We gain an utterly different sense of being and an entirely fresh basis for living as we begin to understand through metaphysical Science that there is only one originator—divine Principle. One of the fundamental falsities that would make our lives labored is the belief that we ourselves are the source of intelligence and substance.
Christian Science uses the term Principle for God, stressing the primary spiritual truth that Deity is the only originator— and the only substance—of real being, because Principle is infinite. Principle's infinitude guarantees that neither mortals— nor Principle's own idea, man—can be the starting point of good.
Mary Baker Eddy appreciated Paul's recognition of this. She writes: "According to the Scriptures,—St. Paul declares astutely, 'For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things,'—man is incapable of originating: nothing can be formed apart from God, good, the all-knowing Mind. What seems to be of human origin is the counterfeit of the divine,—even human concepts, mortal shadows flitting across the dial of time."Miscellaneous Writings, p. 71; These spiritual facts have down-to-earth consequences.
