Article January 18, 1913 Issue

THE TRUE WITNESS

E. A. BLOOD.

In studying Mrs. Eddy's book "Retrospection and Introspection," I found one section of the chapter entitled "The Human Concept" to be of great help not only in banishing a severe pain, but in giving me a clearer understanding of the real man. On page 67, Mrs. Eddy says, "In the ratio that the testimony of material personal sense ceases, sin diminishes, until the false claim called sin is finally lost for lack of witness." One dictionary defines the word "witness" as "evidence: one who sees" or has "direct knowledge of." I then began to think of God, Mind, who is All-in-all, eternal good, and of myself as an idea, a thought, or a witness of that Mind. But, the question arose, how did I really know that I was a witness of Mind? Of course I did know that the Bible says man is made in God's image and likeness, and that Science and Health explains this clearly by the use of the word "reflection;" yet there was still the question in my mind, Do I actually know this, or only believe it?

I reasoned that I at some time, when I have been healed or have had any spiritual light or visions of Truth, have also been a witness to Truth. Recognizing this fact, I realized that as a true witness I could never give false evidence. When, however, I turned again to self, I found that false evidence was exactly the thing I was giving at that very moment. Material personal sense was making me believe in or be a witness to sin manifested in pain. But what more could I expect from sense testimony? I knew it never had made, never could, and never would make one witness to Truth. Why then should I believe it could tell me, an idea of Mind, the truth about myself? Why should I be its witness, and furthermore, a witness to what? Did I not know material sense to be the instrument of mortal mind? and I had just said that the divine Mind is All-in-all, yet at the suggestion of pain I was quickly becoming a witness to and agreeing with that which I knew to be untrue. I knew it to be untrue because Jesus said it was "a liar, and the father of it." He not only said this, but proved it true by overcoming all false evidence, and told us to do the same through the same divine Mind. Could I then afford to break this command, be false to God, the only Mind, and to my own true self as a witness of this Mind? Could I afford to believe in, to witness the lie, the nothing? No! I could not, because it was not there even to witness. When, some time after, I became conscious of this grand truth of God's all-ness, the pain was no longer felt, because mortal sense had ceased to talk and I to listen.

This little illustration showed me much more plainly than ever before the unreal character of error; how it only claims reality by hiding behind the truth; but the most glorious thing of all is that when the truth about it, namely, its falsity, is uncovered, it ceases; its claim to be vanishes, because its foundation is gone; it lacks a witness.

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