Article March 30, 1957 Issue

POSITIVE VERSUS NEGATIVE THINKING

FAUN A. LINDEMUTH

Positive, spiritual thinking is divinely inspired; whereas negative thoughts are developed in the darkness of superstition and ignorance. The question is. Which type of thinking are we entertaining and developing in consciousness? The Bible states (I John 1:5), "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." We may deduce from this statement that positive, intelligent thinking is developed in the light of the spiritual understanding of God and man, a knowledge that man in his perfect state of being reflects Spirit, Mind, and is therefore spiritual.

The negative or materialistic sense of man as a physical body with a mind in it is more or less governed by ignorance and fear, which go hand in hand, ignorance begetting fear. Such negative states would cause one to look upon matter as having a presence and power. If we accept these material beliefs, we worry, losing sight of God and His goodness, of Love as the only presence and power. We need a clearer and more positive understanding of God in order to dispel the mists of false belief. Positive, spiritual faith brings harmony into human consciousness and into the outward experience.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in "No and Yes" (p.16): "If God knows evil even as a false claim, this knowledge would manifest evil in Him and proceeding from Him. Christian Science shows that matter, evil, sin, sickness, and death are but negations of Spirit, Truth, and Life, which are positives that cannot be gainsaid. The subjective states of evil, called mortal mind or matter, are negatives destitute of time and space; for there is none beside God or Spirit and the idea of Spirit."

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