Article April 7, 1973 Issue

Wholly in Our Right Mind

CHARLES HENRY GABRIEL

One might say that anyone indulging in wrongdoing, evil in any of its various forms, is not in a state of good mental health, is not wholly in his right mind. He may seem quite rational to himself and even to his fellowmen, yet, in a sense, he is experiencing a kind of insanity that needs to be recognized as such and healed.

In Science and Health Mary Baker Eddy tells us: "There are many species of insanity. All sin is insanity in different degrees. Sin is spared from this classification, only because its method of madness is in consonance with common mortal belief."^{Science and Health, p. 407;}

It may be a little shocking for someone doing wrong, who thinks of himself as perfectly normal and healthy, to suddenly realize that his passions, wrong appetites, or selfishness, his envy, hatred, or revenge are all, in a sense, forms of insanity. True, these particular symptoms of insanity may not appear so violent that the person needs to be put away and confined. Society accepts many sinful acts as normal and condones them. In fact, society believes strongly that these evils are part of the basic human makeup.

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