Causation is a subject the importance of which is difficult to exaggerate. Mrs. Eddy once described her discovery of Christian Science in these words: "I had found unmistakably an actual, unfailing causation, enshrined in the divine Principle and in the laws of man and the universe" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 348). Christian Scientists, therefore, need to comprehend causation thoroughly, and to comprehend it in connection with the related subjects, action and law. Further, we need to understand genuine causation in contrast with its counterfeit; for, as a wise man has written, "The curse causeless shall not come" (Proverbs 26:2).
Causation is defined as: "1, the act of bringing about or producing, as a result; 2, the act or agency producing a result; 3, the relation between cause and effect; the principle that nothing exists or happens without a cause" (Winston Simplified Dictionary) . Cause has the following definitions in the same dictionary: "1, one who or that which produces or contributes to a result; 2, a circumstance, force, or condition from which an effect inevitably follows by natural law." These definitions not only explain their subjects, but also indicate the close connection between causation, action, and law.
Action means primarily the putting forth or exerting of power. Law has many meanings: 1, a rule of action enforced or prescribed by human government; 2, a rule of action emanating from the Deity; 3, an invariable sequence of events or phenomena related as cause and effect; 4, a correct statement as to the invariable occurrence of particular phenomena under specified conditions. These definitions are digested from several dictionaries and reference works. They, too, show the close connection between causation, action, and law. Yet, far more enlightening is Mrs. Eddy's statement that "all causation is Mind, acting through spiritual law" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 417).
