In my study is a photograph taken from the moon looking toward the earth. The earth looks like a solid black disk against the backdrop of space. But peering closer, we see two barely visible pinpricks of light blinking back cheerfully at the moon across some two hundred and thirty-nine thousand miles. They are the laser searchlights at Table Mountain, California, and Kitt Peak, Arizona, signaling to the cosmos the intelligence and brotherly concern of mankind.
The luminous Word of the Bible and of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy shines out on the universe and pierces the darkness of the human mind in a somewhat analogous way. Their message may seem dim at times, barely visible pinpricks of light aimed at an uncomprehending world. Yet their warm light radiates the fostering Christ to every human heart. Infinitely more powerful than the laser, the spiritual radiation of these beacons can cut through pedantry and light up fresh insights for education.
Absolute spiritual truths are radical enlightenment, with the potential of impelling progress in the very grounds of education, its goals and its hopes. Absolute truth, because it is the ultimate, is where all true progress must head. Spiritual truth is always out front, lighting up each advancing step: an ideal tirelessly motivating, a standard distinguishing progress from fad and from mere change.
