Article April 15, 1916 Issue

Angels

HENRIETTA MARCUS

ONE of the problems of human existence is how to distinguish that which will bless from that which will harm, to discern what is the whisper of evil and what the warning voice of Truth. Doubt respecting these things is well expressed by Hamlet, in his uncertainty as to whether his father's ghost is a manifestation of good or evil, in the words, "Thou comest in such a questionable shape." The explanations given in Science and Health of the method by which we can separate the real from the unreal are explicit and absolute; but the understanding needed for their application is only gained by much study, for truth, like salvation, is attained by the effort of the individual and not by that of another.

In regard to the difficulty of ascertaining the worth or worthlessness of certain thoughts which present themselves to us, it is helpful to consider the various accounts of angels given in the Bible, taking of course as groundwork the definition given in the Glossary of Science and Health, where we are told that angels are "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect" (p. 581). In our daily lives we can often discover the presence of these angels, or thoughts from God, which may even seem to come at times disguised in grievous forms; or perhaps one should rather say that through our troubles we are compelled to turn our consideration to those pure ideas which can alone lift us up and save us from our mortal selves. This does not mean that any trouble or suffering is, or can be, an angel, but simply that what appears to be an affliction occasionally reveals a blessing, which we are able to perceive after a sufficient time has elapsed so that we can judge the case by the results.

Jacob's wrestling at Peniel is wonderfully explained by Mrs. Eddy on page 308 of Science and Health. Jacob was really fighting against his own belief in the power of evil and not against good. Doubtless he was unaware of this fact and wanted to overcome what opposed his human will; but spiritual perception at length conquered his material desires and earned for him the praise, "As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Take any belief of sin or sickness — is it not a wrestling similar to that of Jacob? The acceptance of evil as having reality and dominion is in itself a struggle with the angel that comes to us with the message of the all-power of God, and a perfect or even a partial realization of the truth of this message gives us "power with God and with men." The struggle always implies the resistance of human sense to the divine will, and the victory is gained not by the attainment of our human desires, but by the domination of spiritual sense over our fleshly beliefs.

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