East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-10-15

that Christian healing was effected
by spiritual and not material means;
they teach that we should look not
to matter but 10 divine Mind for the
true healing power, the power which
was utilized by Christ Jesus and his
disciples. In the case OF congenital
blindness healed by Jesus, OF which
John tells US, there was evidently no
healing virtue in the clay and spittle,
nor in the water OF the pool OF ST.
loan. for II there had been, these
universally available means would be
in use today for the cure OF this
disease
Skcpucism rs 10 Spiritual Healing
To be consistent, all professed
believers in the Bible must therefore
admit the fact OF spiritual healing,
which, according to contemporaneous
secular writer's and historians. con-
tlnued among the early Christians
for about three hundred years; and
ye, today the vast majority do not
believe in Il. and manyi do not even
admit it to be historically true, while
not a few deny its possibility. Some
say that these events may have hap
pened in Jesus time, but are impossi-
bic now. This is neither logical nor
reasonable. The power OF God is
"the same yesterday. and today, and
forever" and II this healing took
place in the first century. It can take
place now, since every divine law and
order must be immutable and we have
the same conditions to deal with
which they had then.
Jesus said. 10. I am with you al
way" and. "He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he 10 also;
because I go unto my Father"
The Master thus taught that all Of
truth Is always with US. and he came
TO show US how to make It available.
This is the way OF salvation. and II
this way cannot be found and fol-
lowed today. then his mission was
surely a failure Think you that
Christ Jesus, the great Exemplar,
the worlds Wayshower, would have
taught demonstrated. and enjoinei
upon mankind a healing and saving
method which was efficient and suffi-
cient in the first century. but imprac-
ticable or impossible in the twentieth?
II is not possible to separate Jesus
word from his work The one is the
proof OF the other: hence the heal
ing work must be recognized as an
essential element OF primitive Chris
tianity. The healing recorded in the
Bible was no more readily believed
when it occurred than 1t is now, save
bv the relatively few who were i'm
pressed by the evidence presented or
who experienced spiritual transfor-
nation. The Scriptures record the
intense hatred and persecution which
the early Christians endured because
OF their belief in the efficacy Of spirit
ual power. This is corroboratei IN
secular history, and ii is noteworthy
that the hatred was most intense when
spiritual power was most in evidence
especially SO at the moment the neal
ing was done.
Judging by it's fruits. and by the
fact that ii certainly stimulates a
higher order of thought and living
all must admit that this spiritual
healing is far better method than
the use OF material means. This
being true. we can but ask, Why is
II not in general use among Chris
tian people? Evidently because II
is not understood. for there exists
today a very general disbelief IN its
possibility. a stubborn tendency TO
doubt it. in spite OF the many authen-
tic records Of such healing in the past
and through Christian Science now
Causes OF Unbelief
Let us then. II we may. examine
into some Of the causes of this disoe-
lief in scriptual or Christian heal
ing. What are they? First; 1t is
difficult for most of US to see how
physical results can be realized
through spiritual means The teach
ing Of the schools regarding the ma
ture Of matter and material existence,
produces such a materially biased
consciousness that 1t Is very difficult
10 apprehend spiritual existence and
spiritual power. Second: The popu-
lar teaching regarding the nature oil
God and Of His relation to all being
together with the belief in the reahty
OF material existence and its asserted
laws. IS at variance with the Scrip
ture teaching. Third: The inertia OF
the human mind resists belief In any
thing which differs from what 1t has
been accustomed to; It is innately
opposed to all things spiritual or
divine. and II Is to this mental attl-
tude that ST. Paul referred when he
said. "The carnal mind is enmity
against Cod" We thus see that Ii
is material sense which hinders the
attainment of an understanding oi
the spiritual healing Of the Bible;
this is the fertile soil from which
springs the doubt, agnosticism, and
inIdelity Of our times.
Mental Causation
one OF the most puzzlin5 questions
to the lay thinker respecting spirit
ual healing is this: How can mere
mental effort bring about a physical
change: how can il restore health and
harmony? This difficulty Is largely
due 10 the failure to understand the
nature Of Mind and the relationship
between the inner world OF thought
and the outer world OF phenomena
Let us consider this question briefly
first from a human Or material stand
point, then from the Christian Sci
ence standpoint.
All are familiar with the effect OF