A great deal is being said at the present time about compulsory health insurance, and it may be well for us to study the subject in the light of Christian Science. On page 60 of "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy makes the statement: "Every creation or idea of Spirit has its counterfeit in some matter belief. Every material belief hints the existence of spiritual reality; and if mortals are instructed in spiritual things, it will be seen that material belief, in all its manifestations, reversed, will be found the type and representative of verities priceless, eternal, and just at hand." Then she adds these significant words: "The education of the future will be instruction, in spiritual Science, against the material symbolic counterfeit sciences."
Now a material belief about the divine idea is obviously an erroneous concept of it. A material belief is a finite concept, and a finite concept is limited and bears not the slightest resemblance to the reality which is infinite and spiritual. The work of the Christian Scientist in dealing with what we call the affairs of human life, whether these affairs be classified as political, social, economic, medical, or religious, is to hold to the spiritual idea, which is the reverse of the material belief. It matters not at all what is presented to our thought; we have the rule of procedure, which is simply to reverse every one of its material manifestations.
The human mind has divided and subdivided, classified and codified, all of its concepts. It calls them systems and relationships; it calls them animal, vegetable, or mineral; animate and inanimate; persons, places, and things; and then embracing them all, it makes the inclusive classifications of "good" and "bad." It is right here that it makes its colossal blunder. It does not call the belief good or bad, it calls the thing good or bad,—the mistake which is typified in Genesis by a serpent promising a knowledge of good and evil. Now the Christian Scientist knows that a finite sense of good is a material belief and may be no nearer the reality of good than is a finite concept of evil. Yet human tyranny asserts itself and says, "If I call a thing good, that settles it; you are evil unless you accept my classification. And if I call it evil, then certainly you are evil if you call it good." The truth of the matter is, God alone has classified His own ideas and calls them all "very good;" and there are no other ideas. There is only the intelligent idea, and the unintelligent and erroneous concept of the one divine idea has no real existence.
