Editorial April 2, 1960 Issue

MINISTERING TO THE PEOPLE'S SPIRITUAL NEEDS

Ralph E. Wagers

It is possible to be devout in a religious sense and still not be spiritually minded; yet spiritual-mindedness is the demand of Christianity and so should be the goal of all Christians.

The great deterrent to spiritual-mindedness is the tendency, and even the willingness, to stop halfway when considering the nature of Spirit. Spirit is infinite; we all agree on that, but we do not all agree on what the infinitude of Spirit implies. Science and Health states (p. 336), "Allness is the measure of the infinite, and nothing less can express God." Being All, Spirit can have no opposite. In fact, if we were to admit that Spirit has an opposite, we would deny its infinitude, its allness. There would be Spirit and something else.

The teachings of Christian Science rest upon this basic fact of Spirit's infinitude. Ministering to the spiritual needs of the people, then, is not necessarily the same as ministering to what are usually regarded as their religious needs. Spiritual needs are ministered to as people are helped to think spiritually, to think from the standpoint of Spirit as All-in-all. Naturally this means ceasing to think unspiritually, that is, materially.

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