Article June 11, 1966 Issue

Treading on Serpents

EVELYN M. S. DUCKETT

Christ Jesus gave this unconditional promise to his followers: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."^{Luke 10: 19;} If this promise is strictly confined to its literal meaning, it might be thought to have a limited application today, for serpents and scorpions do not usually constitute a major hazard in modern life. When, however, it is extended to cover the figurative meaning of any hurtful or venomous mental influence, then its range is wide indeed.

Christian Science explains that anyone who understands and claims the power which Jesus promised to his disciples in every age can mentally tread on such serpents and so prove literally that nothing can hurt him, either physically or mentally. This religion shows that all sensation is mental and not material. We see that matter has no sensation of its own when we understand that matter is simply the externalization of mortal thought.

The comforting thing is that anyone can destroy a false belief at any time by seeing its unreality and replacing it with the truth. Then the belief loses its power to cause suffering. Enlightenment destroys ignorant belief in any field of human knowledge. And spiritual enlightenment destroys the particular belief that matter has sensation.

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