In the Friday, June 4, Wall Street Journal one of their regular Friday contributers, Eric Felten, wrote a droll piece on the tasteless landscape of lite beers in his "De Gustibus" column. Perhaps I should hasten to add that I nearly always read his well-written and usually humorous essays. I had no desire to bone up on the relative merits of lite beers, or any other potables for that matter. If I am not mistaken he also wrote a diverting weekly WSJ column on how to live more frugally and save money on every-day purchases, but that series seems to have, regrettably, ended.
In order not to appear snobbish, he decided to taste-test as many of these lite beers as he could lay his hands on. "Taking notes in my blind tasting I quickly found myself running out of ways to describe vapid nothingness." He concludes that all that keeps these brews moving is massive amounts of advertising money. "No wonder these beers are so heavily advertised. No one would think to drink them otherwise." "Is this going somewhere, except maybe to the fridge?" restless readers may be nervously thinking. I hope so.
Mrs. Eddy tells us that the nothingness of nothing, mortal mind, is plain, but that this nothingness needs to be understood, not just stated. Yet how many of us keep coming back--maybe even eagerly--for another quaff of its not-so-lite suds? Mortal mind doesn't run ads extolling the wonders of its "vapid nothingness"--or does it? Anything that promotes the pleasures and satisfactions of any phase of material existence is at bottom a promo for the supremacy of mortal mind. The tyranny of medical practice and medicine is a not very subtle come-on for mortal mind. Then there is the great negative barker for error: fear, all the way from annoying fearlets to paralyzing terror. If it were not for these deceptive or dragooning incentives to indulge in and cherish materiality, who in his right mind would dabble for a moment in the nothingness of nothing?
It is time for more Christian Scientists--and I confess to making an assumption that might not be correct--to put off their mental swaddling clothes and suit up for a decisive battle with the Great Red Dragon. Time will not make it any easier to deal with. So, To Whom It May Concern: Quit listening to error's "bunkum" (one of Mr. Felton's words) and claim your eternal, harmonious unity with God, divine Mind, Life, Truth, and Love--no matter what that commitment requires of you.
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20 comments:
Very well done, blogger. Enjoyed reading this from start to finish!
Thank God, error is nothing, and our wonderful CS shows us this so clearly.
Quite creative, you are. A pleasure to read your essays, Christian.
Thanks!
I love what our Leader says in the textbook in the preface about how healing comes about. It loses its reality in our thought and then disappears.
Good job on this one, blogger.
You are so original and fresh; I always like visiting your blog. Thank you for sharing your inspired thoughts with the rest of us.
Thanks, Christian. Found this posting quite helpful to me, and I would imagine to many other of your readers.
Love your last sentence. Amen to that!
So, Christian, you read the Wall Street Journal. Interesting. Another tidbit about who you are.
In a way, it has occurred to me, your blog over the months (is it years now?) has gone far to mending the broken net of our Cause. Thanks for all you are doing to help the Field think about the treasure it has in the teachings of divine Science, of course the Bible, and demontrating these eternal truths more fully.
You are such a good writer and just keep giving us top-rate essays!
It's past time for us CS's to do better work, I agree. The world needs what we have to offer. There is not shortage of things to work about, is there?
Well done, Christian. Do enjoy visiting here, and I'll be back...
Like a lot of the thoughts you share in this blog post. Well worth thinking about, in my opinion. Appreciate you!
Dear Writer,
I enjoy your website because not only do I find solid metaphysics on it, but you expand my horizon intellectually.
I feel sure people visit your blog who aren't students of CS so I wish to give the following words from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy that might be enlightening for some visitor:
"The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light, and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these works are not supernatural, but supremely natural."
These are not just empty words: I have experienced this through the years and thus, am eternally grateful to God for Christian Science.
Such a fresh way of presenting metaphysics. Always get a kick out of the way you express your thoughts.
Keep up the good work, Christian
Bunkum indeed is what the carnal mind tries to make us believe is actually going on. And in God's kingdom at that! As Jesus called mortal mind, this nothingness is always a liar and the producer of lies. Aren't we grateful to have Christian Science waking us up!
Your title (as it often does) says it all, for me. Too many of us, and I certainly include myself in this lot, still have on swaddling clothes. It is high time we donned those, I agree.
Well done, Christian!
Your essay certainly spoke to me and I thank you for posting your thoughts on this vital topic. God bless you for all you are giving!
Thank you, dear Christian, for being the blessing you are to many of us out here.
Isn't God wonderful to provide so many avenues for inspiration and help to reach us!
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