Editorial July 29, 1911 Issue

"THE WORD OF TRUTH."

ANNIE M. KNOTT

IN Paul's second letter to Timothy he warns him against mere wordy discussions, which only tend to mislead the hearers; then he adds, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." There are a number of references to this "word" or declaration of truth in the Scriptures, one of the most significant being the statement by James, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

It seems remarkable that for long centuries this divine idea, of such vast significance to humanity, should have been practically unknown, so far as its application to human need is concerned. Who, for instance (prior to Mrs. Eddy's discovery of Christian Science), would have thought of telling a suffering mortal that "the word of truth" could and would heal him? Yet this was always true, even as in Jesus' time, and no other fact is of such vital importance to the human race as this. Here some one may ask, as did Pilate, "What is truth?" So far as the record shows, no direct answer to this question was then given. The Master had demonstrated the truth throughout his whole earthly career, and had also taught others how to do so, little as the world understood his teaching; but those who were faithful followed the lines laid down by him, and by "the word of truth" they healed the sick and even raised the dead, and that for several hundred years. Then came the dark ages, when belief in matter and material means usurped the place of spiritual supremacy; truth was sought by material methods and its quest began and ended with material evidence. This inevitably led to agnosticism, for if God is Spirit, as Christ Jesus declared, His existence cannot be proved by material evidence.

But at length there came a great spiritual awakening, the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," was given to the world, and again men "trusted in Christ" to do all for them. Paul says, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation;" and this has been the experience of unnumbered thousands who have been healed in Christian Science. They learn therefrom that the truth about God and man is the spiritual fact, and that this must be known before the truth about anything else can be rightly understood. As "the word of truth" is declared in Christian Science, the truth about man becomes apparent to human consciousness, and this never includes sin, disease, or death. It lays bare the falsity of mortal belief and uncovers all that needs to be exposed,—the hidden fear or sin which seems to delay healing or the restoration of harmony. The truth must first be known, then lived, then declared,—silently or audibly as the need requires,—but there is no doubt as to its power.

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