Overcoming Superstition

Duncan Sinclair

Sometimes we may allow ourselves to think that the age in which we live has outgrown superstition. No doubt civilized peoples have ceased to entertain many of the crude religious beliefs they formerly held. Demon worship, for example, has ceased to be practiced by them, worship which may have involved the sacrificing of innocent babes to appease the supposititious wrath of altogether fictitious beings. The strange methods of combating sickness once in vogue have largely been superseded by more modern and, presumably, more intelligent devices; and numerous acts performed to avert difficulties, or maybe disaster, as the superstitious believed, have been discarded as childish and useless. No doubt progress has been made in overcoming this weakness of humanity, but it is an exaggeration to say that superstition, even among civilized nations, has ceased. And everybody knows how rampant it is still among what are called the uncivilized nations of the world.

Now superstition is the result of ignorance and fear—ignorance, and fear of the unknown or the imaginary. Thus, ignorance of God has been the chief cause of the superstitions of men. They have believed Him to be a Being who knows both good and evil and who sends either good or evil upon mortals at will. They have believed Him capable of both hate and love, and to be feared or adored in consequence. The result has been a senseless blending of superstitious effort to appease His wrath and of equally superstitious worship to gain His favor. It was to this type of thought Paul addressed his famous words: "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 83), "Between Christian Science and all forms of superstition a great gulf is fixed, as impassable as that between Dives and Lazarus." How could our Leader make that statement? She could make it because Christian Science, which she discovered, reveals the truth about God, the absolute truth about Him, and so does away with all superstition arising from ignorance and false belief concerning Deity. Christian Science declares that God is Love, that He is good, that He is infinite, and affirms that there is no evil quality whatsoever in Him. God knows only good continually and, because of this, man, His perfect reflection, is blessed perpetually.

To gain this understanding of God, to be assured of His goodness, His love, His constant care, students should be diligent in their study of Christian Science. This takes time; for not all at once do we lose the false sense of evil or error, although we may have wonderful glimpses of its unreality. But when we know the truth that God is good, that good alone is real, and that evil beliefs, having no foundation in spiritual fact, are naught but superstitious suggestions, we can pursue our study with prayerful diligence, assured of ultimate victory. "We must not continue to admit the somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be wise" (Science and Health, p. 353).

Sickness is not usually regarded as a form of supersition, but, viewed in the light of the knowledge of God which Christian Science gives, can anyone say it is not? Sickness or disease, whatever its type, is not of God, the perfect creator of all that is real; it has therefore no true existence. When the sick become enlightened on the unreal nature of disease they see that their fears are groundless. And when fear, which is one of the chief causes of disease and of its continuance, is overcome, healing should follow.

There is a superstition against which people have to be on guard—astrology—for it would have them believe that the planets control the destinies of men. What a fallacy is this! God is the sole creator, the sole governor of the spiritual universe—His universe—including individual man. When man is known by us as God's image, we understand that, reflecting the power of God, he is endowed with spiritual dominion and is not subject to any superstitious domination whatsoever.

How subtle fear can be at times, coming unawares mesmerically upon the unguarded thought which, a moment before, may have been happy and at ease! What would not mankind give to be entirely rid of it! What freedom this riddance would mean to the world! There is no way of overcoming fear, and thus doing away with its ofttimes tragic consequences, except the way which Christian Science discovers to us. We must know the truth of God's allness, goodness, and love, and the unreality of evil. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life," says the Psalmist; "in thy presence is fulness of joy." No room there for superstitious fear!

Duncan Sinclair

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Mastering Mesmerism

April 27, 1935

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