Q: Since infinite spiritual thinking says the meaning of every infinite word is good, will you please explain how that could possibly apply to the infinite idea about terrorism?
Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right." Using this idea, let us think about what terrorism appears to be on the human scene, and then consider its opposite.
Terrorism is a person or a small group of people attempting to project power and malice by surprise and unthinkable evil actions. The terrorist would try to send a message, a message of fear. It would sacrifice itself, embodying hatred, to bring fear to humanity, and to shock or impress us with the power of evil.
What is the opposite of this? It is the self-sacrifice of love that brings comfort to humanity. It is one person or small groups of people who reflect God's Love to the world saying, "fear not," and they back up their words with wonderfully surprising acts of love, healing and kindness, creating ripples of spiritual blessings around the globe and throughout history. It is the embodied angel power of love that brings tender comfort to our families and children. The opposite of terrorism is the Christ power, the word of God's love speaking in the hearts of men.
At the level of infinite Spirit, our sense of negatives is reversed, bringing them to us as sweet nothings, then filled with good. If I imagine infinite Love saying, "I am the infinite terror of infinite Love," infinite spiritual thinking teaches me that the infinite meaning of this must be good. When I consider this, the first thing that comes to mind is a little child. How often do we say, with amused affection, of a little boy - oh, he's just a little terror. The infinite idea of terror is related to the child of God, and, in this case, the son of God.
So the infinite abstract meaning of terror is related to the Christ child, which brings us a new definition. It is ellusive to me how this might be described to human reasoning. Nevertheless, the infinite idea about this helps us antidote and heal terrorism on the human scene by recognizing the universality of man's status as the child of God and by acknowledging the infinite oneness of that recognition.
In practice this may require lots of prayerful love and wisdom, and even self-sacrifice. But the healing truth is available, offering a sure antidote that we can apply to our world within and without. It may also require us to say, as did Christ Jesus, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Of course, one of the basic tenets of conquering evil through prayer is to first detach it from persons. At the level of abstraction where evil can be vanquished through prayer, it is viewed as an impersonal error, without legitimate divine cause or principle. A false belief in power apart from God can be healed through prayer that recognizes the all-presence and all-power of God. But as long as you keep it attached to your concept of "man," it's solution will be ellusive. So impersonalize terrorism, and then vanquish it.
In our spiritual work, the first step is paying attention. The next step is faithful, flexible following. The main value in hearing God's voice is being enabled to follow his commands. I had been praying about terrorism for several few years, as it had become apparent that this error needed to be corrected. One day I was sitting on my patio thinking about what to do with the day, and it came to me clearly to write up a Web page on praying about terrorism. So I spent a few hours that afternoon launching this Web page and a few related ones. That was the afternoon of September 10, 2001. Of course, since then it's been updated a few times -- I've had more food for thought. This is just to say, that in our spiritual warfare, we need to be paying attention -- listening for God's voice, and then we need to act when the call comes. Of course, after that comes joyful trust in God's disposition of events and love for all mankind. Etc.
Other related words to pray about: intelligence, evil, hatred, malice, cruelty, indifference, demons, shock, unthinkable, unspeakable, message, embodiment, senseless, horror, madness, insanity, outrage, treachery, unreality, amazement, chaos, wonder, spite, monster, spectacle, and nonsense.
A Favorite Quotation: "Do men whine over a nest of serpents, and post around it placards warning people not to stir up these reptiles because they have stings? Christ said, "They shall take up serpents:" and, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves." The wisdom of a serpent is to hide itself. The wisdom of God, as revealed in Christian Science, bring the serpent out of its hole, handles it, and takes away its sting." - Mary Baker Eddy (Mis 210:7-14)
Infinite spiritual thinking applied to racism.
Special: Infinite Justice
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(First posted 9/10/01, last updated 12/16/04)