HOST: Recently some writers have begun to suggest publicly that Christianity is obsolete. They suggest that the world we live in has become so tangled that people no longer find Christian teachings to be of practical use in solving their problems. A professor of religion at Amherst College recently asserted in the magazine Theology Today that "modern man has surrendered those bedrock assumptions of the Christian era," that "he no longer lives in that era," and that even "when he practices religion ... there is ... skepticism under the facade."

What about this? Is Christianity obsolete?

SPEAKER: Definitely not. Christianity is just as able to revolutionize people's lives as it was in the days of Jesus. The Christ-power hasn't changed. But where do we find this power? Not just in religious observances or in forms of worship. The Apostle Paul put it frankly when he said (II Cor. 3:6), "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

HOST: But what about the statement that the teachings of Christianity are becoming obsolete, that they're not really adapted to today's world?

SPEAKER: The problem isn't that they're obsolete; the problem is that too often they aren't tried! Christianity is no more obsolete than love, no more obsolete than honesty or wisdom or purity or loyalty, no more out of date than moral courage or devotion to right even against terrible odds. These qualities are vital to human progress. They're inherent in Christianity, and they don't get obsolete.

These qualities have their source in God. When we learn this, unselfishness, kindness, and love take on new meaning in our lives, and they bless everyone around us. The result is that we find a new purpose, a new dedication, and a new joy in life.

HOST: But what about the argument that we can get the same results from music, art nature instead of from Christianity?

SPEAKER: They have a place in life. But can they really free a man from fear? Can they root out envy and hate? Can they be relied on to eliminate deceit or moral weakness? No, no matter how much they may enrich our lives, they simply don't have the ultimate spiritual power which heals and redeems us.

HOST: You maintain that Christianity does have this power?

SPEAKER: Yes, the power of Spirit, of divine Love, can meet every human need. We feel this deeply in Christian Science. This is the power of the Christ, the eternal Truth that Jesus taught and proved. We can demonstrate this power here and now in the degree we understand it. It brings spiritual light and love into the very depths of our thinking. It meets and overcomes the darkest human instincts, and casts out our deepest fears.

The Bible speaks of this power in many places. For example, Christ Jesus said,

His apostles knew the glory and power of the Christ. Listen to their words:

HOST: It's clear from these verses that to those men Christianity was a religion of power and of works.

SPEAKER: And Christian Science is proving that it is a religion of power and of works today. This is brought out forcefully by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, in her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." She writes (p. 135), "Christianity as Jesus taught it was not a creed, nor a system of ceremonies, nor a specialgift from a ritualistic Jehovah; but it was the demonstration of divine Love casting out error and healing the sick, not merely in the name of Christ, or Truth, but in demonstration of Truth, as must be the case in the cycles of divine light."

The Christ-power is present and available today to bring freedom and healing to humanity. Christian Science shows this. Understanding of the Christ, the Truth the Master taught, dissolves the fear, the suspicion, the hatred, the sin, the ignorance, which constitute human problems and underlie them. This Truth reveals God and man as they really are: God as ever-present divine Love and man as the perfect spiritual image of that Love. It shows that man is more than a physical body; it explains that he is in reality a spiritual idea of the one Mind, God, right now and that man's sole purpose is to bear witness to God, to express His divine qualities.

Even a glimpse of man's relationship to God has transforming effect on our lives. It reveals our true nature in the likeness of God. It satisfies even the deepest spiritual hunger. This is the best proof that Christianity is not obsolete.

A man from Pennsylvania had an experience that brings out the present-day power of the Christ.

HOST: He says that as a young man he'd come to the conclusion that religion was for the weak, that a person must rely on himself. But he soon found this to be a barren existence. He began groping for salvation through various philosophies and cults. But he found nothing to fill this inner void. Then one day in a friend's home he came across a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. He read a few paragraphs out of curiosity. Later he borrowed a copy from a public library. Finally he bought the book and also a Bible. He began a daily study of the two books, following the Bible Lessons in the Christian Science Quarterly. He writes: "I learned that God is divine Love, not a remote person to be intreated. That there is only one Mind, God, governing all; and that man in reality is the spiritual expression of this Mind. He's not a helpless victim of unpredictable circumstances, but a God-appointed master of them."

This new understanding began to change his entire life, give it new meaning, full of hope and purpose. He saw he must learn to love more and be more humble. Selfishness, conceit, and a bad temper which had made life difficult for himself and others began to yield to divine power.

Nervous tensions which had often resulted in backaches so severe he couldn't straighten up and periodic colds that had kept him in bed for days at a time vanished completely. His work as a college teacher became less laborious, more effective, and inspired. He says, "My whole life has become spiritually enriched beyond measure."