I was reading a news article about masses of people protesting the government in Iran. There is growing resentment in the country against corruption among government officials, increasing resistance to various forms of oppression and anger over rising prices of food.
According to reports, the protestors are largely young people in their 20s and 30s.
After reading the piece, I was thinking over why its the young people who are usually the first to protest publicly. The older generations stay home in hiding. Not just in Iran, but in dozens of countries over the centuries that experienced political tumult.
The reason is obvious. The young people have the least to lose materially. The older generations fear loss of status, position, business, and standing in their community. They’d rather continue to suffer than risk losing what they materially hold near and dear.
This is only a general rule, of course. There are many exceptions. But there is a valuable spiritual lesson to gain.
If we are experiencing some type of oppression in our individual lives, are we ready to protest and vigorously work for freedom, or are we taking a materially conservative route and allowing the suffering to continue, figuring the risk of working for real freedom is too great?
For instance, seeking a cure for sickness. The majority consensus is that disease is real and should be thought of as a reality. Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated that disease is not real, and is best proven unreal with spiritual truth. But this is a view glimpsed and understood by few people in the world today.
Because the weight of public opinion is so heavily sided with the belief that disease is real, when faced with disease, the temptation to believe the disease is real may feel overwhelming, imperative, and unavoidable. Something like living under an oppressive government and seeing no choice but to submit to whatever that government decrees.
Christian Science explains that disease is best handled when seen as an unreality, not as a reality, for to accept it as real can make it seem impossible to get rid of. And this type of ignorance perpetuates suffering.
But the “young at heart” who have glimpsed the reality of spiritual health and the unreality of disease, will resist any argument for the reality of disease. They will not be intimidated by popular opinion. They will not fear loss of status or standing in other people’s view from arguing the unreality of disease and the power of God to heal it. Instead of giving in to arguments for disease and suffering, they will mightily resist those arguments and work to defeat them.
So, if you’re ever confronted with an argument to accept suffering as a part of your life, be the first to vigorously protest! Don’t “hang out in hiding,” for fear of what other people might think. “Take to the streets,” and actively work for the overthrow of any unjust decree. It’s your spiritual right! The might of God will back you up.
“Citizens of the world, accept the “glorious liberty of the children of God,” and be free! This is your divine right” Science and Health, p. 227.
I’ve always been a protester, and am new to this spiritual community so this text is very uplifting!! I’m not even sure I’ve had a glimpse but I’m looking!!
Elizabeth,
Welcome. We are glad to have you here! 🙂
“Ye shall know the Truth and the truth shall make you free” (Bible). We should also be protesting in the way you suggest for true government, undivided and just. God is the governor.
Evan perfect just what I needed this morning
YES! thanks for the reminder to resist all that is unlike good in our lives. I have been away from all TV and the US advertising for two weeks and now am back home again. The selling of acceptance of dis-ease and so forth on our media is an assault on our spiritual sense, our spiritual identity as children of God. Your question to day ” Are we ready to protest?” is important to answer with a resounding YES I am! The subtle and not so subtle suggestions to accept and expect dis-ease due to weather, age, heredity, stress, injury etc must be dissolved with the Christ Truth which Jesus taught us– that we are made and maintained as the image of our Father Mother God who is the only power and governs us fully and completely. Accept no other identity, never give identity to anything thing less than goodness and purity as a part of who you are! In Miscellany p. 165, Mary Baker Eddy wrote:
As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church
rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the
scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and
happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason
for existing.
This is my basis of protest — I can only be identified as His image and likeness, I can only inherit His purity & goodness. Everyone is included in the protest for this “glorious liberty of the children of God.” Join the protest!!
Thank you, Evan, for bringing up this important topic. I fully agree with the need to protest against the ‘advertising’ of disease. It pervades the television, which surely results in more people becoming aware of, or identifying themselves with different forms of sickness.
We must fight for our right not to “be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good”. I am reminded of Mary Baker Eddy’s statement about Jesus “whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth” – see Science & Health p.12.
Onward and upward!
Here’s what came to my thought as I read SV today:
“It is neither Science nor Truth which acts through blind belief, nor is it the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, — of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love.” S&H 12:14
Jesus was an activist for Truth and Love; so was Mrs. Eddy. I remember there being a video that was out some years ago entitled “Mary Baker Eddy – A Heart in Protest”. It was narrated by Robert Duvall. Christian Science is the best “protest” and “resistance” movement there is…James says in the Bible…resist the devil (error) and he will flee from you!
Great Spiritview Evan! :). When mortal mind tries to dictate who you are, overthrow the dictator with the Truth. You have a choice and being defined by God is a much more harmonious government.
“When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea.
Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not. Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony.”
SH 495:14-24
Good essay! There is an I hereby danger in protest if it is not done from the right perspective. The danger is that the protest or denial can enhance the perceived reality of what we are protesting if we don’t have clear comprehension of what would replace what we are protesting. This is equally true I political protest as it is in denying disease. On the surface it may seem like two sides of the same coin, but denying a disease is admitting there is something there to deny — that is making a reality out of what you want to be unreal thus making it harder to heal. Whereas asserting the Truth is demonstrating the unreality of what is, in reality, unreal.
Good morning, Evan
I always like your blog and vlog entries, but this is one of the ones I most like. I am saving it. As I teach students about “doing the right thing,” I completely see the influence materialism tries to exert on us. We have to choose whom we will serve, Truth or Mammon.
Thanks again.
Excellent healing reflections – most welcome and printed to hand. Thanks Evan.
Thanks, Evan. It’s great to know that our protests against evil in any form are backed by God’s omnipotence and omnipresence and that evil can be proved to be unreal. Thanks again!
This is such a helpful thought Evan, thank you for sharing it, & for such wonderful contributions by everyone. I love what Mrs Eddy says about protesting:
“Since matter cannot talk, it must be mortal mind which speaks; therefore meet the intimation with a protest.” SH 391:19-22 (to 1st .)
And then follows it up with::
“If man seems to incur the penalty through matter, this is but a belief of mortal mind, not an enactment of wisdom, and man has only to enter his protest against this belief in order to annul it.” SH 384:9-12
There is such wisdom in protesting rightly against anything that would try to say it can limit or hinder our God-given liberty & freedom to reflect God, as His wondrous children, as we all are. As we “accept” our “glorious liberty” we can expect to “see” it more fully as God knows us to be, innocent & indeed “free” Jx
Thank you so much Evan for today`s SpiritView!
It strengthens and comforts me to know, what you said, that the might of God will back us up!! And I love the sentence from SH p. 227, which you set under your precious SV!
Thank you all so much for your inspired and helpful and loving comments!
we have the same situation in Congo who the government oppressing is people
Thank you for sharing your inspiration – I printed this off but wanted to let you know that between page 1 and 2 it Misses “to submit to whatever that government decrees” at the bottom of page 1 – it appears the reason is because of the bottom border footer that always prints at the bottom of each page would let it print.
sorry the last line should read — wouldn’t let it print
I’m not sure exactly why but this site is loading very slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
cortadora lser de acero https://www.accurllaser.com/es/