Article May 20, 1939 Issue

Understanding Our Fellow Man

LADY F. ETHEL BROOKS

There is a French proverb which reads, Tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner—"To understand all is to forgive all." It is a maxim that we as Christian Scientists need to hold before us.

In studying Christian Science we go through many stages of development. And in spite of its perfect teaching, many of us seem to be a long time in getting rid of the habit of destructive criticism. Christian Science teaches that "truth cannot be reversed, but the reverse of error is true," as Mary Baker Eddy says (Science and Health with Key to Scriptures, p. 442); so why not replace destructive criticism with the ideal truth, that we may be instrumental in bringing about healing?

The teaching of Christian Science is exact. We therefore realize that, to progress, much self-examination is required. We examine ourselves, and as our understanding increases we become more alert in our thinking. If humble enough, we see our faults as no part of real being, loose ourselves from them, and let them go. This process may seem to make us more conscious of the faults of others. But we must recognize that error is just as unreal in others as in ourselves; and unless we do so, we are not rising above the mist of material sense testimony, but are probably allowing destructive criticism to become a shaft of error.

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