Article November 6, 1971 Issue

Are You on the Right Target?

FRANK S. HAYFORD

Military history shows that the art of camouflaging and the use of a decoy have often been combined to form a successful defense. For instance, an industrial city, a target for enemy bombers, has been camouflaged to appear as nothing, and a false form resembling the city constructed a short distance from it. More than one harmless and unproductive imitation has been heavily attacked, allowing the camouflaged shipyard or industrial complex to continue its productive efforts.

The author recalled this strategy when attempting to define why his prayerful treatments in Christian Science were not more effective in healing the sick. In arguments against the reality of disease he had been vehement in denying the physical appearance of disease on the body. He had been alert to dispute the evidence of any material symptoms as they were suggested to him, and his work had had good but not instantaneous healing results. As he thought about these things, it was apparent to him that his primary target or point of attack had been the material evidence. He needed to get more on the right target—to deal with the source of the problem.

He realized that animal magnetism was using the material body as a decoy to draw his fire, making him try to stop the body from producing problems, while mortal mind, the originator of these illusions of discord, remained free and capable of continuing its evil production. Why should he try to stop the body from producing sinful actions and disease when it was not and never had been capable of producing anything? Since the body is not the source of the problem, why consider it in treatment at all?

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