Through the study of language many remarkable facts have been brought to light by students of philology. A study of the original meaning of words in the Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Slavonic, and Celtic languages, for instance, has disclosed the fact that the broad outlines of the ancient religious beliefs of those races are the same. It has also been perceived that the early concepts of divinity became changed or perverted into semi-divine and half-human heroes until they degenerated into the monstrous tales of mythology. Gradually the original conception of God, however true or lofty it may have been at first, became a mythological legend, eventually fading away, sometimes in the jingle of a nursery rhyme.

If religion is divorced from revelation and placed in the keeping of mortal mind, such may be its fate. An inevitable perversion takes place, This perversion is always likely to occur in the mind of a mortal as long as mortal mind and not the divine Mind is accepted as basic. Mortal mind is a myth and can therefore only contemplate that which is fleeting and fanciful.

The revelation of Christian Science comes to redeem mortals from mortality and its beliefs. Christian Science is not made up of the opinions of mortals, nor is it the theory of any human being. It is the revelation of absolute Truth, which, in response to the world's great need, has come through one pure enough and sufficiently Christlike to receive and declare the revelation. This one is Mary Baker Eddy.

It is in this light that a Christian Scientist studies the revelation of Christian Science as found in the Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy. Adherence to the revelation will make it impossible for any perversion of the truth to take place in the student's thought. "Protect the revelation" is a declaration that should be in the thought of every Christian Scientist who seriously studies and practices the teachings revealed in the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy.

Departure even in a small degree from the original revelation of Christian Science as recorded by its revelator would make the healing work void and cause a degeneration instead of a regeneration in human character. For this reason the student of Christian Science should watch diligently that he think, speak, and write this Science in accordance with Mrs. Eddy's revelation. In "Rudimental Divine Science" she writes (p. 17), "A slight divergence is fatal in Science."

Watchfulness and humility carry with them a rich reward. Loyalty to the revelation of Truth will lift the student progressively and rapidly in his journey Spiritward. He will begin his work with humility and go forward with even greater humility as he witnesses the awe-inspiring results of consecration to the pure, unadulterated truth to be found in the revelation of Christian Science.

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 241), "We should strive to reach the Horeb height where God is revealed; and the cornerstone of all spiritual building is purity." To preserve the purity of the Word in its entirety is to lay the cornerstone of our spiritual building. The Christian Scientist watches faithfully that he hold up the standard of Christ as given by Christ Jesus in Matthew (5:48), "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Perfect God and perfect man is the standard of Christian Science and the basis of its practice. Thus any tendency to mix material means of healing with the spiritual would result in hauling down the standard and capitulating to the enemy. God is a jealous God, that is, a God demanding absolute obedience to His laws.

Again, should the student in his zeal affirm the standard of perfect God and perfect man with invariable exactitude and yet fail to take the regenerative steps necessary in human experience, he would nullify the healing work. Indeed, he would be like one who by simply gazing at the mountaintop assumes he is there, whereas in his heart he knows he has many steps to take before he can reach the summit or, in other words, speak and act as did the great Master at the climax of his earthly pilgrimage.

The relationship of the absolute and relative views is one that demands especial watchfulness. It is scientific to work and pray in the absolute, but it is unwise to assume we have reached the summit merely because we can make a positive and absolute declaration. Our beloved Leader, always so inspired and yet so humble, when speaking even of the final triumph over death, said (Unity of Good, p. 43): "The achievement of this ultimatum of Science, complete triumph over death, requires time and immense spiritual growth. I have by no means spoken of myself, I cannot speak of myself as 'sufficient for these things.'"

Whenever we are in doubt or at the crossroads in our journey from sense to salvation, we shall find a guidepost in our Leader's writings that points to the right road. "Go back to your books and see what Mrs. Eddy says" is better advice from teacher to student or from practitioner to patient than would be a dissertation given in terms of personal opinion.

How much easier it is to be obedient when we know that obedience is natural to man. No one in his spiritual senses can deny or defy God, nor can he depart from his understanding of spiritual existence. The loyal Christian Scientist preserves the revelation of God and man, which is lifting him, and has lifted multitudes before him, into light and liberty. In joyous communion he finds complete satisfaction in Spirit and complete rest in the serenity of Soul.

Robert Ellis Key