Editorial May 22, 1976 Issue

What Is Normal

Geoffrey J. Barratt

There is a way of establishing normality where something less than this characteristic seems to exist. It's to understand, through Christian Science, that whatever is good, healthy, is normal. Whatever is not normal is not real.

Christian Science shows that goodness, spirituality, and dominion are normal and we can demonstrate these from day to day by grasping this. Whatever is normal has behind it the authority and the eternality of divine Principle. It is natural for us to be tending toward divine Principle, God, and the symmetry, poise, abundance that echo Principle. Everyone comes to recognize this, even though that recognition may seem to take much spiritual growth. Mary Baker Eddy refers to "man's normal drift towards the one Mind" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man's normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns." Science and Health, p. 205;

Free and concordant action is perfectly normal, and because it is, we can prove this when our bodies or businesses seem to be malfunctioning. To demonstrate normal action—action that is absolutely good and true—we must consistently judge things in the right way. This in itself is a natural thing to do. Assessing things in the right way means negating arguments of the abnormal or the subnormal on the basis of Principle's ideal government of all being. The actions and events mortal sense sees are frequently distorted, unnatural, discordant, and hence abnormal. Mrs. Eddy explains: "The realities of being, its normal action, and the origin of all things are unseen to mortal sense; whereas the unreal and imitative movements of mortal belief, which would reverse the immortal modus and action, are styled the real. Whoever contradicts this mortal mind supposition of reality is called a deceiver, or is said to be deceived." ibid., pp. 212–213;

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Man Is Never Alone
May 22, 1976
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