Article March 2, 1957 Issue

RIGHT IDENTIFICATION

RAYMOND MANSBRIDGE BROCK

To identify oneself rightly, one must know the true nature of man's being. Christ Jesus said (John 10:30): "I and my Father are one," and also (John 5:19), "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." He knew his identity to be the reflection of God's being, and in these and other passages, he implied that the true identity of every individual is the perfect image and likeness of perfect God, Spirit.

Identity is defined as selfsameness. Christian Science teaches that one's real identity is forever intact and changeless as the likeness of one's Maker, God, Spirit. This is the right identification of man, and there is in truth no other identification. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy says (p. 265), "This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man's absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace."

The inconsistencies of the material assessment of man's identity can be illustrated by identification parades, or police line-ups, arranged by law enforcement officers. An effort is made to establish the identity of those who have taken part in criminal acts. At these parades, witnesses to an incident try to identify the participant by his physical appearance. These attempts often fail in their purpose.

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