CHRIST JESUS repeatedly identified his healing works with God, and did this so successfully that those who witnessed his marvelous works "glorified God, which had given such power unto men." Likewise the Master, knowing that divine Mind is the source of all true ideas, identified his teachings with God. This led him to declare confidently, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Humanly considered, Christ Jesus' teachings were committed to the care of the faithful disciples to whom they were largely communicated; but the Master knew that divine Mind would preserve its own message as voiced by him. Furthermore, when prophesying and promising the Comforter, "the Spirit of truth," to be sent of the Father, Jesus said that it would abide with men forever.
These facts must have made a profound impression upon Mary Baker Eddy when she realized that her discovery, Christian Science, is the promised Comforter, the full and final revelation to mankind of God, the creative Principle, of Mind's perfect creation, and of Love's ever operative law of life and harmony. The conviction that she was a scribe working under divine orders when she wrote the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," armed Mrs. Eddy with humility and spiritual power, and led her to state on page 110 of this book: "No human pen nor tongue taught me the Science contained in this book, Science and Health; and neither tongue nor pen can overthrow it. This book may be distorted by shallow criticism or by careless or malicious students, and its ideas may be temporarily abused and misrepresented; but the Science and truth therein will forever remain to be discerned and demonstrated." The author of an acceptable textbook on mathematics, in addition to making a simple and scientific presentation of the subject, must have verified by demonstration the rules and propositions stated therein. Likewise, Mrs. Eddy, as a true scientific Christian, authenticated her spiritual teachings by means of the same redemptive and healing works which were offered by Christ Jesus in proof of his precepts.
That "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword," and that Science and Health contains "the word of God," has been proved by the many healings of sickness, sorrow, and sin, of limitation and lack, which have resulted from the study of its inspired pages. The spiritual ideas of health stated therein, finding acceptance in the consciousness of many who had exhausted the skill of physicians and had been sentenced to death—these true ideas, displacing the fears and other errors which had caused the ills, have given to many strength instead of weakness, health in place of disease, "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Others who because of false education had had a wrong sense of pleasure and been enslaved by the use of alcohol, tobacco, morphine, and other debasing habits, have gained release and dominion as a result of studying Science and Health and obeying its spiritual instructions. These gratefully praise God in the song of the Psalmist, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," for Science and Health has led them into the way of spiritual desire and spiritual thinking, wherein they are finding genuine satisfaction and pure peace.
