Article August 5, 1922 Issue

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WARWICK L. TYLER

The sacred writings of the Hebrews were written by Orientals for men of their own race; and, consequently, they abound in metaphor and imagery. This was, and still is, customary amongst Asiatics. It probably never occurred to the writers that their meaning might be obscured through the very richness of the metaphor they employed, or that their readers would have the slightest difficulty in understanding them. This was their method of imparting their teachings; and, naturally, they expected people of like habit of thought to themselves to be able to grasp the full import of their lessons.

In Bible days, reading and writing were the exception, and not the rule. Necessarily, therefore, religious truths had to be presented in as vivid a manner as possible; and what more natural than the allegory and the metaphor? This method of teaching was strikingly illustrated by the Master in his parables. How clearly they stand out! How forcefully they drive home the fundamentals of Christianity! Yet, no one supposes that in them Jesus was speaking of specific persons or occurrences. He was simply using the everyday experiences of his listeners to illustrate his meaning, and to fix it more positively in their thought.

On page 320 of our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes, "Metaphors abound in the Bible, and names are often expressive of spiritual ideas." Take the idea conveyed by the word "angels," for example. A popular conception of an angel is that it is a sort of etherealized human being, clad in white, with wings attached to the shoulders. But, does any one seriously believe in such an anomaly? Every student of the Bible should know that angels were messengers from God; and this is exactly the thought intended to be conveyed in the words used by the Hebrew and Greek writers. Angels were, and are, God's messengers, or messages, to men; and they appear in such a form as may be best understood by mortals. Just as long, however, as God is believed to be a magnified corporeal being, an enlarged and glorified man, just so long will mankind think of everything pertaining to and proceeding from Him in terms of corporeality and finiteness. It is very evident, therefore, that the nature and character of the messengers will depend upon a clear apprehension of Him whom they represent.

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