Article January 9, 1915 Issue

Jesus gave us a test whereby his true followers should be...

Thomas F. Waston

Register-Leader, Mountain View, Cal.

Jesus gave us a test whereby his true followers should be known, when he said: "These signs shall follow them that believe ; In my name shall they cast out devils ; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Notwithstanding the fact that Jesus said this, the critic says, "Miracles are no evidence of divine authority." Now Christian Science does not regard the healing of sin and sickness as a miracle or as supernatural, for these so-called miracles, both in Jesus' time and in the present, are accomplished in obedience to God's law. As Mrs. Eddy says in the Preface to Science and Health: "Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural. They are the sign of Immanuel, or 'God with us'" (p. xi). That Jesus expected his followers to prove their faith by their works is evident, for he said: "By their fruits ye shall know them." And at one time, when the disciples brought one to him whom they had failed to heal, he said: "O ye of little faith."

This critic maintains that "the doctrine is the only true criterion of moral worth and divine sanction," but Jesus taught otherwise, and he commanded his followers to heal the sick and cast out devils. He said, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." When the messengers from John the Baptist came to Jesus asking, "Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?" Jesus did not tell them of his doctrine, but said: "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached," knowing that his Christly works would prove his divine authority.

Christian Science does not deny the atonement, as this critic avers, but explains it. Science and Health, on page 18, states : "The atonement of Christ reconciles man to God, not God to man;" and on page 19: "Every pang of repentance and suffering, every effort for reform, every good thought and deed, will help us to understand Jesus' atonement for sin and aid its efficacy." Christian Science stands on its merits. It must be judged by its fruits. In Bible language it says, "Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."

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