Editorial May 10, 1947 Issue

Denying Error Identity

Margaret Morrison

One seeking to understand and demonstrate the teachings of Christian Science will find of great importance a statement made by Mary Baker Eddy on page 479 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "We admit that black is not a color, because it reflects no light. So evil should be denied identity or power, because it has none of the divine hues."

How often does the student deny evil power while giving it identity? Do we not sometimes hear something like this: "He has it in for me and is determined to put me out of my job, but I know he cannot hurt me." Or, "This claim of mine is very aggressive and does not yield to truth, though I know it has no power." In either case identifying error in oneself or another gives it in belief power and dishonors God and His creation.

One does not really rob error of its seeming power until he has robbed it of all identity, refusing to classify it as mine or ours, theirs, his, hers, or its. If, for example, we identify dishonesty as a person, we give it, in belief, a point of power through which to operate and carry out its nefarious designs. Are we not thus guilty of dishonesty ourselves? Have we not robbed ourselves and our brother of the divine hue of honesty and clothed our thought of him in the black of materialism rather than in the white robes of spiritual understanding? We need to bear well in thought our Leader's words on pages 12 and 13 of her Message to The Mother Church for 1901, "Evil is neither quality nor quantity: it is not intelligence, a person or a principle, a man or a woman, a place or a thing, and God never made it."

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