remain perfect.

Man, the real or spiritual man, is perfect. He cannot be otherwise, since he is the idea of Mind, God. But it should be clearly understood that this does not hold with regard to a mortal. For what must be said of him? That he "is of few days, and full of trouble;" that he is subject to sin, disease, and death; that he is imperfect. If such be the case, it must be conceded that a mortal is not of God, that he is not of God's creating. And if he be not God's creation, God's idea, he cannot be real. Of mortals, as of all things material, it must be said that, being characterized by imperfection, they have no real existence. Our Leader writes (Science and Health, p. 414), "Remember that man's perfection is real and unimpeachable, whereas imperfection is blameworthy, unreal, and is not brought about by divine Love."

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