Editorial September 14, 1981 Issue

Unprejudiced study

NATHAN A. TALBOT

The way we approach our study of metaphysics in Christian Science can make a big difference in what we gain from our study. The more we come to the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's writings with a deep humility and a spiritual receptivity, the more revealing and refreshing will be the insights we find.

There may be times when we need to revise our motive for researching a particular subject. The human mind tends to want to back up or support a predetermined personal opinion. There are plenty of topics that can lend themselves to a prejudiced study. We may, for instance, hold strong political or economic views. And if we delve into metaphysical research with an established bias, this bias could well color our discoveries.

Take another kind of example. Suppose we want support for a personal decision—perhaps the preference for a vegetarian diet. Beginning with a determination to find such support easily leads to "discovering" it in the books. We might lift this phrase from the Bible: "... I will eat no flesh while the world standeth ...."^{I Cor. 8: 13.} We might also embrace these words from Mrs. Eddy's writings: "The individuality created by God is not carnivorous ...."^{Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 514.}