NOTHING is more important to the human race than the right apprehension of that which is real— reality. Many things seem to be real to the so-called human mind that have no reality whatsoever. Sickness seems real; sorrow and poverty and lack seem very real sometimes; and the opposite of these negative qualities—joy, peace, and harmony— seem unreal and illusory.
The belief was formerly held that the earth was flat, and this belief was very real to many. But when the fact of the earth's being a sphere came to light, the fallacy was destroyed. The student learning the multiplication table may stumble over his problems in arithmetic, and the errors may seem very real to him; but as he gains in knowledge, the errors vanish. The setting sun would seem to the uninstructed thought to be sinking into the ocean, but the evidence of the material senses cannot be believed in this respect. Why should we believe the evidence of the senses in the case of disease or lack any more than in the cases mentioned above?
Christian Science has come to correct human belief and to transform human thought. Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 162), "The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind." Christian Science, then, is teaching us the truth about God, man, and the universe, showing us what is real and true. It is pointing out that since effect must follow cause, and since the cause of all being, God, is entirely good, it follows that the creation of this perfect creator must likewise be good. Hence the logical conclusion that good is real, and evil—sin, disease, and death— unreal. The question then is, How can we make this truth practical in our lives; how can we realize that discord of every name and nature is so unreal that it shall disappear from our experience?
