What is real? Every Christian Scientist confronts this question, for only in dealing with reality can one approach the life and healing ability that Jesus demonstrated two thousand years ago. But what is real?
Common usage includes as real those things that are discerned by the material senses. The person who with no further explanation or proof says that all material things are unreal, is likely to be misunderstood. It is necessary, therefore, to redefine the word "reality" when using it in a spiritual context.
"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it,"Eccl. 3:14. we read in Ecclesiastes. If God is the only creator, then anything that can be classed as real must be a part of that creation. Doesn't this passage shed new light on the meaning of "real"? Certainly anything that is discerned by the material senses—that is, anything material—is subject to continual change. The physical sciences from physics to geology to astronomy tell us that this is so. But this Bible passage tells us that nothing in God's creation is subject to change. If the word "real" is to be used in a divinely scientific sense, then it must mean that which is not subject to change, aging, or deterioration of any kind. Consequently, Christian Science defines as "real" only that which is unchanging, indestructible—spiritual, not material.
