Editorial June 9, 1951 Issue

THE UNREALITY OF MATTER

Helen Wood Bauman

One's estimate of reality determines his human experience—his happiness, usefulness, success, freedom, and eventual salvation from the mortal sense of existence. That Spirit is the only real substance is one of the basic teachings of Christian Science. This rules out matter as having reality, for matter has none of the qualities of Spirit. It has no consciousness, no intelligence, no element of life, understanding, or goodness. It is inert, powerless, and even in its seemingly sentient forms is dependent upon consciousness for whatever action and feeling it appears to possess.

Christian Science explains matter as false belief, as a mortal mode of thought, as the figment of a temporal dream, as a subjective state of the so-called carnal mind, which changes whenever mental conditions change. And Christian Science turns human thought away from matter to divine Mind as the source of life and intelligence and all that is genuine. It is obvious that one cannot be spiritually minded while accepting matter as true substance, as reality.

It is not difficult to trace all human discords to the belief that matter is real, and one seeking healing through Christian Science needs to search his thoughts to find the extent of his unrelinquished belief that matter is valuable to him —even indispensable; that it gives him security or provides him with intelligence and life.

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