Article April 23, 1921 Issue

The Power of Truth

WINIFRED E. COWARD

ONE of the most glorious promises in the Bible is that contained in Jesus' saying, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Most people are aware of some bond or bonds from which they would be free, and so, like Pilate of old they ask: "What is truth? What is this, a knowledge of which would set me free?" Jesus of Nazareth set forth the truth about God and man, explaining the Christ, by word of mouth, through a selfless life, and most powerfully by his demonstrations of the healing of the sick, the uplifting of the sinner, and the raising of the dead.

In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, there occurs this passage (p. 319): "The divine Science taught in the original language of the Bible came through inspiration, and needs inspiration to be understood. Hence the misapprehension of the spiritual meaning of the Bible, and the misinterpretation of the Word in some instances by uninspired writers, who only wrote down what an inspired teacher had said." Through her clear spiritual insight, Mrs. Eddy has perfectly discerned the scientific meaning of the teachings of Jesus, and thus, through her textbook and other writings, she has been able to give to this age, in unmistakable language, the answer to the question, "What is truth?" As in the case of Jesus, Mrs. Eddy's irrefutable answer and undeniable proof are expressed in the healing of sin, disease, and death. So to-day, the only sure test a Christian Scientist has of his understanding of Truth is his experience of healing in himself and those who seek his help.

Jesus put the fact clearly that it is the truth which heals. In the eleventh chapter of John's gospel it is related how Jesus, before calling to Lazarus to come forth from the tomb, lifted up his eyes, his understanding, and said: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." It would seem that on this occasion Jesus asserted that it was the Truth which healed, because of his knowledge of it. Considered by itself, the sentence, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me," might be taken to imply that God had acted in obedience to an appeal from Jesus. On page 2 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it," and this idea is expressed in Jesus' statement, "And I knew that thou hearest me always." In other words, man always has existed and always will exist as the perfect reflection of God. It was Jesus' understanding of the truth about man's real being that enabled him to call Lazarus forth from the tomb.

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