[Christian Science program over Station WEAF, New York City, conducted by Manton Monroe Marble, February 7, 1943. Subject: "True Vision."]

A Christian Science program was conducted from Station WEAF, New York City, on Sunday, February 7, at 8.30 a.m., Eastern War Time, by Manton Monroe Marble of New York City. This program was given under the auspices of the Committee on Publication for the State of New York and had the approval of The Christian Science Board of Directors. The "Symphonic Four" quartet was assisted by a staff organist.

The program opened with Hymn No. 258 in the Christian Science Hymnal. Mr. Marble then read an address substantially as follows:

Suffering humanity longs to be freed from its bonds, but because the shackles are forged by material blindness, mankind looks far off for liberation, when in reality the means for obtaining liberty are close at hand.

It is the fashion of the day to call one a realist who tends to act and think in the light of things as they appear to be. However, such a concept of realism may be gravely questioned.

The greatest authority on emancipation and unobstructed activity was the gentle Galilean, Jesus of Nazareth, who centuries ago advised his followers, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Because humanity has failed to avail itself of his teachings and follow in his footsteps, we find mortals today accepting the earthbound, so-called realistic point of view. However, disappointed humanity is reaching out to some power over and beyond itself, hoping for deliverance from the turmoil and widespread desolation now so evident.

What is this truth that the master Christian said would free mankind? As the creator of the universe is infinite and All, the only laws that exist are His laws; hence it must mean that if we know the truth about God and His laws this truth will make us free. The Master was truly a realist, because his view as to God, man, and the universe discloses divine reality.

From earliest times we can see the trend of true idealism as it has emerged in the affairs of mankind; at first hesitatingly, often driven back into temporary obscurity, then reappearing and gaining headway, spreading and then receding, yet always leaving the thought of the world more receptive and readier to greet its next appearance and to continue its progress toward the goal of universal acceptance. For example, the progressive rights of men as individuals have been highlighted in a succession of events and developments through which may be discerned a golden thread—the divine plan.

During the centuries of the unfoldment of the Jewish church-state, the fundamentals of moral law were formulated and the seedlings of representative government were sown in human thought. The Greeks learned democracy in theory, but failed in the application of it along a national or an international scale. Rome added rules of organization and co-operation, and gave expression to the concepts of world unity and the general welfare.

All through the Dark Ages, occasional voices "in the wilderness" gave evidence that the truth taught by Christ Jesus had not been entirely lost. With the Renaissance and the Reformation, Christianity was measurably advanced. The gradual retirement of feudalism, the growth of the guild idea, and the spread of education in general were steps along the way. In England the Magna Charta, Parliament, and the Industrial Revolution advanced the democratic ideal. In the United States of America began the flowering of self-government, developed as it was through the three equally important channels of education—the schoolhouse, the meetinghouse, and the town hall.

From remote beginnings and progressing through great humanitarian projects, the abolition of slavery, general education, and universal suffrage, may be seen the inevitable advancement toward universal progress. May it not be regarded as divinely natural that out of this background of awakened thought a wider, more comprehensive understanding of spiritual law should have emerged, with its limitless hope and promise for mankind?

By the acceptance of the Master's teaching of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, we see the demand for recognition of the rise of the individual urged on the nations. We see the paramount necessity of standing fast, in spite of human sense of doubt, deprivation, or loss; holding our vision steadfastly to the real issues involved. Awaiting with unshakable confidence the victory of right over might, of good over evil, of love over hate, we perceive the union of the democratic and the Christian ideal, inevitably bringing to all the peoples of the earth the First Commandment and the Sermon on the Mount. Mankind, having thus forsaken the old ways of ignorance and superstition, is ready to take its place on the right side, accepting the true vision, which is the result of divine revelation and inspiration.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 340): "'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' (Exodus xx. 3.) The First Commandment is my favorite text. It demonstrates Christian Science. It inculcates the tri-unity of God, Spirit, Mind; it signifies that man shall have no other spirit or mind but God, eternal good, and that all men shall have one Mind. The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal. One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed."