Editorial January 25, 1975 Issue

Observation and Being

Carl J. Welz

A medical examination presents to an individual a rather sharp definition of himself. A doctor's observation or a laboratory test report seems convincing evidence of a bodily condition. But striking instances have shown that such physical observation depends somewhat upon the attitude of the observer. This is evidence that the observation is not as objective as long-held theories would claim. Top natural scientists tell us it is becoming more and more apparent that a condition is to some extent the result of the observer's expectations.

This conclusion is not new. Christ Jesus demonstrated vividly the unreality of clearly observable conditions. He healed many who were sick and raised some from the dead. In one instance it is recorded that they laughed him to scorn because he said a young girl was not dead. But he proved their observations wrong when he restored her to them alive.^{See Matt. 9: 18-25;}

In another instance his disciples informed him they had but five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a multitude of more than five thousand.^{See 14: 15-21;} Their mathematical observation said the food supply was at least a hundred times short of the demand. But the Science Jesus lived and taught was not a science of observation. It was the Science of being. God, his Father, was the creator. And Jesus bore witness to His creation, not to what people thought had been created. So he fed the multitude, breaking the bread and fish and having his disciples distribute them to the people. All were fed, and there were basketfuls left over.

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