It is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles that Jesus, on...
The Christian Science Monitor
It is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles that Jesus, on one occasion, after he had risen above all belief in the power of death, said to those assembled with him: "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." And so, when "they were all with one accord in one place," on the day of Pentecost, "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." Thereafter the disciples dispersed on their great mission, inspired as never before to heal the sick, rescue the sinning, and raise the dead. "The day of Pentecost" has ever since been associated with the gift of the Holy Ghost, which in the early days of the Christian church brought such spiritual illumination to the followers of Christ Jesus.
Right down through history, from that day, earnest men and women who have caught something of the meaning of the teachings of Jesus, have longed and prayed for the coming, in their own experience, of the Holy Ghost. Some of them have received a greater measure of spiritual understanding, but others have seemed to hope and pray in vain. And why? Possibly because, in the first place, they have had erroneous views about the Holy Ghost, and in the second, because of these wrong views they have mistaken the manner of its operation. Even to-day the subject to many is clothed in mystery. The very term, Holy Ghost, has to them something supernatural and mysterious about it. The majority are quite ignorant of its operation, and may even believe that it "descends" in almost fortuitous and material fashion, although they will predicate that "the gift" can only be bestowed on those who love good.
Now there is nothing at all mysterious about the descent of the Holy Ghost. Writing on page 55 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy says: "In the words of St. John: 'He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.' This Comforter I understand to be Divine Science." And again, in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 174), Mrs. Eddy writes: "The leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, is Divine Science; the Comforter; the Holy Ghost that leadeth into all Truth; the 'still, small voice' that breathes His presence and power, casting out error and healing the sick." Thus, divine Science is the Comforter or Holy Ghost. From this it is apparent that in order to experience the spiritually uplifting power associated with the Comforter, a knowledge of Christian Science must be gained; and this knowledge can be obtained from a study of Mrs. Eddy's works.
Before the discovery of Christian Science the relationship existing between God and man was very imperfectly understood. Between God and man there was, in belief, a great gulf fixed. God was supposed by many to dwell in a heaven afar off and separate from His creation; and it was thus only occasionally, and in an inscrutable manner, that men became aware of the presence of God and realized His power. There existed, because of the belief that man is separate from God, an undefined yet formidable barrier between God and humanity, a barrier that seemed at times to be almost, if not altogether, insurmountable and impregnable.
Christian Science comes to do away with all this. No longer is the relationship between God and man mysterious or inscrutable; the seeming barrier has been broken down forever, and man's relationship to God has been established scientifically and on an intelligible basis. Mysticism has had to give place to a rational, spiritual interpretation of being.
What, then, is the starting point? It is the understanding that God is infinite. Christian Science states the truth that there exists one infinite Principle, who is the only cause, presence, and power, and that creation, including individual man, is the expression of divine Principle. In this light there never can be any separation between God and man. Man reflects or expresses God. He is the "express image" of God, or divine Mind; and thus man is conscious of the attributes of perfect intelligence. Hence man, the spiritual real man, is harmonious, perfect, and eternal. As this is perceived, one recognizes the erroneous nature of material sense, and of mortal man. The material sense of man is a lie about spiritual man; and this false sense is overcome through the spiritual understanding of the real or spiritual man.
It will now be becoming evident what the Holy Ghost actually is. The Science of Christianity, or Christian Science, as it reveals Truth, as it makes God known as divine Principle, infinite and eternal, and reveals the unity existing between Principle and its idea, man, is the Comforter which "shall teach you all things." Knowledge takes the place of surmise, the so-called supernatural gives place to the perfectly natural, and God is inseparable from His creation. The Holy Ghost "descends," in a measure, on whoever gains some understanding of Truth. The fuller the understanding of divine Principle, the more does the Comforter abide with men. In Science and Health (p. 271) we read: "Our Master said, 'But the Comforter ... shall teach you all things.' When the Science of Christianity appears, it will lead you into all truth. The Sermon on the Mount is the essence of this Science, and the eternal life, not the death of Jesus, is its outcome." The great thing is to start aright by getting a grasp of the nature of divine Principle. Then progress will be certain, if Principle be adhered to. The Sermon on the Mount has its whole significance in the understanding of divine Principle, in the certainty that Principle is good and that matter or evil is a false belief of the human mind. Interpret the Sermon on the Mount from the standpoint of Principle and it becomes plain. Try to interpret it from the material, human point of view, believing in the reality and power of evil, and its teaching becomes impracticable.
The Comforter, therefore, is in the world to-day as never before. All around, the material senses seek to tell of confusion and strife, of men contending with their fellow men about the things that perish. In the midst of the seeming discord the Comforter remains, the Holy Ghost abides, with those whose understanding has been enlightened though divine Science, to encourage them, to point them ever upward, and to reveal to them the coming of the day when good will be recognized as omnipresent and omnipotent, because Principle is good.
