Separating the real from the unreal, Christian Science separates the imperturbable and the perturbable. If the real alone is true, therefore governed by spiritual law and allied to Principle, there can be nothing in actual fact which is perturbable or able to cause trouble.

On page 96 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy says: "This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace." And in the margin we read, "Arena of contest."

Humanity, accepting the belief of a fallen man, of minds many, of two powers at war with each other—since this is the heritage of the Adam-dream—has continued throughout its history to find itself in a battle between good and evil.

Today there is an awakening to the mental nature of this warfare, a recognition that evil, whether calling itself physical violence or mental manipulation, can no longer remain hidden or ignored. Its very nature, growing ever more aggressive and defiant, has called for vigorous and intrepid action. It is being daily proved that evil in the face of moral right and spiritual faith cannot conquer and prevail. With the recognition of Principle, law and order are assured. Battles may still have to be fought after we have taken the side of Science, but the inner contest is over; within ourselves is the imperturbability which because it is spiritual is unconquerable.

In the light of Truth it is seen that the recognition of the eternal rights of man as the representative of Mind is the death knell to evil. Remembering the parables of the sheep and the goats, the wheat and tares, the one house built upon rock, the other upon sand, we realize that this was what Jesus was seeking throughout his ministry to teach his followers. The continual effort of mortal mind to bring forth good from evil, to fight first on one side and then on the other; to think that benefits can come as the result of dishonesty, pleasure as the result of cruelty, peace as the result of aggressive warfare, is then seen to be but the outcome of mortal mind's confusion and duplicity.

On the side of Science and peace there are no divided loyalties, no complications, no enslavements. He who takes here his stand is undismayed, whatever phase the conflict assumes, whatever evidence matter presents, whether of sickness or sin. At the same time he understands also what are the commitments that are involved. His own lines must be kept clear, inviolate. While he is alert and continually faithful in his own handling of the various phases of evil which present themselves, nevertheless the fact that he is on the side of Science means that evil, in whatever guise, is seen as unreal and therefore actually without power in the ever-presence of God or good.

The imperturbability of man is the gift of God as explained and set forth in Truth's discovery to this age. On this basis and in this sense of divine assurance, the Christian Scientist, should he find himself in the arena of contest, must be sure that always he is actively, intelligently, and constructively at work in the name of Science and of peace to overcome every claim of sickness, every complex trouble that presents itself. Never must he forget on which side he is fighting. Should he even temporarily go over to the enemy of fear, of doubt, of hatred, of despair, the winning of the battle will be delayed.

Christ Jesus bestowed the great gift of peace upon his followers, the peace which results from knowing that we are on the right side, and that the power we have with us will never fail. Our Leader on page 263 of "Miscellaneous Writings" thus assures us: "Always bear in mind that His presence, power, and peace meet all human needs and reflect all bliss."

In the light of Christian Science, where the unrest of mortal doubts and fears is silenced and the recognition of God's allness and the ability of each one to prove it are made clear, men can truly enter into imperturbability. Perceiving every seeming contest as an opportunity for greater spirituality, they will deal with it not angrily or revengefully, not tentatively or compromisingly, not haltingly or spasmodically, because they are equipped with the imperturbability of divine authority.

On the side of Science, our Leader tells us, is peace. And indeed it must be so, for where there is absolute trust and understanding there is no arena for contest. In this divine imperturbability of spiritual knowing, the discord and dismay of which she warns us the rivalries and onslaughts of mortal mind, however insistent, however subtle and severe, will not disturb; they will not penetrate.

Governed by the laws of God, conscious of Love's supremacy, reflecting the health, the intelligence the direction which are theirs as ideas of Mind, men can know that they are on the side, the immortal side, of good; they can maintain imperturbability because they have learned that Science and peace are one.

Evelyn F. Heywood