Article January 13, 1968 Issue

"Entirely separate"

MARY BARNES

The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, proclaims, "Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man's dominion over the whole earth." Science and Health, p. 14; We need to ponder this profound healing truth often so that our thought will not be mesmerized by the apparent amalgamation of good and evil, Spirit and flesh. When we know that in reality life is and always has been spiritual and eternal and that "Life divine" is our only real Life right now, we can claim our exemption "from the belief and dream of material living" and the ceaseless inharmonies which plague it.

The word "separate" means, among other things, "set... apart" and "dissimilar in nature or identity." How often do we think of ourselves as apart from matter or corporeality, having no affinity with it at all? Do we not, rather, tend to think of ourselves as finite mortals, limited and victimized by the flesh? Christian Science teaches us that it Is highly important to reverse the false belief that we possess a material body and to know ourselves aright as the embodiment of Spirit. Our sense of body, or identity, should therefore always be separated from matter.

It is man's eternal oneness, or unity, with God, Spirit, divine Principle, which enables us to prove that our true selfhood is separate from the dream of mortal existence. Mrs. Eddy writes: "As readily can you mingle fire and frost as Spirit and matter. In either case, one does not support the other." pp. 72, 73; We can thus see how vital it is to take our stand on the side of Spirit if uninterrupted harmony is to be experienced. So-called mortal mind would claim us as its own, would tempt us to believe in a material origin, history, and destiny. And so prevalent and persistent are its boastings that we need boldly to claim our exemption from its lying assertions.

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