Editorial July 6, 1974 Issue

One Side—the Side of God

Geoffrey J. Barratt

Before becoming acquainted with Christian Science, many believe that good and evil are opposing powers. But Christian Science shows that God is omnipotent, the only power. This is affirmed as a demonstrable literal truth. Nevertheless, humans do attribute power to many things other than Deity. Does this limit the possibilities of Christian Science demonstration? It may seem to, if we allow it to dim our spiritual perception. Hence the importance of classifying ourselves rightly as God's perfect man, the evidence that God, good, is the only power, rather than classifying ourselves as mortals trying to apply a logical religion to overcome the supposed negative powers of sin and illness. Man—Mind's full and perfect expression—never knows a power other than God.

When trying to resolve a difficulty, sometimes we may almost picture a pair of scales, with Truth on one side and evil or matter on the other. And we might move from there to taking from the side of evil some of the power and influence we have, in belief, given it, placing it on the side of Truth. This, we feel and quite properly—tips the scale on the side of healing.

However, it's helpful, just as soon as we can, to get beyond what we may call a scale approach. For such an approach, though having value, is less than fully practical. "You have come to be weighed; and yet, I would not weigh you, nor have you weighed," Mrs. Eddy said to a group of her students. "How is this?" she asked. "Because God does all, and there is nothing in the opposite scale. There are not two,—Mind and matter. We must get rid of that notion. As we commonly think, we imagine all is well if we cast something into the scale of Mind, but we must realize that Mind is not put into the scales with matter; then only are we working on one side and in Science."^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 280;}