Research scientists are reporting that some foods and additives are potentially dangerous to health. Mrs. Eddy could have been summing up the current situation when she wrote, "Human fear of miasma would load with disease the air of Eden, and weigh down mankind with superimposed and conjectural evils." Science and Health, p. 176; In the face of dire predictions, how can we hope to ensure our safety?
There is hope! Frightening warnings are based on the false premise that matter is real and has power to harm. This erroneous concept appears to promote itself. Through the understanding that God, Spirit, is All and error is nothing, Christian Science shows us that matter can be seen as powerless. Matter— whether it claims destructive power as a food, additive, or something in the air— is still error; and in Miscellaneous Writings Mrs. Eddy tells a student: "Error has no power but to destroy itself. It cannot harm you; it cannot stop the eternal currents of Truth." Mis., p. 157;
To achieve this level of understanding, watchfulness and spiritualization of thought are required. We need, first of all, to establish the true concept of ourselves as God's invulnerable children. As this hymn verse indicates:
