LOCKE, in his "Conduct of the Understanding," said, "Truths are not the better, nor the worse for their obviousness or difficulty, but their value is to be measured by their usefulness and tendency."
This quotation is particularly in touch with the present, when so many from all the religious beliefs are flocking to the standard of Truth, acquiring a knowledge of what Christian Science really means, and coming to an understanding of its "usefulness and tendency." While it would seem reasonable to suppose that the proof of the absolute truth of Christian Science would be in the vast and favorable results being accomplished by demonstration throughout the civilized world, yet many people of different faiths first begin inquiring as to what effect an understanding of Christian Science would have upon their former religious convictions. Many of these investigators are people who have suffered, physically and mentally, for years without being able to obtain any permanent relief, yet instead of seeking and obtaining the benefits of Christian Science treatment, they first want to know how Christian Science, as a religion, will affect their opinions. Some prefer to continue in darkness and suffering, rather than receive the benefits of Christian Science, because they have formed ideas of their own as to the ethical teachings involved, and they prefer to suffer for the balance of their lives rather than yield up a single iota of the religious teachings of their youth. They announce that they intend going on in the footsteps of their fathers and forefathers, yet if they look far enough back into the past they will find that their ancestors made a beginning, and outlined an independent ethical future. Even among the Jewish people, who first promulgated the religion of the "One God," we find that Abraham, the great Patriarch, was at first an idolater, as was his father and those before him.
From the theological standpoint many questions asked by investigators of Christian Science center around the position taken respecting Christ Jesus, the Master. Almost every Christian sect has a different view on this point, and now, when many Jewish people are coming into Christian Science through the physical benefits received, the same question is asked by them regarding Jesus. It is a fact that for centuries there has been among the Jewish people what might be termed an inborn prejudice against the name Jesus, and the word, "Christian." To some extent this prejudice has been fostered by the many years of persecution, yet prejudice is certainly a hindrance to knowledge and understanding. False premises or conclusions fixed through prejudice keep many in the darkness of ignorance, bigotry, and superstition. To acquire knowledge and understanding, we must rid ourselves of prejudice engendered by stubbornness and tradition; we must look into these matters with fairness and a desire for the light which brings to us knowledge and understanding. Treading in the footsteps of our forefathers may not lead to practical knowledge or individual freedom. Where would the progress of the world be if people had not thought things out for themselves and gained understanding by and through a mind free and untrammeled? No matter how difficult the pathway, no matter how long it may take to reach the light of Truth, the ultimate results can be obtained if we but take the right road. Christian Science is pointing out to us the right way, and while thousands of Jews are receiving the benefits of Christian Science treatment many are investigating it with a view of accepting it as well. The Jewish thought, it would appear, is ready for Christian Science, for the foundation of Judaism was the Unity of God.
