The Bible Speaks to You April 20, 1963 Issue

[The above is substantially the text of the program released for broadcast the weekend of April 12—14 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You," heard internationally over more than 800 stations. This is one of the weekly programs produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston 15, Massachusetts.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 54 - The Meaning of the Resurrection

[This is the third of a special group of programs on the subject, "The Values We Cherish," in which some basic elements of the Christian religion are being discussed.]

HOST: Over the centuries three brief words shine in unsurpassed wonder and glory: "He is risen." They tell of the resurrection of the Master, Christ Jesus, and they unite Christians of all creeds and races everywhere.

But the good news of the resurrection also falls on skeptical ears. Some people doubt that it ever happened. Others say, "If it did, it was the miraculous climax of a miraculous career—and therefore doesn't have much practical value for ordinary people today."

There are earnest thinkers in all Christian denominations who ask if the real meaning of the resurrection has been lost. Many of them would agree, at least in part, with this observation of Eve Barbour in her book, "Positive Thinking Is Not Enough." She says that the tendency to focus attention on the human history of Jesus, ignoring the deep meaning of his resurrection, has "stranded the resurrected Christ in the tomb, for millions of Christians." She goes on: "Once a year He is permitted out, and we give Him the major emphasis, at Eastertime. But comes Monday morning we hasten again to Jesus of Nazareth, and the resurrected Christ is put back in the tomb until next Easter. And for another year we wonder why our religious faith leaves us so impotent." [Publishers, Vantage Press, Inc., New York. Copyright, 1955, by Eve Barbour.]

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