Article August 14, 1971 Issue

Gaps in Our Idealism?

JEAN T. BOWMAN

The ideal of loving one's neighbor is pillared on the commandments and Christ Jesus' teachings. He said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34;

This ideal has to be practiced to have any impact. Christian Science derives its authority from the Bible and so understands God to be Love—all-encompassing divine presence. It further teaches that man is the image of Love, entirely so, though to human vision a person may often not seem to be that. Students of Christian Science strive to replace the mortal, material misconception of loveless—unloved or unloving—people with the reality of spiritual man, the expression of divine Love.

How does Love, God, view man—each one of us in his true identity? Love sees and knows man, its very own image, as perfect, flawless, incorruptible, and uncontaminated. Divine Love isn't physical and limited; therefore man, its image, isn't either. Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health, "Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements." She adds a little further on, "Man is idea, the image, of Love." Science and Health, p. 475;

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