As soon as cooler weather sets in, many start worrying about “germs,” which seem to take the forefront of public thought like actors on a stage, claiming “the flu season” as their own.
But in fact, the derivation of the word germ doesn’t indicate something meant to cause harm. It comes from the Latin, meaning bud, sprout, embryo. In the spiritual language of Christian Science, germ maintains its positive meaning and can serve as a bulwark of healthy thinking and protected lives. Mary Baker Eddy states, “A germ of infinite Truth … is the higher hope on earth …” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 361).
When asked if she believed in “the bacteria theory of the propagation of disease” Mrs. Eddy replied: “If I harbored that idea about a disease, I should think myself in danger of catching it” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 344). Instead, she followed Jesus, immunizing thought with the Christly idea that “matter can make no conditions for man” (Science and Health, p. 120).
