Outsiders sometimes misunderstand important points of Christian metaphysics. There may be occasions when we insiders also fail to grasp adequately those same points. In fact, the more clarity and exactness Christian Scientists bring to their own perception of spiritual truths, the more they will help dissolve the mistaken views held by others. It's often easier to think in terms of straightening out the other fellow. It's a little harder when we realize that the first need is to get things perfectly straight in our own thought.
We really can't afford to take familiar truths in the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings for granted. The books need to be pondered—plumbed for the fullness and preciseness of their meaning. For example, what impact is made on us when we consider the fact that matter is unreal? Do we just have a vague sort of feeling that the objects around us, even the physical body itself, fall short of representing true substance? Or worse, do we perhaps move right on past such a concept, assuming that its significance belongs to the future? We can't very honestly expect humanity to perceive without study what we ourselves, even with study, still need to take hold of more fully.
Divine Science does teach unreservedly that matter must disappear in the presence of Spirit. But without explanation and application such a concept would be little more than theoretical to the Scientist and at least puzzling to the newcomer. What do we actually mean by the term "matter"? Are we thinking of the disappearance of objects around us—a bucket of paint, a piece of rope, a bag of potatoes? If so, we're floating in clouds of theory way beyond our present practice. And yet there is something very practical, very immediate, about the present dissolution of matter.
