Editorial February 7, 1970 Issue

How Do I See Man?

William Milford Correll

How do you look upon your neighbor—as a social creature, a business rival, a friend, an enemy, a physical organism, a psychological study, fat, slim, ugly, beautiful, affable, morose, black, white? Just who and what is he? The opinion we have of our fellowmen is often an educated belief, the product of our particular experience and outlook, and we must take into account that what we see is often our own thought projected. As we gain a knowledge of Christian Science, we will be able to see man in the likeness of God; and we will experience more of the harmony of God's law in our human relations.

The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, states that "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals."^{Science and Health, pp. 476, 477;} And the question comes up, "Just what did Jesus behold?" Man is defined in this Science as the child of God, the compound idea of God, the image and likeness of God, the expression of Life, Truth, Love. It is a challenge for us to educate our thought spiritually, to behold the perfect man in place of the mortal concept. And it takes consistent work on our part to maintain this outlook in spite of the testimony of the physical senses. It is no wonder that we need regular periods of study and prayer to refresh our thought with the spiritual truths of being.

In Science, we often speak of maintaining perfect models in thought so that we may shape our experience according to these high ideals. And for this process to be effective, we had better have some specific ideas about these models and the particular characteristics involved. The more we know of God, the more we know of man as God's reflection. And the more specific we get in our understanding of God, the more clearly we will see man in his true nature. Each synonym of God implies a definite idea of man embodying qualities that express that synonym. Principle, Life, Soul, Love, Spirit, Truth, and Mind each express a particular aspect of God's nature and imply qualities that define that aspect. Some of these may be more obvious to us than others, but all of them are necessary to express the completeness of God, and hence of man in God's likeness.

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