Article July 20, 2015 Issue

Metaphors, analogies, and spiritual reality

Mark Raffles

After Jesus walked to Emmaus with two of his disciples, following his resurrection, it is recorded that “they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32). What exactly was this burning? Surely it was the devotion Jesus’ life had kindled and the deep effect the Master’s ideas had had on the way they viewed the world. To me, this burning within the disciples suggests that they felt intense inspiration and enthusiasm.

Just the right blend of words can help us understand deep concepts, especially spiritual truths. Expressing a spiritual quality or lesson in familiar terms relates a materially intangible concept to things we commonly experience. Thus the idea is more easily comprehended. Analogies and parables are valuable learning aids that can communicate to us all.

Mary Baker Eddy was one of the world’s great authors, giving the world the priceless gift of Christian Science through her work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She explains divine truths with clarity and style, and demonstrative examples frequently appear in her writings. To explain dynamic spiritual concepts, Mrs. Eddy employs simple comparisons as well as complex logical constructs, sweepingly eloquent prose, and gentle persuasion. Each approach is adeptly used to elucidate spiritual concepts, including the root concept of Christian Science—the fact of God’s allness—that meet the reader where he or she is mentally.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

How God guides us in business