Article September 28, 1935 Issue

Why "stand aghast at nothingness?"

ISAAC EVERETT MARTIN

The word "error" used in its ordinary sense may be simply and briefly defined as a mistake, a blunder, in short, a deviation from the truth. As used in Christian Science, error is understood to embrace unspiritual or materialistic thinking and its conclusions—that is, any deviation from spiritual truth. It includes every supposition or evidence of material pain or pleasure, and the myriad human beliefs associated therewith. Error generally and particularly embraces thoughts of sin, sickness, inharmony, lack, and suffering, and their many baneful accompaniments.

In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy has written (p. 466): "Truth is immortal; error is mortal. Truth is limitless; error is limited. Truth is intelligent; error is non-intelligent. More-over, 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." Truly prophetic were these concluding words, for no sooner was the teaching promulgated by Christian Science that there is no reality in sin, nothing real or substantial about sickness or other manifestations of inharmony, than there arose a chorus of protests against so revolutionary a doctrine. Yet the most persistent critic of Christian Science would hardly insist that error could be truth under any circumstances.

The Christian Science definition of the unreality of error is based upon no less sound an authority than that of the Bible, in which it is declared that "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Again, we read, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." Then whence did sickness, sin, and poverty, lack of health and lack of abundant good, originate? And where may these ills now be found, except among the illusions of erring mortal belief?

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