What the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness. — Mrs. Eddy, Science and Health p. 573
TO some who misapprehend its teaching, Christian Science seems to sweep away all substance and leave a sense of void which is intolerable, and even many of those who rightly understand that it eliminates not being, but only a false sense of being,—these still find themselves a prey to doubt and protest as a result of their educated dependence upon the things they can see and feel, the objects of sense testimony which have been the basis of their thought.
Said one recently, "My mind becomes utterly confused when I try to make myself believe in the absolute nonexistence of matter. ... I can accept all the teachings of Christian Science but this, which I understand is the very key-stone of the arch. To me the tree in my yard must be the expression of God's idea. It can't be the expression of mortal mind, for no mortal mind has the slightest idea how to make a tree!" Thus ever does mortal sense cling to the materiality that is its native heath, its daily sustenance, and its abiding hope. Surely there is no lack of evidence in support of our Leader's statement respecting the difficulty, for the average person, attending an acceptance of the teaching that "all that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea" (Science and Health, p. 151).
