The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1909-01-13


interested should turn to their Bibles
and study these suestions for them
selves. Because if Christian healing
was enjoined by Jesus on the discl-
pies generally, every Christian must
admit that His way, the way the
Great Physician taught, must be the
better way. Jesus said, 81 am the
way, the truth and the life" The
only question is, therefore, did Jesus
enjoin Christian healing as perpet-
ual function of Christianity? Mr..
Vernon's article in Tuesdays Clean
er labors throughout to show that 1t
was confined to the eleven apostles
present when Jesus delivered his
parting injunction recorded in the
verses quoted by Mr.. Vernon from
Mark 16:14-20. The contention is
about the meaning of verses II and
Is, which read: "And these signs
shall follow them that believe: In my
name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues;
"They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt them; they shall lay hands
on the sick, and they shall recover"
Mr.. Vernon contends that when he
said "these signs shall follow them
that believe" Jesus meant such OF
the eleven apostles present as should
believe, and nobody else. But that
will not do, for Paul restored the
dead to life, and he was not OF the
eleven. Paul was an unbelever at
that time, and subsequently became a
violent prosecutor of the Christians.
We all recall how Paul shook off the
deadly serpent that fastened on his
hand and was not harmed, while the
Mortified natives stood around eX-
pecting him to drop dead. Stephen was
not of the eleven, and did not claim
to be an apostle, yet it Is said OF HIM,
in Acts 6:S: "And Stephen, full of
faith and power, did great wonders
and miracles among the people" And
it might be added for Mr.. VernOn's
benefit, that he was stoned to death
for this unmistakable expression Of
his faith by the orthodox religiOnists
of that day. 1t Is a matter Of anthem
tic church history that healing IN the
way Jesus prescribed was not only
practiced by the apostles and earlier
disciples but continued to be mat
ter of common occurrence In Chris
tan communities for two or three
hundred years later, until the church
had lost much Of its spiritual power
through certain secularizing process
es and influences to which 1t was eX-
posed. | believe Mr.. Vernon said In
one of his articles that he had been
a preacher for thirty years, and, If,
in that length of time he has studied
his Bible to no better purpose than IS
indicated by his Interpretation OF
these verses from Marks gospel, the
community may well infer how little
he knows of Christian Science which
he evidently has not studied at ALL
When Jesus said "these signs shall
follow them that believe" he was adj
dressing the eleven who were person
ally present and if he had meant
them alone would he not have said,
these signs shall follow "you" that
believe? The use of the prOnOun
"them" implies a reference to per-
sons not then present who should
''believe." The eleven already be-
lieved; they had been convinced by
the most unmistakable proof, they
had seen their risen Lord time and
again; even the doubling Thomas no
longed doubted. Furthermore, the
eleven had long prior to this demon
strated their faith by healing the
people, it not being recorded of them
that they failed to heal any case. with
the single exception Of the epileptic
boy. And the "other seventy whom
Jesus had sent forth on their mission
of Christian healing, they were not OF
the eleven, and yet it is said OF them:
"And the seventy returned again with
Joy, saying Lord, even the devils are
subject unto us through thy name."
Luke 1917. | am glad Mr.. Vernon
included the preceding verses In his
quotation, which Mrs. Ward very
properly did not deem necessary to
include, for they only explain more
fully, if possible, Jesus meaning.
Thus, in the verses Immediately pre-
ceding, Jesus says: $50 We into all
the world, and preach, the gospel to
every creature"
"And these signs shall follow them
that believe: In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover" In the light of these verses
it seems too evident for comment, that
when Jesus used the word "believe"
he was referring to those to whom the