Article February 19, 1949 Issue

Man is always under God's control. Luck and chance are powerless

SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION

JEAN MC GEORGE WATSON

"I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." So spoke the Apostle Paul to the Athenians (Acts 17:22, 23).

Is it possible in these days that humanity is still too superstitious? How often does one hear luck or fate referred to as if it were a determining factor in men's experiences! It is thought-provoking to note how similar to the beliefs in the Fates or the goddesses of fortune expressed in ancient mythology are the frequent references to luck or fate in modern parlance. Such remarks as, "My, how fortunate!" or, "What a lucky break!" suggest that one's well-being, health, business, or even life itself is momentarily dependent upon some capricious influence. How futile, if this were true, would be any attempt to live well-ordered lives, for the belief that all is ultimately dependent upon chance would make intelligent planning impossible and harmonious achievement uncertain.

Does Christian Science teach one to accept the belief in luck and chance? No. Nowhere in the writings of Mary Baker Eddy can one find an admission that these beliefs have power to influence or govern man's career through bestowing good or withholding it. In contradiction to such erroneous belief, she writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 424), "Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony."

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