Editorial December 28, 1918 Issue

Conviction by Truth

Annie M. Knott

Beginning with the fourteenth chapter of John's gospel and on through the sixteenth chapter, we have a most wonderful discourse in which Christ Jesus was preparing his followers to meet and overcome the opposition of the carnal mind to Truth. With the wisdom which is born of Love he presented the idea of God as the Comforter, who was to abide with them forever, and it is of the utmost importance for us to see that he based all his arguments upon demonstration. In the fourteenth chapter we read, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." In these chapters we find the term Comforter used interchangeably with "the Spirit of truth," and the sixteenth chapter begins as follows: "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended." Then we find the mission of the Comforter defined in these words: "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." In the Revised Version this verse reads, he will "convict the world in respect of sin," but many of the scholars agree that convince more nearly expresses the original statement than do either of the other terms. A dictionary definition of this word is as follows: "To force to yield assent to truth; to satisfy by proof."

From the Christian Science viewpoint the Master's teaching as here given bases the healing work which he insisted upon, and can never be lost sight of. It is deeply interesting to be told that the work of the Comforter begins by reproving or convincing the world of sin, and it matters little whether this be applied to humanity as a whole or to the individual case. Those who are acquainted with the healing work of Christian Science know that the conviction that sin is no part of one's real being is in many cases followed by the recognition of sin's powerlessness, and so freedom is realized and unspeakable comfort speeds on the healing work, before which pain and discord of every sort disappear. On page x of the Preface to "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says, "The unbiased Christian thought is soonest touched by Truth, and convinced of it." The self-righteous thought usually resists the demand of Truth, and in clinging to error misses the life-giving operation of the Spirit of truth, the Holy Comforter. Mortals do not readily admit themselves in the wrong, and mortal sense goes on justifying itself in error until suffering compels the individual to seek the aid of the divine Comforter. As we trace the spiritual order of the Master's words, we find that when one is convinced of the utter folly of clinging to sin, the next step is to see the grandeur and power of righteousness and be ready for the judgment of Truth, which never condemns man but justifies him.

On page 461 of Science and Health a clear distinction is made between the different mental attitude necessary in the case of sin and of sickness. The question is asked: "If you commit a crime, should you acknowledge to yourself that you are a criminal? Yes." We further read: "Usually to admit that you are sick, renders your case less curable, while to recognize your sin, aids in destroying it. Both sin and sickness are error, and Truth is their remedy." The one who seeks to justify himself in wrongdoing is simply turning away from the Comforter, and we must not forget that in no other way than through this divine influence can true peace be gained. On one occasion our revered Leader was explaining this subject to a student, and by way of illustration said that in studying the allegory of Adam and Eve we find that the woman reflected the most intelligence because she was the first to see that she had yielded to error and to acknowledge it, and that this prepared her to take the next step, which brought to her the blessing of divine Truth. The Scripture declares that the seed of the woman, in other words, those who most readily respond to the spiritual demand, are the ones that will bruise the serpent's head.

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