Article April 17, 1943 Issue

Reason and Power

WILLIAM M. SELLMAN

On the common ground of simple reasoning, everyone who turns to Christian Science may begin to understand it and gain benefit therefrom, whether he regards himself a religionist, a skeptic, an agnostic, an atheist, or a follower of any philosophy.

"Reason is the most active human faculty," writes Mary Baker Eddy on page 327 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Reasoning expresses mental activity, and action denotes the fact that there is a power back of the activity; therefore, the subject of power should be a good basis for discussion whereby to arrive at some understanding of the help which Christian Science affords to humanity.

What is power? Whence comes it? Is there more than one power? Mankind generally believes that power is primarily material, and that there are many powers. Mankind believes in both the power of life and the power of death; the power of good and the power of evil; the power of intelligence and the power of brute force. Many strongly believe that "might makes right," but there are also those who insist that "right is might." In brief there is, according to the human mind, a plurality and conflict of material thought-forces, with evil and destructive activity often in the ascendancy.

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