In the study and practice of their religion, Christian Scientists become not only selective as regards their thinking, but discriminating in the use of words. Our vocabularies are enlarged and refined as we study the words and imbibe the meaning of the writings of the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. We find that although she uses words with clear perception as to their fundamental meanings, she uses them always in accord with the best accepted usage. Where, to clarify a metaphysical idea, she diverges from the general usage, she so indicates, and such special terminology is finding its way into standard reference works.
Every serious student of this Science will have had his own unfoldment as to our Leader's meaning when she repeatedly asserts in all her published writings that man is God's reflection. The writer's thought on this went through varying phases, during one of which "reflect" and "reflection" were used sparingly and other words frequently employed by Mrs. Eddy as descriptive of man—"expression," "manifestation," "witness"—were substituted. But the comment in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 301), that few people understand what Christian Science means by the word "reflection," was a challenge to him to be among those who do. There was no doubt of his accord with the basic Christianly scientific teaching that man is created in the image and likeness of God, as the author of Genesis perceived. He knew, too, from his study of Science that God is Spirit, Mind, and that man as Mind's manifestation is therefore altogether, not partially, spiritually mental.
"Generically man is one," Mrs. Eddy writes on page 267 of the textbook, "and specifically man means all men." So understanding, he had many years ago awakened from much of the bondage which a belief in matter's entity and substance imposes. He had seen how individual man reflects his divine origin in Godlike qualities—love, honesty, integrity, vitality, fruitful activity, spiritual intuition, and inspiration.
