When Nehemiah was successfully engaged in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, his adversaries tried in vain to stop the work. On one occasion Sanballat sent to Nehemiah a letter which contained this statement (Neh. 6:6): "It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words." The report was unfounded and did not keep the wise Nehemiah from his task.
In most courts of law a certain class of inadmissible testimony is designated "hearsay." It consists in general of reports of what others have said as to a state of facts. It is ruled out by the court on the grounds that it is secondhand information, against which one does not have the opportunity to cross-examine the actual witnesses as to its correctness.
In our everyday affairs we are often confronted with erroneous reports, hearsay testimony, or baseless rumors, which have no standing other than "It is reported," or, "Gashmu saith it." Christian Science presents the method of defending ourselves against baseless reports parading with the appearance of authenticity. It presents the absolute evidence which makes clear that God, good, alone is real and that man, God's child, is eternally genuine and perfect. It declares that any assertion which is contrary to the realities of being is inadmissible in the Court of Spirit and ought not to be accepted as true in our daily affairs.
