Editorial February 19, 1916 Issue

Truth's Power

Annie M. Knott

There is perhaps no passage of Scripture which is so much loved and so often quoted by Christian Scientists as the Master's words, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." As this promise is appropriated by each one, it assures him of freedom from every ill which seems to hold him in bondage at the present time or which might threaten him in the future, whether it be manifested as sickness, sorrow, sin, or poverty. In all of Jesus' teachings constant reference is made to the power and availability of Truth, and yet professed Christians in general are on very much the same plane as was Pilate when he asked, "What is truth?" If, for instance, they were told by a Christian Scientist that truth alone could heal some sick person, without the use of any material remedy, would they not question the wisdom of relying upon something unseen by the physical senses and fall back upon the threadbare argument that to depend upon a purely spiritual remedy would be equivalent to doing nothing for the patient. Did we not all believe so before we became acquainted with Mrs. Eddy's teachings?

Now truth may be spoken of as "the substance of things hoped for," although it is approached by faith on the part of humanity. Nothing else is so vital as truth, and the saying of Christ Jesus when on trial before Pilate, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth," cannot too often be recalled. It is noteworthy in this connection that Jesus did not answer Pilate's question, so far as the record goes, doubtless for the reason that the materialists about him would not understand his answer any more than the corresponding thought does today. Yet the Master said on that momentous occasion, "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." On page 142 of Science and Health we are told that "Truth is God's remedy for error of every kind."

Students of Christian Science soon learn that they cannot accept both truth and error in respect to anything and make any progress. They must "know the truth" about every problem of human experience, and this demands the acceptance of the spiritual fact at all times. Absolute Truth is always opposed to material sense evidence. The "scientific statement of being," which bases all work done in Christian Science, says (Science and Health, p. 468), "Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error." It is necessary, however, to know the truth as distinguished from error, in order to prove Truth's power. When Jesus entered Jairus' home he was told that the ruler's young daughter was dead, but he denied this in the face of scorn and opposition. He held by the changeless fact of God as the only Life of man, while those who laughed at him held to their belief that matter is the arbiter of life and death and that Mind had surrendered its sway, temporarily at least, to this mortal despot.

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