Editorial May 6, 1939 Issue

True Witnessing

Duncan Sinclair

In proclaiming the truth that God is infinite—All—Christian Science is making known to humanity the tremendously important fact that whatever is unlike good is without actual or real being. Further, in affirming the Bible truth that the real man is the image or reflection of God, and thus is cognizant only of good, it is denying reality to a mortal sense of existence. In this way Christian Science is enabling all who understand its teaching, to hold steadfastly to spiritual truth and to deny evil in all its seeming forms; in other words, Christian Science is enabling them to bear constant witness to good.

The teaching of Christian Science is of wide application. Consider it in connection with the ninth commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." An obvious meaning of this commandment is that one shall not lie or tell an untruth about his neighbor, thereby doing him injury. But there is a more metaphysical way of regarding it, namely, that one shall know one's neighbor as he really is—the perfect idea or reflection of God—and deny reality to the mortal or material sense of selfhood. This is of great value. For one thing, it is an unfailing source of blessing to those upon whom our thought rests, since, instead of seeing them as sick or sinful, it denies that sickness or sin has any reality, while affirming the truth that in true being their real selfhood is perfect—thus witnessing absolutely truly of them. Can anyone doubt the effect of such spiritually right thinking? Can anyone fail to perceive that the effect of this thinking must be to raise the human race spiritually?

But bearing witness to the real spiritual status of man goes even farther than that. It puts an end to every form of evil thinking. In the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. VIII, Sect. 1) by Mary Baker Eddy, is "A Rule for Motives and Acts," the last sentence of which reads, "The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously." What a strongly worded injunction! It caused us to pause and radically examine our thoughts, to find where we stand morally and spiritually.

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"I AM THAT I AM"
May 6, 1939
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