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SEVEN SYNONYMS FOR GOD

From the January 1963 issue of The Christian Science Journal


One of the important statements the new student of Christian Science learns is the one given by Mrs. Eddy on page 465 of Science and Health, which reads, "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." The beginner may at first grasp only part of this statement and think of God in the framework of only one of these synonyms. One student, feeling the peacefulness of a loving consciousness, may most easily understand God as Love. Another, dedicated to integrity, may first understand God as Truth. A third student, who appreciates the protection afforded by law, may find he can most readily see God as Principle.

But as we advance in our understanding of Christian Science, we must realize that God is not seven separate deities but one all-inclusive Being. On page 330 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy says: "God is what the Scriptures declare Him to be,—Life, Truth, Love. Spirit is divine Principle, and divine Principle is Love, and Love is Mind, and Mind is not both good and bad, for God is Mind; therefore there is in reality one Mind only, because there is one God." Each of the seven names for God, then, is a synonym for the other six; they cannot be separated.

When Christian Science defines Love as God, this does not mean a changeable human emotion separate from wisdom. Divine Love has all the qualities of God, good. Love is everlasting Life and includes the intelligence of Mind, the unerring accuracy of Truth, the orderliness of Principle, the incorporeality of Spirit, the beauty and discernment of Soul.

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