Among the postulates on which are based the teachings of Christian Science are some which immediately command the attention of the new student, because they reverse his previous concepts of Deity and creation. They state among other things that God, Spirit, is All-in-all; that Spirit is the only real substance of the universe and of man; that in Science infinite Spirit, or God, has no opposite; and that all is Spirit and spiritual. A perusal of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, in which its author frequently calls God "good" forces the conclusion that because good is the primary substance and fundamental quality of Deity, good is entirely spiritual, never material.

Once he really understands and admits that in Science all is spiritually mental, the following question inevitably arises in the student's thought: "How can I discern or perceive these spiritual things?" Christian Science supplies the answer by stating that it is through spiritual sense alone that one can discern Spirit and its ideas. Spiritual sense enables us to discern as the only reality what is truly good in all its manifestations, to perceive man in the divine likeness; to see those things which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, ... the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (I Cor. 2:9). Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health under the marginal heading "Understanding imparted" (p.505), "Spiritual sense is the discernment of spiritual good." Spiritual good is by nature unlimited, infinite. To discern spiritual good is to perceive Truth and its radiant light, and this is, assuredly, the ideal remedy for all mental blindness.

The Scriptures abound in exhortations to seek good and witness its fulfillment. One such admonition may be found in the words of the prophet (Amos 5:14), "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken." What conclusion can one draw from such an exhortation except that good is even now a condition of life and health? Existence is recognized as spiritual and harmonious as soon as we understand that spiritual sense and not material sense transmits the facts of being to man. This sense can, indeed, transmit only that which emanates from God: goodness, kindness, love, holiness, harmony, health, and the like.

Are not the works of Jesus striking proof that he possessed, in the highest degree, the sense of spiritual perception? Through this perceptive sense he brought to light the thoughts of sickness, fear, sin, lack, and death in the minds of those around him and healed them with the truth, the counterfacts relating to their true, spiritual status as the sons of God.

Christian Scientists emulate the Master's actions in proving that the spiritual ideas which base the teaching of Christian Science are demonstrable. They remember that Mrs. Eddy declares (Miscellaneous Writings, p.206):"The real Christian Scientist is constantly accentuating harmony in word and deed, mentally and orally, perpetually repeating this diapason of heaven: 'Good is my God, and my God is good. Love is my God, and my God is Love.'"

Mortals in general are skeptical in regard to good and credulous in regard to evil. Why? Simply because, through the five physical senses, they take more frequent cognizance of and have contact more often with evil than with good. The material senses, having their origin in matter, do not transmit or confirm anything except that which is material, false, discordant, or degraded.

Good is always spiritual, never material. In order to discern it. mortals must gain that perceptive quality which is called spiritual sense, and which is evident in the degree that we are honest, alert, unselfish, loving, and humble. He who would progress Truthward must deny the visible appearance of evil and ally himself with the invisible forces of Spirit, good, the only power.

Actually, what do we have to combat? Nothing but false beliefs, counterfeits, lies. They disappear from our consciousness in the proportion that we see their unreality, or nothingness. Truth casts out error of every sort, and when, through spiritual sense, Truth is discerned and affirmed, it is impossible for the lie to remain in our thought. If it reappears upon our mental screen, it is because we lack faith in Truth and doubt its supremacy. When we gain the true sense of good, we lose our belief in error. May we not conclude, therefore, that individual deliverance from evil of every kind is to be accomplished through the acquisition of spiritual insight into reality rather than by getting rid of something undesired?

To see good is to see reality and enjoy its marvelous blessings. Could we have a better vision than that? Obviously not. The Christian Scientist, then, must use every effort to maintain a clear vision of the allness of good everywhere and at all times. When circumstances attest to the reality of evil, let us affirm with God-given authority that no mortal sense testimony can possibly blind us to the truth that God, good, is omniscient and omnipresent, and that man is His image and likeness. Let us steadfastly maintain that spiritual discernment of good which carries with it the annulment of all that is called evil. The destruction of the latter takes place when our understanding is so strongly entrenched in good and its allness that it becomes impossible for us to believe in evil or in its reality. Then we shall be able to say with our beloved Leader (Unity of Good. p. 49), "To me the reality and substance of being are good, and nothing else."