Editorial May 28, 1938 Issue

A Command and a Promise

Duncan Sinclair

On page 569 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy has written, "Every mortal at some period, here or hereafter, must grapple with and overcome the mortal belief in a power opposed to God." Two things are plain from this, namely, that everyone must face the erroneous belief that there is a power opposing God—that God is not omnipotent—and that everyone will yet master the belief. The words thus contain what may be regarded as a command and a promise.

The First Commandment of the Hebrew Decalogue is (Exodus 20:3), "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." What does it mean to have but one God? That we shall understand God to be infinite—All; omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient; and acknowledge and worship Him alone. This in turn means that we shall acknowledge nothing to be real which seems to exist in opposition to God.

Obedience to the First Commandment is demanded of every mortal. How shall the obedience be given? Consider, first, what Christian Science affirms about God, and what it makes known about His seeming opposite. It reveals Him as infinite Spirit, infinite good. And since God, Spirit, is infinite good, there is no reality in the seeming opposite of Spirit or good. In other words, matter and evil are unreal. Obedience to the First Commandment, then, signifies that we shall recognize only Spirit and good as real, and deny reality to matter and evil.

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