Article April 26, 1947 Issue

The Spiritual Sense of Good

[Original Article in French]

GASTON CHERRIÈRE

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.

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