IN "Unity of Good"(p. II) we read: "He [Jesus] heeded not the taunt, 'That withered hand looks very real and feels very real;' but he cut off this vain boasting and destroyed human pride by taking away the material evidence." To the materialist, material evidence is the only evidence; all else is to him inconclusive, unconvincing, nonexistent. If he can see a thing with his own eyes, he will believe; otherwise, not. Jesus recognized this tendency, and gave to skeptical humanity as well as to the suffering the kind of evidence they could understand.
It is inconceivable that to Jesus himself the prints of the nails in his hands and the spear wound in his side were evidence of a very high order; but he knew that Thomas was not moving on his own high plane, and it was to Thomas, not to himself, that his argument was directed. Nor is this the only time he chose to recognize the limitations of human thought. Knowing that he was addressing the materially minded, or those who believed they needed a physician,—they who were sick,—he gave material evidence along with his spiritual teaching, something they could see, feel, or handle. When he wished to change a belief, to replace error with the truth of being, he took away the material evidence upon which the belief was founded and gave other evidence in its stead; namely, the seeing instead of the sightless eye, the whole instead of the withered hand, the strong instead of the weak ankle bones. In this he followed the example of the prophets of old and set a high example for every Christian Science practitioner.
To the average Christian Scientist there is nothing more embarrassing than the necessity for explanation of apparent failures to heal. "Why did Mrs. A die? Why must Mrs. B wear glasses? Why doesn't Mr. C walk better?" It is all clear enough to the Scientist, but how make it clear to the questioner who is not a Scientist or only a beginner? How beautiful it would be if we could meet the issue always as Jesus did,—if we could all live so absolutely in accordance with eternal law as to be able, in every case and instantly, to remove all signs of injury or disease! Having said this, we can but perceive that in a sense it is a contradiction in terms. If we all but lived close to God. there would speedily be no ills to remove, and no need of practitioners.
