Opposition Conquered M. G. KAINS          The tendency to oppose any new idea is one of the most striking peculiarities or vagaries of the human mind. It is almost always observed whenever any new line of thought or effort is presented, or when some work is to be done which is not strictly in accordance with the established order. For instance, should a person who is familiar only with English, desire to learn French or German, the human mind would be characteristically and instinctively opposed to such a departure from the usual order, and would resist continuously, even after fair working knowledge of the language had been acquired by the application of a stronger desire or determination. The acquisition of knowledge under such circumstances is neither more nor less than one force quelling another. It succeeds in the very face of opposition, because the attack continues until the original resistance can no longer defend or maintain itself effectively.          If we were to view the illustration from a different standpoint, or rather if we were to replace the factor of age by that of youth, we would see a very different state of affairs. The child, not yet set in the grooves of habit, at least not to the same degree as the adult, would easily acquire a knowledge of French or German, or even of several languages, at the same time that he was acquiring a knowledge of English. He would accomplish this, too, with no more apparent effort, provided he was associating with those who made constant use of the foreign tongue or tongues, and who likewise required the child to converse in these languages, and also provided they did not instill opposition in the child’s mind by means of ridicule or otherwise.          The same kind of opposition characterizes the acquisition of a working knowledge of Christian Science. Very many adults are instinctively opposed to its teaching, mainly because their habits of thought have become fixed to a greater or less extent, and they are therefore less receptive than children. In addition to the novelty of the new ideas, which because of their mere newness must meet the challenge of the mind to which they are presented, there must also be met and overcome the opposition of the prejudices, perhaps entrenched behind many years of creedal acceptances and reenforced by a personal sense of stubbornness; for as Moore has said, — Faith, fantastic Faith, once wedded fast To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last.          Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless characteristic of the human mind to cling unreasoningly to what it has, to accept only such new ideas as harmonize with its mental possessions, whether these be false or true, and to oppose all others. The reader may object to the word “unreasoningly,” because he may think that the human mind does weigh new ideas before accepting or rejecting them. But unless this mind has been subdued by Truth sufficiently to make it teachable, it will do all this so-called weighing with the biased scales of opposition and the false weights of prejudice. Especially is this the case with the one who seeks pleasure in any other than a spiritual direction. He is so afraid that he will lose his sense of pleasure, that he closes his mental ears to the voice of Truth, and thus unwittingly deprives himself of the truest of all pleasures. How shall he be reached? Mrs. Eddy replies: “Through human consciousness, convince the mortal of his mistake in seeking material means for gaining happiness. Reason is the most active human faculty. Let that inform the sentiments and awaken the man's dormant sense of moral obligation, and by degrees he will learn the nothingness of the pleasures of human sense and the grandeur and bliss of a spiritual sense, which silences the material or corporeal” (Science and Health, p. 327).          Opposition in the realm of human experience, hinted in the opening paragraph of this article, always implies the exercise of will-power, whether it be for or against the acquisition and utilization of a new idea. To be sure, there are all grades of this so-called will-power, from the base to the sublime. Will-power, therefore, is not of itself the director, but the servant of that stronger force called the intellect, the human mind or reason, because it can be guided to do either good or ill. How then shall it be guided away from the wrong paths it has perhaps hitherto pursued, and into those of rectitude? By appealing to reason; for, as Mrs. Eddy declares, “reason, rightly directed, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense” (Science and Health, p. 494)          It must not be expected, however, that opposition will always cease with the first instruction. On the contrary, it will continue in some form or other until every lesson is learned and the law of God is understood and obeyed in its entirety. Until this stage of development is reached, it will be necessary to use the reasoning faculties, as well as the dawning spiritual sense, “in casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”          When so directed, the earnest seeker after Truth will little by little overcome the opposition of the mortal or carnal mind declared by St. Paul to be “enmity against God,” and in due course of time will become the ready servant of the God-governed conscience, always ready, calmly, steadfastly, and surely, to put down the opposition of the carnal mind and to work for the establishment of that spiritually-minded condition which the apostle characterized as “life and peace.”   "Opposition Conquered" by M. G. Kains Christian Science Sentinel, February 28, 1914

 

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