Independent Christian Science articles

The Birth of Jesus

From the Christian Science Journal, August 1888, by

Matthew the Apostle is called also Levi. (mark ii. 14.) Matthew signifies the Gift of God, which is also the meaning of the similar names Matthias and Mattathiahe First Gospel.s. The Greek name Theodoras, or Theodore, has the same meaning.

Matthew was the son of Alphæus (Mark ii. 14) and was probably a Galilean Jew. His home was at Capernaum. He was a publican, or tax-collector, under the Roman government, and these tax-farmers were usually men of wealth and repute. He was called to be an apostle during the first year of Jesus’ ministry. The last mention of Matthew’s name in the New Testament is in Acts i. 13. His labors were chiefly confined to the Jews in Palestine, for whom he wrote his Gospel.

Matthew has been placed on the list of martyrs, by many writers, but ancient testimony declares his decease not to have been violent. Bible scholars, almost without dispute, believe Matthew to be the author of the Gospel bearing his name. Unanimously the Church joins in declaring this to be the first of the four gospels. It must have been written after the crucifixion, but before the destruction of Jerusalem, not far from the year 50. This Gospel was probably written in Palestine, and presumably at Jerusalem, and is supposed to have been dedicated to the Christian converts in Palestine. Traditions confirm this inference.

The Infant Jesus. Matthew ii. 1-12.

Golden Text: Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins, Matthew i. 21.

Introduction. The birth of Jesus has a twofold significance, spiritual and material. Jesus was the perfect idea of God, reduced to human apprehension, the link between the divine and human.

See Science and Health, nineteenth edition, page 539, for general definition of Jesus; pages 501 and 502, for the Conception and Birth of Jesus; page 5, the Wakeful Shepherds; page 45, Jesus as a Leader; page 46, Jesus’ Spiritual Origin.

Jesus was in Heaven and on earth. His physical personality existed only in the concepts of those who believed in physical phenomena. To himself Jesus was spiritual. He said, “The Father and I are one.” (John x. 30.) Jesus recognized no material origin or birth. He said, “Before Abraham was I am.” (John viii. 58.) Against the physical concept of the world Jesus waged war unceasingly. “My kingdom is not of this world “are words that prove material modes and methods were foreign to Jesus’ thought.

In the lesson under consideration we must seek to bring out the spiritual significance. Study the references given, in Science and Health, and the way will be opened.

Herod means mortal mind, the ruling power, — in belief, having exclusive dominion at the time of the birth of Jesus, or Truth.

The Star in the East is the twinkling, the glimmer, of the new light of Truth, rising above matter, leading to the living Christ. The Wisemen are those who comprehend this heavenly pilot, and turn their faces eastward, where rises the glorious orb of eternal day.

In the appended exegesis only leading thoughts can be suggested, as space is limited. These suggestions must be enlarged by our readers for themselves.

Time. Jesus Christ was born in the Year of the World 4000, and about four years before the date from which we reckon our Christian era; so that he was probably born the last of December, not 1888 years ago, but about 1893 years ago. The mistake was made by a monk who, in the year 526, published the calculations from which we have since counted the years. The visit of the Wisemen was six or eight weeks after the birth of Jesus, or in February.

Place. Bethlehem of Judea; a village five or six miles south of Jerusalem, and east of the road to Hebron.

Rulers. Augustus Cæsar was Emperor of Rome. Herod — called Herod the Great, the first of the seven Herods mentioned in the New Testament — was King of Judea 34 years, under Augustus.

Messianic Expectations. In Jesus’ day men stood on the threshold of a new dispensation. It was the morn of the spiritual resurrection. Behind and beneath was Herod’s domain. In front was the Redeemer of the world, who comes in the winter of mortal thought. Listen to the Angelic Overture which heralds this glorious coming, “Peace on earth, goodwill to man.”

From Tacitus, Suetonius, and Josephus we learn that at this time there prevailed, throughout the entire East, an intense conviction, derived from ancient prophecies, that ere long a powerful monarch would arise in Judæa, and gain dominion over the world.

Virgil, who lived a little before this era, owns that a child from Heaven was looked for, who should restore the Golden Age, and take away sin.

Abbot tell us that Confucius, in China, had prophesied the appearance of such a deliverer; and a deputation of his followers, going forth in search of him, were the means of introducing Buddhism into China.

The clearest of all these prophecies was one by Zoroaster in Persia. The Nestorians say that Zoroaster was a disciple of Jeremiah, through whom he heard of the expected Messiah. As their tradition is remarkably corroborated by Abulphargius, let it be quoted, as found in the Memoir of Mrs. Judith S. Grant:

Zoroaster taught the Persians concerning Christ. He declared that in the latter days a pure Virgin should conceive, and that, as soon as the child was born, a Star would appear, blazing, even at noonday, with undiminished lustre. “You, my sons,” exclaimed the venerable Seer, “will perceive its rising before any other nation. As soon as you see the Star, follow it wheresoever it leads you, and adore the mysterious child, offering your gifts to him with the profoundest humility. He is the Almighty Word which created the heavens.”

This Messianic expectation arose no doubt from the Jews, who had been scattered everywhere, with their Scriptures and their hopes, since the Babylonish captivity. The Prophet Daniel was himself a prince, and chief among these Wisemen. His prophecies were made known to them, and the calculations by which he pointed to the very time when Jesus should be born; for the Book of Daniel was part of the ancient Hebrew literature.

These instances show that the entire East was expecting a Messiah. Jesus’ appearing was the physical manifestation of this thought. He was the Saviour which should be for all people. (Luke ii. 10.)

From astronomical calculations, by the great astronomer, Kepler, we learn that a remarkable conjunction of the planets of our system took place shortly before Jesus’ birth, and that at his advent there appeared a new star in the constellation called the Serpent. The Serpent signifies personal sense, (Science and Health, page 547.)

Jesus was the “bright and morning star,” which blazed through this serpentine illusion, misnamed mortal sense. Jesus was called Immanuel, which signifies God with us. (Matthew i. 23.) Jesus was the highest conception of God cognizant to the senses.

1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold there came Wisemen from the East to Jerusalem.

Bethlehem means House of Bread.

Judæa is a modification of Judah, which signifies “a personal and material belief disappearing, and the spiritual understanding of God and Man appearing.” (Science and Health, page 540.)

At the birth of Truth, to our human consciousness, material beliefs gave place to spiritual understanding.

Jerusalem signifies mortal sense, (Science and Health, page 539.)

The wisemen (Greek magi, or sages) were originally a class of Median and Persian priests, who formed the King’s Privy Council, and studied astrology, and other occult and natural sciences. They are frequently referred to by ancient authors. Herodotus speaks of them as a priestly caste, and interpreters of dreams. The Gospel does not state how many magians there were, but tradition favors the number three, presumably on account of the triple offerings to the young child. From the foregoing historical information it will readily be seen that these Wisemen had reached above the conventional mortal thought, and sought that which was higher. They looked higher than the world; consequently they saw the shining of a higher idea. This they followed, (Science and Health, pages 202-204.)

The concept of these Eastern Magi was still material, but in a higher sense; hence their utterance:

2. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his Star in the East, and are come to worship him.

This inquiry, translated more literally, is: Where is this newborn King of the Jews? The Magi expected, no doubt, to find Jesus in the Capital City, probably in the royal palace; hence their first interview with King Herod. Translating this verse into a still higher sense, it teaches all true followers of the spiritual concept (the perfect idea of God) to constantly hold in thought the sinless model, striving each day to make ourselves like unto him. Truth first appears as a star shining above matter, coming from whence cometh all light, the East.

3. When Herod the King had heard these things he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

The Magi first addressed themselves to the official head of the nation. The tidings spread like wildfire throughout the palace and province of Herod. He was troubled lest he should be dethroned, and divested of his power. His life had been saturated with crime. He was hated by his subjects, and the least excitement, especially the rumor that the Messiah had come, would be likely to inflame the people to a civil insurrection. Herod’s conscience was smitten, and his fears aroused. “All Jerusalem with him” must mean the officials in power. Many dreaded the advent of a Saviour, because of their past wickedness. The coming of Truth is always troublesome to those who desire it not.

“All Jerusalem with him” would show a transfer of mortal thought.

4. And when he had gathered all the Chief Priests and Scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it was written by the Prophet.

Error appeals to error, seeking in mortal sense that which is spiritual. The Chief Priests and the Scribes were the educated religious teachers of the day, — interpreters of the Mosaic Law. They were simply the expounders of the religious writings of national leaders, long since deceased. They depended wholly on past opinions. Indeed, they invariably cited some ancient rabbi as authority. They prided themselves on their study of the Talmud, an immense collection of commentaries on the Old Testament, containing many more pages than the Bible itself. Error always seeks its own methods and ways; hence Herod appealed to the Scribes and Chief Priests for the information he did not himself possess, and which the ecclesiastical teachers of his day knew only by education, and not by demonstration.

Again, as usual, Herod was answered, “for thus it is written.” The answer of the Scribes and Priests was given without any hesitation, as if the birthplace of the Messiah was by divine appointment, and the location already settled.

6. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Bethlehem was the birthplace of David. Jesus was the consummation of David’s thought. Bethlehem was marvelously fertile and beautifully situated, an admirable place for the birth of the King of Kings. Its eminence commanded a wide view in all directions. The altitude of Jesus’ thought commanded a wide view in all directions on earth, yet was one with the Life of the Father in Heaven.

Over this lovely spot (Bethlehem) the guiding-star hovered. Here David watched his flock, and praised God. Here was heard the angelic host, at Jesus’ birth, (Luke ii. 8.) Near by were the three great reservoirs which Solomon built.

These little facts have beautiful spiritual significance, which will be revealed to the earnest seeker. Bethlehem, before the Advent, was an unimportant place; hence the contradictory utterance at the opening of the verse, “Thou art not the least,” &c.

7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the Wisemen, inquired of them diligently what time the Star appeared.

8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Deception. With the pretense of devotion Herod seeks to find the young child, in order to slay him. Error always attempts to destroy, to our consciousness, the sense of Truth, (Psalm lxiv.) Herod really conceived a malicious plot against Jesus. This pretended devotion would impress the people with the belief that he also shared their anticipations, and was ready to offer homage to the child-king.

9. When they had heard the King, they departed: and, lo, the Star which they saw in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

The Wisemen detected the wolf’s fangs beneath the sheep’s clothing which Herod had put on, and they departed from such hypocrisy. Wisdom detected the subtle lie which was concealed beneath the mark of piety. While they listened to Herod (mortal mind) the Star evidently disappeared. When the Wisemen departed from Herod (mortal mind) it reappeared, and held its lead till it stood over the place where the young child lay. If we hearken to error, the Star of Truth leaves us. When we depart from error, the Star once more appears.

10. When they saw the Star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Herod looked at worldly evidence. The Wisemen, after departing from Herod, looked up and beheld their heavenly pilot. They rejoiced, aware of the fact that their journey was fast nearing its end. It increased their joy that the artful King had not prevented their onward search. The suspicions and doubts suggested by Herod had not changed their course. Their sight was still heavenward and they walked in the right way.

11. And when they were come into the house they saw the young child, with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

The journey of the Magi was at an end. They had been far off. Now they were in the presence of the Infant Jesus. Opening their treasures they presented their gifts, according to the ancient Oriental custom when subjects sought an audience with royalty. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were their highest treasures. The highest human concepts are requisite to reach the still higher Truth. The extreme bitterness ascribed to myrrh may show that the bitter experiences of the world are made sweet by the companionship of Jesus. Coming into the presence of Christ, Truth reveals the nothingness of worldly treasures, and we gladly abandon them for the all-power of Christ.

The Wisemen prostrated themselves at Jesus’ feet, conscious of the nothingness of materiality. They had found the Truth. Material treasures had been laid aside for a priceless treasure, Christ. No more would they lean upon gold for support. No longer would frankincense be needed to neutralize the odor of burnt sacrifices; for they saw that sacrifice must be of the heart, and not in outward expression. No longer would myrrh be used to embalm the dead; for they saw that Life was eternal, that man lived because God lived. The Magi would no longer perpetuate the false claim, for the true was forever made manifest.

12. And being warned of God. in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

A realization of Truth warns mankind not to return to error when they have once found the new way, but to follow Truth’s star wherever it leads, depart, from error, and go into “their own country,” their home, which is Paradise, the birthright of Spirit, — the “Father’s house” to which the Prodigal Son returned “when he came to himself.”

The Leaven Of Herod

From the Christian Science Journal, August 1915, by

In the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel we read that the Master charged the disciples to “take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.” Bible students are generally familiar with Jesus’ caution to beware of the doctrines of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, and have a more or less accurate knowledge of the mental and moral characteristics of these sects against which he warned them, but many may not be so conversant with this single reference to the leaven of Herod. The meaning of the word leaven, according to the dictionary, is, “to affect in character; anything that by a pervading influence works a general change; fermentation.” Hence the leaven of Herod was an unseen evil influence which, if taken into thought, would change or adulterate Jesus’ spiritual teaching; and the student of today, if he is to eliminate this leaven from his own character-building, must guard his thought against the influence which made Herod the notable example of his time.

The penetrating and diffusive nature of leaven was used symbolically for good in Jesus’ parable wherein he likened the kingdom of God to the leaven “which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal;” whereas the leaven of Herod was obviously fermentative and destructive in nature, and the dictionary meaning of fermentation is given as “a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in continual motion.” The significance of the term is further enhanced by considering Jesus’ use of the word salt. Salt prevents corruption and decay, and is the antithesis of fermentation and putrefaction. Therefore the meaning of the text, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?” infers an exact coincidence with the Mosaic law which bade the children of Israel use unleavened bread in the religious rites of the temple, thereby rejecting even the symbols of putrefaction and decay.

The first Bible account of Herod, called “the Great,” portrays fear as his state of mind when he heard that the “King of the Jews” was born. We read that he immediately called together the chief priests and the scribes and asked them where, according to prophecy, the Christ should be born. They answered, “In Bethlehem of Judæa.” With assumed helpfulness, which in reality only cloaked deceit and cunning, he then summoned the wise men, sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” But the wise men were awake to the evil purpose to destroy the Christ-idea, and being warned of God and obedient, they did not return to Herod. Joseph likewise, when entrusted with the protection of the infant idea of good, obeyed Truth’s command, “Take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt,… for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” Then Herod’s murderous and revengeful intention was externalized in the order to slay “all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under.” Has there ever been, in all history, an example of more barbarous cruelty than this?

Herod Antipas, successor to Herod the Great, first appears in Biblical narrative when he put away his lawful wife, the daughter of the King of Arabia, and took Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For this John the Baptist rebuked him, saying that it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife. Then, as we read, Herod “laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison.” Mark says, “Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not.” The people loved John; “because they counted him as a prophet,” and even Herod dared not openly put him to death for this reason. Accordingly Herod’s birthday was used as a pretext for a great supper whereby to cover their infamous plot to accomplish John’s destruction.

At the feast, Salome, the daughter of Herodias, “danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him,” and Herod said to her, “Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.” Thereupon Herodias instructed Salome to ask for John the Baptist’s head. Herod pretended great reluctance to have John beheaded, but assuming an honorable position in fulfilling his wicked oath because of “them which sat with him [public opinion]… he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.” After getting rid of John, whose fearless stand for righteousness troubled him, Herod began to hear that Jesus was preaching and healing everywhere. Superstitious fear took hold of him, and he declared, “It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.” He even hoped to see some miracle done by him.

We then read that Herod’s political followers, known as Herodians, plotted, and sought to catch something that Jesus had said, hoping that thereby they might accuse him, and even the Pharisees came to him saying, “Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.” Jesus’ reply shows clearly that he was not misled by the apparent friendliness of Herod’s wish to see “some miracle done by him.” He understood Herod’s deadly malice and sly cunning, instigated by fear of a rival to his crown. Mortal mind, the real culprit, was plotting in secret, and was using the agency of politics. Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees makes this plain. “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected… for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” In calling Herod a fox, Jesus rightly characterized one who degraded himself by playing the part of a base intriguer. Some one has said of him: “Not daring to show the teeth of the lion, he uses the tricks of the fox.”

The Sanhedrin was the supreme judicial council of the Jews. It had the ecclesiastical authority to pronounce sentence of death, but could not execute the prisoner. According to Roman law, every death sentence had to be referred to the Roman governor, who had the power to pardon as well as to execute. Pontius Pilate was at this time the governor. He was a professional office-holder, already in bad repute with the Jews because of unjust decisions. He was morally weak and politically ambitious, and these qualities made him a fitting tool in the hands of unscrupulous Herod. After Pilate questioned Jesus, he said to the chief priests and to the people, “I find no fault in this man,” and was quite willing to pardon him, provided he could do so without incurring further disfavor with the Jews. In an attempt to evade the political dilemma in which his position involved him, Pilate resorted to a shrewd legal technicality.

Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and Jesus was known as a Galilean, hence Herod should be the judge; plainly the case “belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction,” and by referring the case to him, Pilate would escape the obloquy of sentencing a man in whom he had found no fault. Moreover, he would please every one concerned, for the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests were all insistent in their demand that he should sentence Jesus. The excitable populace had been inflamed against the latter through their religious and political passions and were clamorous for his death. As if to further Pilate’s scheme, the tetrarch was in Jerusalem; it was a propitious circumstance, and Jesus was sent to him.

The narrative goes on to say that “when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad,” for he had for a long time been desirous to see him, and he questioned Jesus in many words. But Jesus discerned the deceit behind which Herod cloaked his evil purpose, and answered him nothing, whereupon “the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.” Then was presented the oft-repeated spectacle in the tragedy of human nature, where political animosities are forgotten and a man’s individual sense of right is sacrificed in order that he may unite with other schemers in some purpose of mutual self-interest. The Bible record goes on to say, “And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.”

Herod having artfully escaped responsibility, Pilate had to resort to another expedient. He must needs bring about fermentation in public opinion and excuse his act of injustice behind the cloak of public clamor. He therefore called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and stimulated them to madness through apparent opposition to their demands; and when “they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified,” and he saw that “a tumult was made,” he thereupon “took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person : see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”

There is a very definite lesson to be learned from this example of a whole populace being caught in the contagious maelstrom of purposeful human hate, and made to assume responsibility for an infamous crime designedly forced upon it by evil mental and political action. On page 114 of “Miscellaneous Writings,” our wise Leader, Mrs. Eddy, sounds this note of warning: “Christian Scientists cannot watch too sedulously, or bar their doors too closely, or pray to God too fervently, for deliverance from the claims of evil. Thus doing, Scientists will silence evil suggestions, uncover their methods, and stop their hidden influence upon the lives of mortals.” In this exposition of the character of Herod Antipas, murderous cruelty, political craftiness, dishonesty, deceit, and intrigue all combined in an effort to accomplish the destruction of Truth’s human representative, cloaking its deadly purpose under the demand of “public opinion” after having fomented public opinion by playing upon the most violent mortal passions.

To the Herodian characteristics of his predecessors, Herod Agrippa added the leaven of vanity, and love of popularity along social as well as political lines. We are told that he “stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James… with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded … to take Peter also.” But Peter escaped from prison, and Herod ordered his keepers to be put to death. Then “upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration,” and the people said, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.”Self-deification quickly brought its own punishment, however, for the narrative goes on to say that “the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”

It is thus clear that the “leaven of Herod” stands for the fermenting subtleties of the wicked carnal mind, —its pomps and vanities, its love of place and power, its plotting intrigue and crafty malice, its love of social preferment and political might, its deadly cruelty and destructiveness. Jesus could not have stated more tersely to his followers their need to “take heed and beware” of its pervading influence, which would change and destroy his teaching and prevent the demonstration of Christian healing. Yet there is no cause to fear it, for while pointing out its subtle poison, he also gave us the antidote for it, which is to be found in the leaven of Truth “hid in three measures of meal,” or, as we read on page 118 of Science and Health, “three modes of mortal thought,” namely, “Science, Theology, and Medicine.” Here Mrs. Eddy tells us that “this leaven of Truth is ever at work. It must destroy the entire mass of error, and so be eternally glorified in man’s spiritual freedom.”

Jesus said, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” and in proportion as Herodian propensities are overcome in individual consciousness, “those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection” (Science and Health, p. 97). It is an interesting fact that, according to a certain writer, “within one hundred years of the reign of the first Herod, not a member of the Herodian family was left to curse the earth.” Thus error destroys itself, and upon its destruction follows closely the demonstration of the truth. In the Bible verse immediately succeeding the recital of Herod Agrippa’s death, we are told that “the word of God grew and multiplied.”

Let Christian Scientists, then, be strong in moral courage to do the right as they understand what is right. Let them go forth to face all the problems of human experience with love for God and man, seizing every opportunity to correct sin through a clear understanding of Truth. Let the “still small voice” be heard above the storm, and peace will reign, for the leaven of Herod shall have been deprived of its unreal power to harm. “There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.”

Bible History, discovery of a Bible fragment

From the Christian Science Sentinel, January 11, 1908,

What is believed to be a new saying of Christ, lost to the world for thirteen centuries and found recently in Egypt, has just been made public for the first time by Prof. Henry A. Sanders of the University of Michigan, in an address to the members of the Archeological Institute at the University of Chicago. The fragment is part of an old Bible, dating back to before the Moslem conquest of Egypt in the seventh century. The fragment belongs in the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, and follows the fourteenth verse. It relates to the story of Christ’s appearance, following his death, to eleven of his apostles, who were gathered together in a room in Jerusalem. Its harmony with the context is regarded as perfect, coming in to soften an abrupt transition from criticism to fervent exhortation.

In the present text the Bible reads thus (Mark, 16:14): “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” The new verse, which is designated as 14A, reads: “And they answered, saying that this age of unrighteousness and unbelief is under the power of Satan, who does not permit the things which are made impure by the [evil] spirits to comprehend the truth of God [and] his power. For this reason, Reveal thou righteousness now, they said to Christ, and Christ said unto them: The limit of the years of the power of Satan has been fulfilled, but other terrible things are at hand and I was delivered unto death on behalf of those who sinned in order that they may return to the truth and sin no more, to the end that they may inherit the spiritual, indestructible glory of righteousness [which] is in heaven.” Mark, 16:15, goes on: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

In discussing the new verse Professor Sanders said: “This newly discovered paragraph was known to St. Jerome, and the first few lines of it are cited in Latin translation. It has long been claimed that Mark, 16 : 8—20, was a later addition to the Gospel, thought to have been borrowed from some other unknown Gospel near the end of the second century. This new manuscript probably presents the original form of that part of the lost Gospel Which, mutilated, was added to Mark. The reason for the omission is quite apparent, as the new verse contained the statement that the destruction of sin in the world is near at hand. This idea is found in the Epistles of Peter and Paul, but the four Gospels do not have it and it is avoided by the later church writers.

The newly found Bible also contains what is known as the liturgical ending of the Lord’s Prayer, reading. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” The section of the manuscript containing the saying of Christ was reproduced in the original Greek, on a stereopticon slide, and read to the audience first in Greek and then in English by the professor, who related a part of the history of its discovery. The text was found, he said, by Charles L. Freer, a Detroit man. who was traveling in Egypt in search of additions to his art collections. At the time Mr. Freer secured the manuscript the British Museum was after it, and offers also were in from other persons. Both before and after purchase the text was examined by Greek scholars of note, who pronounced it undoubtedly authentic. The text as a whole consists of four parts, to be known to the world henceforth as Manuscripts I., III., and IV.

“Manuscript I. contains Deuteronomy and Joshua,” said Professor Sanders. “Genesis to Numbers, which it once contained, are missing. It is next to the oldest of the four manuscripts and presents an exceptionally accurate text of this portion of the Septuagint. Manuscript II. contains the Psalms. It is the oldest manuscript of the four and is badly decayed. Manuscript III. contains the four Gospels entire. It was probably written in the fifth or sixth century and contains many interesting variant readings. Manuscript IV. is only a decayed fragment. It once contained Acts and the Epistles, but not Revelation. It is an older and better manuscript than the four Gospels and its readings will be of great value to the text wherever they can be deciphered. In conjunction with Mr. Freer’s art collection the manuscripts have been examined by Government experts, who pronounce them genuine.”

Habits, And Their Cure

From the Christian Science Sentinel, May 1887, by

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter xiv., will be found the cure for all forms of habit: “And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”

Let us reason together, and see in what way this verse will dissolve the slavery and loose the chains of oppression, which, with a seeming Pharaoh-power, have held us in bondage, until we find ourselves in the midst of a sea of error, tossed by the angry waves of appetite, until we long for a Moses to emancipate us from our sinking condition, and honestly desire to separate from the husky vanities of this world. When we have, like the Prodigal Son, “come to ourselves,” and can say, “I will arise and go to my Father,” then we have come to the first step in our lesson. It is the fourth watch, the morning watch, the dawning of the Truth, the breaking-through of the Light, after the long, dark night of error.

It is here that the full meaning of the verse dawns upon us, and we see with a clearer vision the lesson our Master taught us by walking on the sea. What a lesson is here! so grand, so simple, so true, so full of hope to the wanderer, when he has seen the Star in the East, and has departed from King Herod, and will let it lead him on (as it did the Wise Men), higher, higher up in the ascending firmament of Truth, multiplying his pure thoughts, as Life and Love give birth to nobler aims, until Truth has lifted him up above, and he has forever put under foot whatever would drag him down and engulf him in its angry vortex of sin and bondage. This is the lesson our Master teaches us by walking on the sea, and how vividly he shows us that dominion is man’s birthright, and not subjection.

The great secret of success, in triumphing over habits of all kinds, is to understand their nothingness; in that way we show our superiority over them. If the temperance people of today would all work on this line, it would terminate in better results than by addressing alcohol as King Alcohol, forever telling what a power he is, and what a terrible grip he has in our land. Once come to the understanding that he has no power, and like Goliath, he is easily overthrown. St. John tells us, that “God created all that was made, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” In Genesis we find that all of God’s creations were pronounced good. Now the writer of this article fails to see the good in intoxicating liquor, and consequently feels justified in here denying that God was the author of it. The Bible tells us, “the same fountain cannot send forth both sweet and bitter water,” that we cannot “gather figs from thorns.” So God cannot be the author of both good and evil; for “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Now, how vividly comes to us the fact of sin’s nothingness, and it should be treated as such. Go forth to meet it with the sling of Christian Science. With a well-directed missile of Truth your giant (?) is laid low, and overthrown forever. Go through the whole category of habits, and destroy them all.

The voice of Truth is calling you today, as it did Lazarus more than eighteen-hundred years ago, to come forth. Jesus said: “Loose him, and let him go.” Come out of your grave, roll away the stone from your narrow sepulchre, strip off the error that bound you hand and foot, and put on the seamless garment of Truth. You have worn, long enough, the material fig-leaf covering, and you are no better satisfied with it now than were the Adam and Eve of old; for the same answer will come back today, to the question “Where art thou?” as then,—”I was afraid, and I hid myself.” Rather say with Paul: “Neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God.” Let us then put on the seamless garment, and look ever to the light, and not let the world and its influence eclipse the Light of Truth. Let us choose the straight and narrow way that leads to everlasting life, where we shall join in the songs of the blessed.

When we’ve been there ten-thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,
Than when we first begun.

Individual Effort

From the Christian Science Journal, September 1888, by

Individual Effort is a theme to which overmuch study cannot be given.

The Goliaths of the present day must be met and conquered, as the lad David met and conquered the Philistine giant, centuries ago.

Individual effort alone can accomplish this result. There is no middle ground. We must look to ourselves, and improve the talents we now possess.

We must secure an ever-present consciousness of advancement. Excelsior should be the motto of every Christian Scientist. Higher and higher into the realm of eternal sunshine we must rise, day by day, hour by hour.

Christian Scientists reflect the only true and spiritual light. The keys of Heaven are given to us, which open the pearly gates into the celestial kingdom. Let each ask of himself: Am I bringing out, in my daily life, the requirements of Christian Science? Am I proving to the world that Christian Science is both Christian and Scientific.

Christian Scientists have been baptized with the Holy Ghost, and have subscribed to tenets which, if lived up to, would prove to the world that Christian Science is the Pearl of Great Price. We must surpass the spirit of Christianity expressed in the churches, or our teachings are vain. We love our cause, and harmony should ever reign supreme.

Let us unite our efforts, and stand a solid phalanx in love for our cause, and for its great Expounder. Our Teacher loves us all. What have her wayward children cost her? We do not understand her. We cannot comprehend her. We cannot, with our puny understanding, grasp the magnitude of her thoughts, motives, and acts. We know not “what manner of spirit we are of.” We do not even know what is best for ourselves. Her rebukes are but the expression of the love she feels for us.

Christian Science does not praise goodness. Goodness is ours by right, by inheritance from our blessed Father. No! Christian Science does not praise goodness; but it rebukes error, for error hides from us the sense of Truth. “Whomsoever He loveth, He chasteneth.” Our Pastor and Teacher is “all things to all men.” She is just what we make her. Our own mental conceptions endow others with their physical personality. Consequently, the evils entertained we express, and believe them sins. Evil is the subjective condition of our mind, until we conquer it in ourselves. Then are we able to discern evil outside of self, and it disappears. “To the pure, all things are pure.”

Every nail driven into the hands and feet of Jesus represented a lie. These were furnished by his enemies. Jesus did not supply one of these lies. The human malice, with which his persecutors drove the nails through our Master’s hands and feet, was furnished by themselves. They held the nails and drove them through his body, transfixing him to the cross. The cross was the hatred of the world. Jesus furnished none of the implements for his crucifixion. The deductions from this illustration are so apparent as to need no further elucidation. Let us heed the obvious lesson.

“Have ye any meat?” the Master asked his wayward and wandering disciples, who had returned to their old vocation immediately after his crucifixion? They answered him, No! Solemn words! Without their guiding Master, the disciples were as sheep having no shepherd. They had wandered from the fold. They slept when they should have watched; and their Master vanished from their sight. Back into the maze of worldliness they drifted, having no Saviour, no guide, — having no meat. Only through hunger did the disciples realize their error. This brought to their ears the glorious response, “Cast your nets on the right side, and ye shall find.” A glorious hope, indeed! They had been casting their nets on the side of error. They had been accepting the evidence of the senses, the testimony of matter, against which Wisdom had warned mankind of old, in the garden of Eden. In this condition they had caught nothing. They had no meat.

How many are taking the testimony of matter, which talks only of itself and to itself? Can we depend upon this sense? Surely, not. Then why heed it? Let us cast our nets on the right side, and we shall find light and Spirit. Nothing should ever separate us from the Principle of Christian Science; and if we understand this, we are forever one with its Founder. We shall surely come to grief, if we are separated from its Principle or Idea. The Bible abounds with illustrations proving this fact, a few of which are here cited.

A vineyard had been let out to husbandmen, the owner departing into a far country. As the harvest drew near, he sent servants to receive the fruits thereof. The messengers were maltreated and stoned. Again the householder sent other servants, who met with the same treatment. At last he sent his son, his heir, expecting the husbandmen would surely reverence him; but, when they saw him, because he had a clear title they were infuriated, and said: “This is the heir! Come! Let us kill him, and seize on his inheritance.” And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard; and slew him. What was the result? The inheritance, which might have been theirs through joint heirship with Christ, was taken from them, and given to others.

Adam was dissatisfied. He separated himself from God, and hid himself in materiality, error. Did he better himself? What did the earth bring forth to him? Henceforth, nothing but thorns and thistles. God should have been his leader; but Adam hearkened to the Tempter, and he fell.

The Prodigal Son became dissatisfied with his ruler, and separated himself from his father’s house, where there was abundance and to spare. He departed into a far country, and took a menial position, where he found nothing but swine and husks. After being bound to the rulers of that far country, and compelled to submit to their demands, he came to himself, and said, “I will return to my father’s house.”

Can we not gather some wheat from these illustrations? Can we not find some ray of light which will illumine the prison of our thought, — some words which serve as a ladder of escape? Adam and the Prodigal both forsook their rightful rulers, and they both came to grief. Through thistles and thorns Adam had to find his way back to the God from whom he willfully parted. From swine and husks the Prodigal had to lift himself into the realization that his father’s house was his home. Truth, though hated and hindered by error, though “crushed to earth, will rise again.”

God knew Adam’s needs. God knew what was best for him. He knew more of Life, more of Truth, more of Love, than did the Serpent unto whom Adam hearkened; yet Adam preferred the Serpent’s advice, and went the way of error.

The father knew the Prodigal Son was safer and better cared for at home; yet the Prodigal was not satisfied, and, through famine and suffering, was compelled to learn to appreciate the worth of his home.

The great Expounder of the marvelous truths of God, which we know must be given to mankind through inspiration, knows more of God, and walks more with Him, than we can at the present time comprehend. A sudden light first brings pain and darkness to the eyes unaccustomed to it.

A perfect guide cannot lose his way. The traveler who is unfamiliar with the road is safer in the hands of a leader than when trusting his own resources. Have we not pursued the wrong way long enough? Let us thank God we have a guide.

From whom did we first learn the true Way? From whom emanated the first ray of Divine Science which shone upon us? Who has pointed out to us the demonstrable certainty of Eternal Life? Who has taught us how to subjugate the senses, subdue sickness, sin, and death? How many of us have been lifted from beds of suffering, — emancipated, after years of mental and physical torture? How many of us, who were looking into earth-cold sepulchres for Truth, have heard the angel’s voice, “He is not here, he is risen?” Whose was the voice that spoke? Who rolled away the stone from the sepulchre, where, to mortal sense, lay buried all our hopes? Do we doubt the teachings of Christian Science? If not, then to doubt the Teacher is to lose sight of the teachings. We gather not grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. “The same fountain sendeth not forth both sweet and bitter water.”

To whom are we indebted for our sense of Life, — in Christ, Truth, and Love? Did we gain our present consciousness of Divine Science from our former creeds, doctrines, ecclesiastical teachers? Did it not come to us, whole and undivided, through one, and one only? We can neither truly appreciate nor understand the import of Science and Health, while misconstruing the mentality that sent it forth.

Can we understand the light, and shut our eyes to its source? Could the disciples have accepted the Christ, while they turned from Jesus? No, never! for Jesus was the concept of the Christ furnished by the senses. Jesus was a saint to some, a sinner to others. He was “all things to all men.” The people saw in him the embodiment of their own thoughts; and this idea was right or wrong, according to the different types of personal thought which gave rise to it. Hence the awful position of those who misguide the people as to one of God’s little ones.

Let us consider well every Scientific statement, and not turn from demonstrable rules, but deeply ponder the consequences of variation. I could not have received these ideas from evil; for evil does not lead men to ideas which carry Truth’s conviction with them. They must be God-given. Let us think deeply on this point. Am I reading in another my own condition of thought?

If God recognizes evil, must He not have an evil heart? Surely, you all believe this. Then pause and reason with yourselves. Remember that the pillar of cloud was darkness to the Egyptians, but light to the children of Israel. Let us see only the light. In answer to the question, “Shall we uproot the tares the enemy has sown during our slumber?” Jesus said, “Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” Wonderful counsel!

According to mortal sense, we exist in each other’s consciousness. Therefore, if we attempt to uproot error in another, on this basis of error, we are destroying our own sense of Truth. Jesus saw more sin, and uncovered it, than any other man on the globe; but he did not recognize it as real, but as the unreality of existence. The more we know of evil, while we are in evil, the better our prospect for getting out of it. The issue of the day is Satan’s attempt to separate us from our true guide, and from the Cause of Christ. We must see this intent in order to destroy it. Can we not do so?

Our work must be done at home. Individual effort only can accomplish it. The beam is invariably in our own eye. Remove this, and we find but a mote in our brother’s eye. Let us agree with our adversary quickly, lest we be cast into prison; for verily we shall there remain until we pay the utmost farthing.

Let us “try the spirits, and see whether they be” good or evil. Jesus says, “If we walk in the light we stumble not.” Christ, Truth, is the light. Jesus is the Way. Truth is the passport. Love is the countersign. The Bible and Science and Health are the guides. And the authors of both books are our true leaders.

Let us not forget the Stranger within our gates. Let us welcome the heavenly message with outstretched arms. Let us thank God that this Stranger opens the gates of our consciousness, and even now stands within the enclosure. Let us approach with love, and not with abuse, to whatever has lifted up the gates that “the King of Glory may come in.” “Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.”

Who but the Stranger has ransomed us from sickness, sin, and death? Who has held out to us the finger of Love, that we might grasp it, lest our tottering infant limbs weaken beneath the mighty load? Who has given us birth, nursed and cherished us from helpless infancy, even to the present hour, teaching us line upon line, precept upon precept? Who has stood like the guardian angel, with a hand upon our heads, beckoning, cheering, entreating, and ever pointing upward? Whose sense of love has time and again silenced the utterance of hate? Whose tears of pity have washed the feet of mankind, cleansing them from worldly contagion? Who has come, a light into this world, that whosoever believeth in Truth shall not abide in darkness? Who has done all this for you and for me, but this Stranger within our gates?

We can not extinguish this light. All we can possibly do is to deprive ourselves of it. Shall we then extinguish our only sense of the true light? Shall we strike like madman, to break the lens that enlarges our senses of Truth and Love?

We need to watch and be sober. The issues of the hour challenge us to greater activity, to increased vigilance, to higher Christianity. Greed rather than sacrifice, — hate, envy and spite, brute courage, Animal Magnetism, are fiercely fighting with weapons of lies; and the smooth tongued Absalom usurps his Father’s throne. Divine peace covers the nest with soft feathers. None can steal away its treasures. The gratitude and love of millions fall upon the parent bird as the dews of Hermon.

It was the united effort of the children of Israel, the one simultaneous shout, which overthrew Jericho’s walls. We must all be of one mind, of one thought. This can only be accomplished by individual effort. Let us begin right, and all will end right. Take care of the fount, and the streams will take care of themselves.

Christian Scientists must watch and pray continually. They must protect their sense of Truth, even as the Hebrew mother protected Moses from the tyranny of a despotic Pharaoh. As long as we exist in material belief, quietness and peace afford no certain pledge of continuance or security. Trees and shrubs may flourish, and sweet flowers bloom upon the silent mountain, while noiselessly the little raindrops follow each other down the treacherous sides, broadening rills and streamlets into gullies, and gullies into torrents, tilling deep caverns, undermining barriers heretofore impregnable, until in an instant the towering trees whose tips stretched upwards toward heaven, and the fragrant flowers which smiled at the bright sunshine, are hurled in wild disorder into the valley of destruction.

Let us watch and destroy the subtle errors which silently undermine our consciousness. A man always finds what he earnestly seeks. Let us then look only for good. Let us seek only for pearls, and they will increase in size until at last we find there is but one pearl, and that one the priceless jewel of universal Love. Pearls in the premise will ensure pearls in the conclusion. They shall be glad who favor a righteous cause, and say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified.” Let us sing with Longfellow:

Trust no future, howe’er pleasant,
Let the dead past bury its dead;
Act, act, in the living present,
Heart within and God o’er head.

To be dependent on others for sympathy and comfort makes you weak. To be self-dependent makes you weaker still; for that fails you in the day of your greatest need. To become independent is a dream of your pride; for no such thing is possible. To become dependent on God makes you strong.

The Vision of St. John

From the Christian Science Journal, September 1910, by

NEAR the close of the first century of the Christian era, or, about sixty years after the great Teacher had passed from the view of men, the beloved disciple of Jesus was exiled to the island of Patmos in the Ægean sea, by Domitian, the Roman Emperor; and it was during this exile that John was vouchsafed the wonderful vision of the Apocalypse. The loving disciple who had leaned on the breast of his great Master had come close to the real inspiration of Truth under his intimate tutelage. He had visited Rome and other cities, had suffered much persecution and hardship for the sake of Christianity, and was finally brought to confinement on a point of the earth’s surface so narrowly circumscribed that it could be said that materiality had indeed very largely faded from his consciousness. And yet the varied experiences of the Revelator and his temporary place of asylum all combined to render his consciousness fully prepared for the great work of receiving and transcribing the facts recorded in his book of Revelation.

Patmos was a rocky and barren island in the Ægean archipelago, lying between Greece and Asia Minor. It was only about fifteen miles in circumference, and because of its very desolate aspect was considered to lie well adapted to the purpose of a prison to which political and other offenders against Rome could be banished. John’s exile to this place seemed to be a very harsh expedient; but really it became for him a retreat of quietude and safety. That which sometimes seems to our blindfolded eyes to be injustice, may, by reversal of the material sense, be seen to be a means of progress which is related to issues of great importance and benefit to many people.

Thus the gentle disciple-prophet was in the right place to fulfil that duty which became his inheritance for the good of the human race. There was little in nature or in art to charm the senses and beguile the seer from the tasks connected with his transcendental vision, and his spiritual perception reached far above matter or material sense. The human senses of this prophet of reality were confined to such meager limitations that his enlightened consciousness of Truth could look into the ever-present heavens and perceive their spiritual glories.

After several years of close association with Jesus, and after many years of constant meditation, evangelical work, and demonstration of the truth in healing both sin and sickness as his Master had taught him, the once impetuous disciple had become sufficiently spiritualized to perceive the deathless realities of Life and Love. Of all the followers of Jesus, he was best fitted to understand and declare the ultimate of all human prophecy. But centuries must intervene before John’s vision could become clear to human consciousness, for his record of the experience on Patmos was destined to be one of the world’s storm-centers of intellectual debate and carnal opposition.

During the third century, when the authenticity and value of the book of Revelation were brought into question, Dionysius of Alexandria declared that the book was not written by the apostle, but by John the presbyter; yet the philosopher nevertheless believed it to be a work of’ divine inspiration. Said he: “For my part, I dare not reject the book, since many of the brethren have it in high esteem; but allowing it to be above my understanding. I “suppose it to contain throughout some latent and wonderful meaning; for though I do not understand it, I suspect there must be some profound sense in the words. … I esteem them too sublime to be comprehended.” This was a just estimate from an intellectual standpoint, and it illustrates the inability of the human mind, unillumined by Truth, to fathom the latent spiritual significance of John’s book. This respectful attitude has been characteristic of thousands, down through the seventeen centuries which followed, who have been the means of preserving the letter of John’s record against the hostile attacks of those who were ignorant of the divine message enfolded therein. But few indeed have caught more than a transitory glimpse, now and then, of the beauty and grandeur of its thought.

The controversies which waged in the earlier centuries of the Christian era in regard to the authorship and authority of the book of Revelation did not weaken or destroy its substantial idealism. It was founded on the rock, and its structure was builded after a pattern that resisted all the shocks of human opinion and opposition. Those who opposed the canonical authority of John’s Revelation were especially active in their efforts to expurgate this book from the Holy Scriptures during the period known as the Reformation. Luther himself objected to its use, and often opposed the idea that the Apocalypse was inspired. The book seemingly presented nothing to his thought which was spiritually valuable. He declared that there were “various and abundant reasons” why he should regard the book as “neither apostolical nor prophetic.” His main reason for objecting to the Revelation was because the apostles did not make use of visions, but confined their writings to “clear and plain language.” Luther thought it was only “becoming the apostolic office to speak plainly, and without figure or vision respecting Christ and his acts.” Luther also thought that John arrogated much to himself in obeying the injunction of the heavenly voice, by appending a threat against any man who might take from any of the statements of the book. Luther thought this made the Revelation more important than the Gospels,—an idea to which he could not be reconciled. “Besides,” he wrote, “even if it were a blessed thing to believe what it contains, no man knows what that is.”

Down through the centuries since Luther’s time, this latter declaration has been accepted by many students of scholastic theology; and until recent years the spiritual import of the Apocalypse has been obscured because no writer came forward to interpret it in a way which would make the substance of John’s vision available for the solution of human problems. Many attempts have been made to bring out the real meaning of John’s final message to humanity, in commentaries which appeal mostly to the intellect, and therefore afford but very meager glimpses into the true meaning of his wonderful record. It is said that there are today over three hundred different works by various authors which aim to explain and clarify the language of the Apocalypse.

Christian Scientists, as a body, aver that until they had read and studied the meaning of John’s vision as presented in the chapter “The Apocalypse” in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mrs. Eddy, they had no understanding of it which could be considered as truly helpful. Until the light of truth presented in this inspired work dispelled the darkness of mere intellectual belief, the Revelation was indeed a sealed book to them; it was especially mysterious because of the figures of speech employed by the Revelator to record the conditions of thought which floated across his spiritual vision as he looked away from all that was typified by the waste of waters which surrounded him.

Today, however, the students of the Bible and of Science and Health, including many clergymen,—graduates of divinity schools of this and other countries,—unite in declaring that to them the Revelation is no longer a mysterious record of a transcendental vision beyond the understanding of man. Through Mrs. Eddy’s wonderful insight into the realm of true metaphysics, and her ability to reduce her understanding to terms which all may comprehend, students of Christian Science are daily gaining an understanding of the spiritual nature of John’s vision which satisfies both the head and the heart. The higher views secured through the study of our text-book and the demonstration of the Principle therein revealed, are rich in encouragement and fruition. In place of the dim uncertainties and distracting speculations of former experiences, Bible students now find that John’s vision is, in the light of Science, a constant incentive to strive after higher ideals of Christian living. Thus clarified, this wonderful vision is an encouragement to overcome the illegal demands of the old selfhood, by possessing that Mind which was the life-motive of Christ Jesus, and which was so liberally manifested through his favorite disciple.

In this glorious light it is seen that the divine purpose of the vision of the lone prisoner of Patmos is to promote the salvation of all mankind, that its true animus is to encourage and bless the sons and daughters of men. through spiritual understanding, as the first chapter of the book declares: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear [understand] the words of this prophecy.” The earnest students of Christian Science actually experience the fruition of the promise found in that wonderful twenty-second chapter, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.” They learn that this divinely conferred right comes through consecration, humility, obedience, self-correction, and demonstration in healing sin and sickness here and now. To “enter in through the gates into the city” is not a transition to be hoped for in a dim and distant hereafter, but a transformation of consciousness here below, and all who study the Revelation of John through the lens of Christian Science, find that the entire writings of the great disciple are a wonderful help in working out their individual problems, “here a little, and there a little,” as spiritual sense unfolds.

Progress in the study of the Scriptures offers nothing to the student of Christian Science which is more gratifying and helpful than this wonderful illumination of the real spiritual nature of the apocalyptic vision. The Bible student of today who finds himself narrowly circumscribed on a Patmos of human experience, surrounded by a restless sea of adverse material conditions, finds ample encouragement in John’s experience. Christian Science so clearly illumines the meaning of this vision that self-commiseration, pride of life and rebellion against what seems to be human authority fade away as the student looks into the heaven of reality always near at hand. He even becomes joyfully grateful for “the afflictions of the gospel.” through which he secures a foretaste of the goodness and glory of the divine Principle of John’s vision,—infinite Love, “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

The Twenty-Third Psalm

From the Christian Science Journal, December 1898, by

What a sweet assurance of the Father’s loving care is given us in the Twenty-third Psalm. As we read, a sense of calm trustfulness comes in to take the place of doubt and anxiety, and it dawns upon us that our Father is not a harsh, frowning task-master, but a patient, gentle Shepherd, who slumbers not; a Shepherd who will safely guard and tenderly guide each one of His flock. He lovingly tells us that He knows His sheep and that there shall be one fold.

Our beloved Leader, in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” page 569, gives us the key which unlocks the treasures of Truth in this message. “Love” is this key. Thinking of Love changes the mental attitude. We rise above material surroundings where all that is real seems enshrouded in the mists of error. As we ascend toward the purer atmosphere, clouds disperse and the Love-light dawns.

“The Lord is my shepherd,” and our Lord is divine Love. Just that change of thought brings us closer to our Father. It suggests the tenderness of the tie between God and His children, and we grasp the inspiring thought, that in our despair and weakness and discouragement we may cry to our Shepherd, ever-present Love, and He will hear us and mightily help us. There is no place where His voice is not heard. He says that He is the good Shepherd and a good Shepherd is always ready to take the weak lambs in his arms and does not suffer any to stray.

The sheep know the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him. If we are the sheep of Love’s pasture we shall listen for the voice. The innocent and pure in heart hear the voice of the Shepherd first. Then shall not we try to be innocent, and pure, and meek?

“I shall not want.” How can we lack if we realize that all causation is Mind; that divine Love is the source of all good. If we know the source of all supply to be God, Good, we shall not believe that there is any other source. No temporal need will go unsatisfied when we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, but we shall lose consciousness of the false temporal wants as we realize more of Love, and shall feel confident of being abundantly supplied with all that our true being needs.

The basis of poverty is a lack of the consciousness of Love’s presence. If we feel the presence of divine Love we reflect love to all who come in touch with us. Our affection dissolves indifference and prejudice. Those who took no notice of us before are drawn to us and will seek opportunities for helping us. By understanding more of Love and manifesting it, we shall not want.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters” (Common Version).

“On pastures growing green He lets me lie down, to waters of repose He leads me” (Polychrome Ed).

The good Shepherd would not let His sheep lie down except in a secure place where they need not be in fear of the wolves. There in the pleasant pasture, secure from invasion, the gentle flock may browse and drink of the waters and lie down in the shade of the trees. The rippling brook as it flows on its joyous way makes music that soothes the innocent lambs to tranquil slumber. What a scattering there would be if the wolves should come down on the unsuspecting fold! But there is nothing to fear, the Shepherd is watching, no harm can come nigh.

Our Shepherd, Love, maketh us to lie down under the shadow of His presence. He maketh us to know that there is nowhere any power that can harm us. Truth in Christian Science leadeth us into a higher, purer condition of thought. We are bathed in the peaceful waters of divine Love and purified. We learn the nothingness of error, and that there is no reality in sickness, no evil power.

“He restoreth my soul.”

We find in our text-book, that the word Soul used in this connection means “spiritual sense.” Spiritual sense is the understanding of God, Good, the realization of harmony, health, and holiness. Error has seemed to dull man’s perception, just as smoked glasses held before the eyes make all objects appear indistinct and blurred to mortal sense. To restore the normal perception in the one case, it is only necessary to remove the smoked glasses. Perception was not lost, but veiled. So with the spiritual sense or perception. A false belief in the reality of material things and of sin, sickness, and death, has beclouded the vision.

When we declare the Truth and cast aside the illusive spectacles of material sense, then the light of Truth reveals the eternal facts of Being, clear and distinct in consciousness. Our soul (spiritual sense) is then restored.

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Webster defines righteousness as “purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. . . . Nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty, and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.”

Divine Love has shown us the way out of error and leadeth us through Christian Science into the “realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme” (Science and Health, 581).

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” What does this beautiful metaphor mean? It refers to that period of trial through which all must pass in the progress of the mortal sense to a realization of its own nothingness.

In Science we must work out our own salvation. We may be lifted to the mount of spiritual vision and get a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven, but we cannot stay there unsustained by demonstration. We cannot go very far with borrowed light. We must go down again into the valley of shadows and climb step by step. When we shall have proven the shadows to be shadows and not realities, we shall again ascend above the clouds of materialism there to remain.

Error will not let us imbibe the Truth without a struggle to prevent it. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and fear will seem at times to have full possession; but “Love’s rod and Love’s staff” will comfort us. Our rod and staff are the Bible and Science and Health. Holding on to them we shall grow in strength of understanding so that error may scream at us in vain.

Our first glimpse of the Truth is just a little beam, not enough to melt away all error, but sufficient to furnish light to make our way slowly if we do not willfully close our eyes. All sorts of fears, temptations, and false beliefs,— devouring beasts of mortal mind,—come up to bar the way, but the Psalmist tells us that we shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall we trample under feet.

God, Good, does not ordain suffering. We have let error impose upon us, and it is our work to prove error powerless.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

Our enemies are our fears and false beliefs in sorrow, want, discontent, sickness, hate, malice, envy, jealousy, covetousness, and countless forms of error. Having been tried in the furnace of affliction, having emerged from the valley of the illusions of sin, sickness, and death, we face our enemies calmly. Knowing that they are mere shadows we shall not heed them but shall sit down at the feet of our Shepherd and partake of the bounties of His table.

“Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” We shall receive the inspiration of Truth, and our hearts shall overflow with healing love which blesses ourselves and all within the circle of our influence. Then “our cup runneth over” indeed, and we shall sing with David, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Fighting Goliaths

From the Christian Science Sentinel, October 21, 1922, by

In I Samuel, chapter seventeen, we find a very full description of David’s battle with Goliath, from which we may gain much help and encouragement in our own battles with our daily “Goliaths.” Goliath is symbolic of error in its seemingly most powerful forms; and we often feel, like Saul and the men of Isreal, that our particular “Goliath” is larger than that of any other, and has come up to defy us personally. Until David came up to the battle there is no mention of the name of God in the account given; but the thought was, “Surely to defy Israel is he come up,” and Saul and the men of Isreal “were sore afraid.” Fear is always the first sign of our yielding to evil, and so giving it power in our own thinking. Then came David, a mere stripling shepherd boy, who was looked upon contemptuously by his brethren; but one of David’s first remarks corrected this, for he said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He realized at once that error has to compete with the armies of God, and so cannot prevail. When David went in to see Saul, his first words were full of confidence, and tended to destroy the fear, which is always the first thing to be overcome. Saul, however, was not satisfied that this youth, uninitiated in the ways of war, could go out against this Philistine warrior. David, on the other hand, who had already overcome the lion and the bear in combat, realized that it is no harder for God to prevail over one adversary than another, although to material sense the one may seem more powerful.

We are often apt to think that there are certain forms of error that are more difficult to overcome than others, or are even too large to be tackled by Christian Science; but we should know, with David, that God is on our side, and therefore no Goliath can prevail against us. When David finally persuaded Saul to let him undertake the battle, the latter still clung to his belief in material protection, and tried to persuade David to go forth in his armor; but David could not consent to this, for, we are told, he had not proved it. None of us can make use of weapons other than those we have proved to be right ones in Christian Science. We can never go forth better armored than in the strength of the Lord our God.

In the forty-fifth verse we find the key to David’s victory over Goliath in the word “whom.” Note that he did not say, as might have been expected, “whose chosen people” or “whose servant” thou hast defied, but “whom thou hast defied.” From this we should learn that however great may seem our trouble, or however personal, we should never try to fight it by ourselves. Instead, we should realize that it is not defying us, personally, but God Himself and all His order of perfect creation; and all we have to do is to have confidence, as David had, and realize that “the battle is the Lord’s.” If God be for us, no evil can prevail. What Goliath, however large, can fight with God Himself? We have God always with us, so that no Goliath can dismay us as it did the men of Israel. Like David, our confidence should never waver for a moment, in spite of all the Sauls who may try to shake it.

It is only in Christian Science that we can find and feel this absolute confidence in God, because we are taught to know, as Mrs. Eddy says in “Pulpit and Press” (p. 4), “Each of Christ’s little ones reflects the infinite One, and therefore is the seer’s declaration true, that ‘one on God’s side is a majority.'” We see that as soon as David had slain Goliath, all the children of Israel regained their confidence, fear being destroyed, and they arose and pursued and did much slaughter among the Philistines, proving also to us, as Mrs. Eddy tells us on page 206 of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “Whatever blesses one blesses all.” Thus, with every Goliath we overcome we not only are strengthening ourselves, but are also able to restore confidence in others, enabling them to slay their Philistines,—in other words, to overcome some of their false beliefs.

The Road to Damascus

From the Christian Science Sentinel, MAY 29, 1915, by

In the book of Acts we read that “Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” We may readily suppose that there was dread among the Christians in Damascus when it became known that Saul, a powerful member of the great Sanhedrin and an uncompromising enemy of the Christian sect, was on his way to the city to arrest such of them as he could find evidence against, to take them bound to Jerusalem, there to be tried before the ecclesiastical court. Accustomed though they were to the sneers and taunts and indignities heaped upon them by the people of Damascus, many stout hearts doubtless quailed before the announcement of Saul’s approach. His reputation for unbending judgment had preceded him. He came armed with a high priest’s commission and accompanied by a soldier band. He spared none and granted no quarter.

The day appointed for Saul’s arrival came and went in Damascus, but Saul was not seen. The Christians paused as they met, to question each other of the probable cause of his non-appearance. Had he abandoned his proposed trip, or had he simply stopped on his way to visit swift vengeance upon some other city in his path? Had he been detained in Jerusalem, or had some more important duty claimed his first attention? Was Damascus to be spared now, only to receive the dread visitation at a later time?

One day there appeared in the synagogues of Damascus a new disciple of the Nazarene. Unheralded he came; yet he had the air of one in authority. His face glowed in the reflected light of an inner vision. Upon his brow sat dignity and learning. His speech was golden with words of truth and soberness. His bearing was that of one accustomed to be obeyed, but in his look there was kindness and justice and mercy. When he spoke, he commanded quick attention, for his message burned with earnestness and power. It was Paul, the ambassador of Christ, come to Damascus on a mission of peace and good will!

Paul departed from Jerusalem the proud defender of an empty ritualism; he came to Damascus the humble expounder of a living faith. Yesterday he bore the haughty title of Pharisee; today he wears the simple livery of the humble Nazarene. Once he breathed out “threatenings and slaughter” in the name of Judaism; now he brings the blessings of peace and cheer in the name of the Lord. The meaning of this change is explained by Mrs. Eddy on page 326 of Science and Health, where she says: “Saul of Tarsus beheld the way—the Christ, or Truth—only when his uncertain sense of right yielded to a spiritual sense, which is always right. Then the man was changed. Thought assumed a nobler outlook, and his life became more spiritual . . . in humility he took the new name of Paul.”

Between Jerusalem and Damascus still stretches the way which Saul traveled. It leads from the place of empty creed to the place of living faith. Along its way still shines the light of Truth which transformed Saul, the proud Pharisee, into Paul, the humble follower of Christ. Going down to Damascus today, the traveler may again hear the voice of Truth speaking to his inner consciousness; and to obey the call is to share with Paul the wonder of a new birth and attain with him the reward which comes to him who has “fought a good fight,” and finished his course with joy.

At Damascus there waited the little company, possibly dreading a persecution which never came, and thus making real for the time being an experience which God never ordered and which divine Love transformed into an occasion of blessing and a mission of peace. Saul never reached Damascus! This was the needful lesson for the Christians of that city, and it is the needful lesson for us of today which is thus distilled from the story of the Damascus road. shall we come to realize the blessedness of which Mrs. Eddy tells us in “Pulpit and Press” (p. 3): “The river of His pleasures is a tributary of divine Love, whose living waters have their source in God, and flow into everlasting Life. We drink of this river when all human desires are quenched, satisfied with what is pleasing to the divine Mind.” Therein alone can be found true satisfaction!

The Morning Star

From the Christian Science Journal, January 1918 by

From those primeval dawns of which it is written, “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” to that “Lord’s day” on the isle of Patmos when St. John was bidden to say to the angel of the church in Thyatira, respecting the one that overcometh, “I will give him the morning star,” this distinguished herald of approaching day has ever symbolized some new revelation of Truth to a waking world. Those who have proclaimed it and reflected its glory, have for that reason been variously designated as sages, prophets, magi, wisemen. So far above the comprehension of the masses was the status of these seers of old, that it may be said of them that they gave character to the times in which they lived.

Such a one was Enoch, of whom it is written that for over three hundred years he “walked with God” upon the earth, and “was not; for God took him.” On page 214 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says of him, “If Enoch’s perception had been confined to the evidence before his material senses, he could never have ‘walked with God,’ nor been guided into the demonstration of life eternal.” We know not what was Enoch’s particular mission, but he will ever be to the world a shining example of man’s great spiritual possibilities.

In a grossly idolatrous age Melchizedec, king of the sacred city of Salem,—typifying peace and righteousness,—appeared as a star of the first magnitude. He became the forerunner of a high order of priesthood, to which are ordained only those who have so liberated themselves from the fetters of human pedigree that they are able to demonstrate their likeness to the Son of God, of whom we read in Hebrews, that he was “made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” The “morning star” of faith in God was Abraham, numbering his seed as the stars in the heavens, and perceiving through faith, when he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, that life is spiritual and eternal.

Out of Egypt rose the day-star of that code of moral and civil law which, was to be the arbiter of justice in every land of progress; and it ascended until its glory encompassed Mt. Sinai, where Moses talked with God. Very lovingly does our Leader veil the light of this perfect law of God, that we, like the children of Israel, may approach near enough to see how it may be humanly applied. On page 200 of Science and Health she says: “The law of Sinai lifted thought into the song of David. Moses advanced a nation to the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter, and illustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed by immortal Mind.”

Sacred alike to the Turk and the Russian of to-day, the “Cave of Elijah” is guarded from the machine guns of modern warfare. It is believed that there the prophet Elijah, thirty centuries ago, heard the “still small voice” of God and was not afraid, because man’s true identity was revealed to him. This gave him power to speak with authority to the errors of his day, and to rise above all the limitations of material sense, insomuch that, he was borne upward in a chariot of fire. His mantle fell upon Elisha, the only one of the sons of the prophets spiritual enough to follow him in his ascending pathway to the realization of man’s immortality.

In the spiritual universe, however, there is but one “morning star,” the reflection of the Christ-idea, and the glory of this star, with all other bright and shining ones, is radiated out into the immensity of God’s creation, unfolding Life and Love to the waking thought. It is this of which it is written: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” It rested over Bethlehem. John, referring to it again in the chapter just mentioned, calls it the “Word,” and says: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

When the light of Christ, Truth, shone upon the pathway of Saul of Tarsus, it was so glorious that for a time it took from him the sense of physical sight and the desire for food. His whole nature, as well as his name, was changed, and Paul became the “chosen vessel” to carry the gospel to the Gentiles and to preach before kings and philosophers. Thus did the western world begin to see the glory of the “morning star.” The revelator saw its light shining through all the cycles measured off in time and space, till heaven and earth had passed away. His messages to the seven churches typified the ascendancy of this light of Truth even in pagan thought, as well as its growth in the individual consciousness, and showed also the gifts of God that follow the overcoming of error.

The church of Thyatira, to which was promised the “morning star,” was the fourth of these seven churches in line of progress. It marked a spiritual as well as a cosmological dividing line, and represented that terrific struggle in human consciousness which comes after the light of Truth has laid bare the utter falsity of material sense and all its phantoms of night and darkness. John in his vision saw that at this period in world development the day of grace and the time for repentance would merge into a mighty purification and separation, ushered in by the reappearance of the “morning star,” the Christ-idea, sent to prepare the world for that promised day when the Sun of righteousness would “arise with healing in his wings.” It was to be the grand testing time of the entire human race, the moral battle ground of all the ages. It is our world of to-day.

Already the “morning star” has appeared above the rugged horizon of our time, and our earth is entering upon a new era of light and progress. To quote Browning, “The day’s at the morn,”—the morn of a tempestuous but wonderful day. We who in some measure have discerned the spiritual import of the coming of Christ, Truth, to this age, may like the church in Thyatira take heed to the voice of the Son of God, “who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass.” Then may we hear: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith … Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants.”

Now Jezebel was a prophetess of Baal, the great male divinity of the ancient idolatrous nations round Palestine. Ahab, king of Israel, married her, and through her subtle influence over him Israel again fell into idolatry. Elijah, the prophet of Jehovah, denounced her and foretold her own and Ahab’s self-destruction. John saw in her the personification of wickedness at its climactic period,— the consummation of every evil device, combining idolatry, hypnotism, sensuality, dishonesty, greed, mental and physical assassination, blasphemy. There was not one atrocious claim of error which did not find a place in the maelstrom of moral degeneracy that this wife of Ahab, king of Israel, represented.

This complex manifestation of idolatry and wickedness not only propagated itself in Israel in the time of Elijah, but thought to destroy the Christ-idea, the light of the world, by putting to death Jesus of Nazareth, who reflected that light in all its purity. It sought to pervert the teachings of the apostles. It caused the early church in the third century of our era to ally itself with the belief of worldly place and power, and with cunning sophistry has ever since mesmerized it into believing that evil is as real and as powerful as God, good; that matter and Spirit commingle; that death opens the door to eternal life.

These and other falsities were uncovered when the “morning star” began to rise upon our world of to-day. Its bright light at once disturbed the equilibrium of mortal mind, and set Jezebel’s kingdom on fire with resentment, hatred, malice, war, pestilence, bringing about the time of great tribulation of which it is written in Revelation: “And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”

As the morning star in the heavens seems to divide night from day, so the light of Christian Science, the truth of being, as discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, is clarifying individual consciousness as well as world politics. As in Ahab’s time Elijah called all the people together unto Mt. Carmel and said unto them: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him,” so to-day Truth is calling to the people of all the world assembled at this testing time, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

The Spirit further says to this church in Thyatira, “He that over-cometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” This is to be not a man-made power, nor a treaty-made power; rather is it to be a power made, “not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” To him is also given the “morning star,” the power to manifest the Christ-idea, to walk with and talk to God; to speak with authority to every form of error. Its name in our age is Christian Science, defined by its Discoverer, Mrs. Eddy, on page 1 of “Rudimental Divine Science,” as “the law of God, the law of good, interpreting and demonstrating the divine Principle and rule of universal harmony.” It shines for all who will lift up their eyes and walk in its light. It brings the day when all shall know the truth. In the dawn of the twentieth century the “sons of God” are again shouting for joy, because human consciousness discerns a new heaven and a new earth, “wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Love is the liberator.