Nothing but God, the one Mind, can govern His spiritual image, man. Spiritual man, who includes God's idea, Church, reflects fixed, immutable Principle—the divine All—and so is exempt from changing conditions. On the human scene, however, changes brought about by trends do seem to shape individuals' lives, stimulate or discourage interest in religion, and steer society.
When trends are the outcome of the understanding and demonstration of divine Principle, they manifest genuine progress. But when they arise from the shifting views of mortal mind or human will, they sooner or later prove unprogressive. Christ Jesus, our Exemplar, proved his dominion over such adverse human influences. And so can we. Mrs. Eddy writes: "Jesus taught us to walk over, not into or with, the currents of matter, or mortal mind."Unity of Good, p. 11.
We need feel neither helplessly swept away nor precariously buoyed up by the tides of mortally induced change. But we cannot escape the effects of divinely deduced progress. For instance, Jesus' life and ministry go much farther than a mortal trend, and so they have led to the very naming of the era in which we live. As the whole must inevitably affect the parts, so the direction of the Christian era takes precedence over the revolutions and evolutions that appear to evolve within it. In proportion as we follow a steady, progressive course of Christian discipleship in demonstrating our true selfhood as man, God's likeness, we claim the Christly dominion which enables us to stay above the ebb and flow of trendiness that would erode the substance of Jesus' pure teachings.
