Article December 20, 1941 Issue

"That most important of all arts"

RICHARD P. VERRALL

The second commandment expressly forbids the making of any object of worship, such as "any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." The Israelites, who clung to the ideals of Abraham, were surrounded by those with whom idolatry was the common practice. Under the tutelage of Moses the spiritual genius of Israel developed a religion which taught obedience to the law of God, as revealed on Sinai. The God-given insight and foresight which inspired the Old Testament prophets helped to turn the thoughts of a primitive race toward the contemplation of spiritual things; and the seed of living faith, thus germinated, grew into a conviction that the Supreme Ruler of the universe would never cease to reveal His presence to those who trust in Him.

The advent of Christ Jesus marked the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy. The Master spoke of himself as one with the Father, and pointed to his works of healing as the proof of his divine origin. He reminded his followers that it was the Father, Spirit, or Truth, that did the works. It is apparent from the New Testament record that the mission of Christ Jesus was not alone to reveal God as Father, but also to exemplify the true idea of sonship in the Father's likeness. It was, furthermore, a part of his mission to teach mankind that all men have in their real selfhood a common origin in Spirit, which must eventually bring them into conscious unity with the divine plan. After the apostolic days, the true meaning and purpose of Christianity became gradually obscured by the prevailing pagan tendencies, so that in course of time the ritualistic practices of the church overshadowed the purely spiritual concept which characterized its inception. As the result of this materialistic trend, the power to heal was lost.

When, in the latter half of the last century, Christian Science was discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, a great spiritual revival took place and a fresh impulse was given to the lost art of Christian healing. In the Christian Science textbook,"Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says (p. 248): "The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in order to perfect his conception. We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought." She then adds, "We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives." Surely this must be the true Christian art, for how else can one hope to express the beauty of the Christ-idea? It is evident that the Apostle Paul must have understood the essential meaning of the pure Christian art of healing when, in his second epistle to the Corinthians, he said, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

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