Article September 30, 1950 Issue

GAINING THE RIGHT STANDPOINT

[Original article in German]

WILHELM PEPERKORN

"Delusion, sin, disease, and death arise from the false testimony of material sense, which, from a supposed standpoint outside the focal distance of infinite Spirit, presents an inverted image of Mind and substance with everything turned upside down." So writes Mary Baker Eddy in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 301). Thus our Leader declares that the material senses so invert the facts of being that they perceive materiality instead of spirituality, imperfection instead of perfection, multiplicity instead of oneness, and inharmony instead of harmony.

The divinely inspired teaching of Christian Science points out the way to deliverance from all the evils of mortal existence. It reveals the truth concerning God and man created in His image and leads the seeker to the recognition of his identity as this ideal man, whereby he achieves harmony, perfection, and dominion. To reach this goal and attain our true spiritual selfhood we must reverse the mortal beliefs of man and the universe and learn to understand and perceive the true creation, based on the unity and allness of Spirit. Christian Science teaches us how to do this and enables us to give up the false viewpoint, "outside the focal distance of infinite Spirit," and regain that liberating standpoint on the side of God, Spirit.

Since God's being is infinite, perfect, spiritual, and eternal, it can have no point of contact with finite, circumscribed, or temporary existence. The kingdom of God is not the abode of corporeal beings. Since man is idea, made in the image and likeness of God, he reflects the divine nature—love, purity, holiness. It is thus impossible for one to find his true selfhood as long as he expresses ungodlike qualities and leads a life of sensuousness. To overcome the false selfhood, besides living in accordance with the Golden Rule we need to realize steadfastly the facts of spiritual existence and dwell constantly in the pure, bright reality of God's being, which is holy, sublime, spotlessly pure. Attaining this spiritual standpoint and maintaining it in the activities of daily life corrects the distorted sense of man, wipes out the evil in consciousness, and brings harmony, health, and perfection into everyday human experience.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

"FOOTSTEPS OF THOUGHT"