Having one Mind heals prejudice
THE Scriptures say that ``the Lord our God is one Lord''; they also speak of ``the mind of the Lord.'' 1 Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, puts these two concepts together: ``There can be but one Mind, because there is but one God;'' then she adds, ``and if mortals claimed no other Mind and accepted no other, sin would be unknown.'' 2 Christian Science helps people gain the spiritual understanding of one Mind that enables them individually to work out redemption from the sin of prejudice. In the one Mind there is perfect harmony with no conflict of interest, no ignorant opinion, and therefore no occasion for prejudice. Understanding and demonstrating what the one Mind includes is the way to overcome what it precludes. Having only one Mind means having only one source of intelligence, understanding, wisdom, judgment, and love --and that one wholly spiritual and good, without an element of evil. It means receiving--through prayer--intelligence, understanding, wisdom, and judgment that are unerring and love that is impartial and unvarying. It means knowing man as the offspring of God--as perfect, immortal, expressing the harmony of his creator. Man created in the likeness of God is the true identity of each of us. And we can prove our inseparability from the one Mind, even though there appear to be many minds--as many, it seems, as there are mortals. Universal peace can be realized, right where mortals seem divided by region, religion, and race. Peace is the eternal outcome of having one all-harmonious Mind. As we reject the material sense of differences that would separate us from God, indivisible good, we can feel that peace. Study and practice of Christian Science alert us to let divine Mind be the only source of absolutely truthful information and the governing influence of our actions. Christ Jesus exemplified what we should do. Mrs. Eddy writes of him, ``He knew of but one Mind and laid no claim to any other.'' 3 Right from the start of his ministry, Jesus demonstrated the oneness and allness of Mind by freeing people from bondage to regional, religious, and racial prejudice, that they might understand and follow the universal truth he taught. See, for instance, John 1:45-49; 4:5-29; and Matthew 15:21-28. By his example, Jesus taught his followers to claim the capacities of Mind to heal prejudice. One of these followers, the disciple Peter, had been firmly convinced that only Jews, or those fully accepted into Judaism, could become Christians. But when spiritual enlightenment changed his view, Peter accepted the Roman centurion Cornelius as a convert and said, ``Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.'' 4 What does all this mean to us? It means we can fulfill the Bible demand ``Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.'' 5 In limitless Mind no boundary of region, religion, or race exists. Misinformation, misunderstanding, suspicion, distrust, hatred, sensitivity, retaliation, irreconciliation, suggest more than one Mind. But divisive errors cease to deceive us when we understand that one Mind actually does unite all real being in perpetual peace. Through Christian discipleship we can express--and experience--impartial love without discrimination. Proving that ``I'm not prejudiced'' may boast a human stance as prideful as prejudice itself. But proving that no one is prejudiced because man is the infinite, indivisible reflection of infinite, indivisible Mind rests demonstration on the spiritual basis of Christian Science. Such proof brings to light heavenly peace on earth. This article is a condensation of an editorial that appears in the January 21 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. 1 Deuteronomy 6:4; Romans 11:34. 2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 469. 3 Ibid., p. 315. 4 Acts 10:34, 35. 5 Philippians 2:5.
