Article April 27, 1968 Issue

Man Never Said It

G. DAVID MARKHAM

In an age when the material universe is being explored in greater depth, matter is studiously scrutinized, and material methods are held by many to be mankind's only hope of achieving health and peace, Christian Science proclaims that the real and only universe is spiritual. It reveals that Spirit is true substance. An understanding of the allness of God, Mind, and the nothingness of matter confers a freedom that inspires, exalts, and heals. To acquire this freedom, one must contemplate the spiritual sense of things and earnestly strive to learn more about God and His perfect spiritual universe, including man made in God's likeness.

One may ask, "If God has created everything and pronounced it good, as the first chapter of Genesis says, then why does my body tell me that it is weary, sick, or full of pain?" Mrs. Eddy answers this question when she says: "What is termed matter, being unintelligent, cannot say, 'I suffer, I die, I am sick, or I am well.' It is the so-called mortal mind which voices this and appears to itself to make good its claim."^{Science and Health, p. 210;} Then man, God's man, never said it.

What is so-called mortal mind? Succinctly stated, mortal mind is the false belief that man is a mortal and has a mind of his own separate from divine Mind and that this mind can experience and know things that God cannot. Mrs. Eddy uses the term "mortal mind" contrastingly to enable the seeker of Truth to see through the lie of a mind separate from God and to establish firmly in thought the inviolate fact that there is only one Mind, God. The constant identification, therefore, of one's true self as the image and likeness of the one Mind frees one from the bondage of erroneous thinking.

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