The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-06-18

all this / accepted Christian Science
No! Instead, for two years l real
everything could find against |
land it was at. time when Their
was much criticism), in the hope o
convincing myself that it was no
true, for I saw that the spiritualit.
of Christian Science would not mi,
with my profession, and l did no
want to give up the practice of medi
cine. But the more l read agains
1t, the more / became convinced O.
its truth, and here am. 1t doe
heal, and 1t does save, just as Il
did in Jesus time. We need tt
know something about God, however
in order to appropriate the healing
and throughout the entire teaching
of Christian Science the necessity fol
spiritual understanding in order thai
we may know Gods law is constantly
insisted upon.
A study of the lives of the most
prominent characters in the Bible
reveals the fact that their closeness
to God was the result of their deep
and constant meditation of Him, and
that knowledge of God has always
been essential to the demonstration
of His power over material condi-
tions. We are prone to think that
Abraham and Moses, Elijah and
Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus,
were arbitrarily chosen of God to
fulfill a particular mission with no
reference to their acquired spiritual
understanding. and that their ability
to demonstrate Gods power was a
special gift bestowed upon them for
the occasion. 1t is true that they
were chosen of God for the work
which they did, but in exactly the
same way that great and good men
in our own time have been chosen
of God, through the consciousness
and manifestation of those qualities
which enabled them to do that which
needed to be done.
On page 4SS of Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures"
Mrs. Eddy has pointed out that the
verb believe as used in the Bible
has the significance of understand
ing, and she further explains that
'the Scriptures often appear in our
common version to approve and in
1orse belief, when they mean to en-
force the necessity of understand
ng."
Throughout the entire teaching of
he gospels both Jesus and his dis
,iples constantly asserted that saliva
ion was to come as result of be-
ieving,-as result Of having faith
n God. Paul says, without faith
t is impossible to please him; for
le that cometh to God must believe
hat he is, and that he is reward
n of them that diligently seek him"
We are constantly enjoined in the
Scriptures to believe and to have
aith, but we have accepted these
words in the sense of their most shall
ow meaning, and have thought that
III that was required of us was to
acitly believe and we should receive
ii that Christianity has to offer.
The Greek words for believe and
aith are from the same Greek root,
word which means conviction of
ruth" And to be convinced OF
ruth means to know, to understand
ruth. Our dictionaries give this
Leeper meaning as the one to be used
n a religious sense, but our every
lay use of the word believe in the
ense of giving credence to, and of
he word faith in something of the
anne sense as the word hope, tends
o obscure the larger meaning Of the
7ords.
Paul in the eleventh chapter of his
pistle to the Hebrews, after defining |
aith as 1.-The evidence of things not
Gen." gives an example of how the
7ord is to be used when he says,
Through faith we understand that
he worlds were framed by the word
( God" Now it would manifestly |
q impossible for us to perceive
that the worlds were framed by the
,ord of God" through anything less
han spiritual understanding.
In the third chapter of Acts, Peter,
\ his sermon on the healing of the
ame man, describes his method by
aging, "And his (Christ Jesus') |
anne through faith in his name hath
lade this man whole" Here the
is made that healing came
bout through faith, spiritual under
landing of the name of Jesus, the
hrist, and the word name as used
4 the Scriptures had deeper sig
ificance than it has in our modern
ines. The idea of name in the
Hebrew language and the Hebrew
lind was not merely that of sound
v which an object might be desig-
ated, but that of significant term
hitch should really indicate its
uality. or nature; so that Peters
tatement meant that the manifesto
ION of Jesus nature, the Christ, or
ODDS perfect man, which he had re-
called to them, and which they UNI
erstood, had made this man whole.
he Mater said in his prayer to his
ather, IT have manifested thy name
INTO the men which thou gavest me
ut of the world; and what did the
[aster do but to manifest Gods ma
Ire to the men that God had given
i'm out of the world? Again and
gain it is pointed out in the New
testament that faith In his name,
nat is understanding of his nature,
what heals and saves in every in
lance. H@
Christian Science is giving us this
nlarged understanding of the nature
{ God, which is essential II we are
} appropriate In greater and great