The Divine Fiat

KENNETH B. ELLIMAN

In the Latin Vulgate, the version of the Bible translated by Jerome in the fourth century and regarded as the authorized version for many centuries, part of Genesis i. 3 is rendered "Fiat lux," "Let there be light." From this expression arose our English word fiat, meaning a command by virtue of which something is created or done without any further effort.

Christian Scientists find that by the affirmation of truth and the denial of error much can be accomplished in the control and modification of their mental conditions and even of outward circumstances. On account of this discovery, sooner or later there is liable to present itself to their thought the suggestion that power inheres in the mere declaration or verbal fiat. Mrs. Eddy settles this question when she says (Science and Health, p. 451), "Students of Christian Science, who start with its letter and think to succeed without the spirit, will either make shipwreck of their faith or be turned sadly awry."

Some Christian Scientists have been taunted by skeptics who declare that they say a thing is so in order to "make it so." This corresponds possibly to one phase of the temptation pictured in the account of Satan's suggestion to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." And it is undoubtedly the error that underlies those counterfeit systems of metaphysics which attempt to cure disease by the exercise of the human will. It is the claim that the forcible declaration of anything wanted can bring it to pass.

Physical health, financial abundance, and various other material conditions seem so obviously good to the unspiritualized human mind that the temptation to use this weapon is at times very specious, and it needs to be clearly discerned and carefully guarded against. While it is true that a mere discernment and mental recognition of the spiritual truth about an erroneous condition is sometimes insufficient to correct it, and a persistent denial of the error and declaration of the truth is needed to bring about the right manifestation, nevertheless the power that makes this demonstration lies not in the declaration, which is only the instrument, but in the truth that is declared and understood. No erroneous declaration, howsoever firmly believed or oft repeated, can have any real power for good. The declaration of truth does not establish it; it merely keeps it before the human thought and attention until mortal mind yields and accepts the truth which has always existed.

For example, the fundamental teaching of Christian Science is the truth that since God, Spirit, is perfect, His image and likeness, the spiritual and only real man, is also perfect. This always has been true and always will be true, but in human experience there often arise appearances that seem to contradict this eternal truth,—perhaps a person contracts a disease which makes his skin look ugly. In such a case merely to declare with any degree of determination that the patient has a beautiful skin will not cure the disease, because the real man has no material body, and the human fiat has no power in itself. But to turn to divine Mind, recognize man's perfection as Mind's reflection, and to declare this truth understandingly, reenforcing this realization, if necessary, with the persistent declaration, mentally or audibly or both, that man is eternally and completely perfect and therefore cannot manifest any imperfection, is bound to destroy the discordant manifestation and restore harmony.

The latter method succeeds where the former fails, because it rests on understanding the power of eternally established Truth, whereas the former is merely an attempt to bring to pass a human wish, which may be entirely contrary to Truth. The latter is the declaration of a perfect, finished creation; the former is an attempt to substitute one erroneous belief for another. Since God is omnipotent, omnipresent good, the understanding of this truth as taught in Christian Science cannot fail to result in the manifestation of abundance, joy, and harmony in place of poverty, sorrow, and discord. It is the divine fiat which has power; the human will is powerless.

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