SCIENCE AND PROGRESS

Annie M. Knott

Within the past fifty years the world has undoubtedly made its greatest progress, and this because men have at last come to see that all truth is knowable and that even the quest for truth contributes greatly to the progress of the individual as well as that of the race. The next step taken is the related admission that all good is possible, and with these two propositions as a working basis one has the advantage of a fair start in the journey of life. The Christian Scientist would insist upon adding to the first the sequent statement that as one comes to realize the truth about anything, all false beliefs respecting it must be given up; and to the second, that as all good is seen to be possible, evil can no longer be regarded as possible—as an actuality.

Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 492), "For right reasoning there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence." Until this is admitted the propositions already named are scarcely tenable, for only the spiritual man can know all truth, and to him alone is all good possible. Truth is, whether we know it or not; but until we do, our progress is at best uncertain, ebbing and flowing in response to the varying phases of material belief. When, however, one comes to "know the truth," to understand the unchangeableness of Principle, for him there is "no more sea," and the new heaven and the new earth, forever known to God, dawn upon his consciousness. When one knows Truth as divine Principle, his knowing is scientific, and he cannot fail to recognize the demand for absolute truth in all things, that thus he may know as God knows.

In Science and Health we read (p. 495), "All of Truth is not understood; hence its healing power is not fully demonstrated." The student of Christian Science does not claim to know all the truth at this period, but if he applies his understanding of Principle to each problem, he will know the difference between truth and error, and this will be a tremendous factor in his progress. We should note that the statement quoted does not limit the knowableness of the truth, it simply states the fact of present human experience. The practical side of the question is this, that at each step of the way we must know God, divine Principle, better. This will enable us to know man better, and thus we shall in turn better understand ourselves and others. Can any doubt that we shall then be in the direct line of scientific progression?

Mrs. Eddy once asked a student if a stone wall transmitted light equally well with a window. She then referred to the passage in Science and Health which points to the necessity for giving up much materiality in order to be "a better transparency for Truth" (p. 295). This query may surely appeal to each sincere seeker after Truth, especailly to those who seek the Christ-healing either for themselves or others. On the mount of transfiguration the light of Truth shone through the consciousness of Christ Jesus to such a degree that even his garments reflected its radiant purity. Not so with the dull and doubting disciples, who, at the foot of the mountain, were struggling with the problem of an afflicted boy and his distressed parent, in addition to the cold criticism of the scribes. When their Master returned to them, he said to the sorrowful father, "All things are possible to him that believeth," and the truth that Jesus knew healed the lad. So, too, it is our knowledge of the truth that will measure our understanding of Science and our progress.

Annie M. Knott.

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THE STATURE OF A MAN

February 12, 1910

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