"THE LANGUAGE OF SPIRIT"

Mary Baker Eddy not only discovered the divine Science of the Bible and revived the practice of Christian healing, but was also able to impart her teachings, both orally and in writing, in such a way that they can be understood and demonstrated. Christ Jesus, in naming the signs that should follow "them that believe," or truly understand his teachings, included the ability to "speak with new tongues," as well as the power to heal the sick and cast out evil (Mark 16:17, 18). The word "tongues" does not necessarily signify more than one language; rather does it imply that the one universal language of Spirit transcends the barriers of nationality and language.

Mrs. Eddy indicates this when she writes on page 117 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "God is Spirit; therefore the language of Spirit must be, and is, spiritual." This statement indicates the source of all inspiration or revelation, whether spoken, written, or otherwise made manifest, to be the one infinite divine Mind, God.

We find in the Bible abundant evidence of men's ability to hear and to obey the voice of God in the degree that they lost faith in material ways and means and sought divine guidance. An outstanding example of this was Moses' experience when he communed with God on Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments. Those immortal words are as applicable to human conduct today as when they were first chiseled on the tables of stone. After the time of Moses, prophecy, with its "Thus saith the Lord," became the recognized medium of spiritual teaching. In the New Testament (John 1:6, 7) John the Baptist was described as "a man sent from God, ... to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe." He heralded the coming of Christ Jesus, the Messiah, or Saviour.

The teachings of Jesus were divinely inspired, and are therefore immortal; one of the most striking facts regarding the great Master's teachings was their continuing and enduring influence after his resurrection and ascension. Shortly after the latter event, on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples "were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1), they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

It is written (verse 4) that on this occasion "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Then followed another equally remarkable phenomenon. Jews from many nations assembled at the place where the disciples were gathered together, and each one of them heard the Word of God spoken in his own native tongue.

While the spirit of prophecy gradually fell into disuse after Bible times, the voice of God has never ceased to reach and influence mankind in some degree. That which for want of a better word has been called "conscience" has always been accepted by a considerable portion of mankind as an inward monitor or moral guide in making personal decisions. It is worthy of passing notice that the word "conscience" is made up of two Latin words, con, meaning "together," and scire, "to know," and that our English word "science" is also derived from scire. Whatever unites human consciousness with the truth which inspires right thinking and good conduct, therefore, is literally scientific.

The period of eighteen centuries between the events recorded in the New Testament and the discovery of Christian Science, was in many respects grossly material, but the voice of conscience was increasingly influencing men to lend a deaf ear to depraved beliefs and give more heed to moral demands and spiritual intuitions. The heart of humanity was gradually being made ready for the seed of Science, which in due time sprang up from the Master's sowing.

It was during a period of heightened conflict between a limited sense of religion and the broadening influence of reason that Mrs. Eddy reached maturity. This child of the New World, whose Puritan parents had given her a good foundation of faith in the Bible, had become progressively conscious of her spiritual capacity to hear and understand the Word of God. It was not, however, until after the tragic loss of those nearest and dearest to her and the loss of her health that the revelation of Christian Science dawned upon her receptive thought. From then on Mrs. Eddy had no other earthly ambition than to imbibe and, later, to impart the great revelation which she was convinced was destined to emancipate mankind from the tyranny of materialism.

Into an upper room in a small New England home, Mrs. Eddy daily retired to record the sacred messages of Spirit which poured into her waiting thought. No other interests distracted her, for she had discovered the Christ-idea, and her love of it was all-absorbing. Each day she became more and more convinced that her spiritual illumination was the fulfillment of the Master's promise (John 14:16, 17), "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him."

Before publishing the first edition of her epoch-making Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy felt it necessary to test and verify her discovery over a period of years. In this way she made absolutely sure that what she was about to offer to the world was intelligible and demonstrable. Thus she translated the language of Spirit into both words and deeds. Her writings not only enable the reader to understand the Bible, but show him that the spiritual illumination of the inspired writers is present today to guide, instruct, strengthen, heal, and bless all mankind.

Thanks to the consecrated labors of our beloved Leader, anyone who so desires may partake of the inspired Word of the Bible and begin to experience the new birth, in which his interests become progressively less material and more spiritual. The language of Spirit is translated in the Christian Science textbook into terms of healing comprehensible to all whose hearts and minds are unbiased by worldly interests or religious prejudices. Whenever a genuine Christian Science treatment is given today, regardless of the nationality or language of either the patient or the practitioner, the healing influence flows from the one universal source and is not dependent upon human will, distance, time, or any other finite factor. The unalterable requirement for healing, however, is unconditional surrender to the divine Mind as the All-in-all, the only Lawgiver, for through obedience to the divine law alone can one prove the unreal nature of the so-called ills of the flesh. In the degree that he understands that there is but one divine Mind and that all right ideas originate in this one infinite Mind, one progressively aligns his thinking, speaking, and living to the divine Principle of universal harmony and thus demonstrates man's God-given freedom.

Let us pray earnestly, therefore, that we may each become better acquainted with the one universal language of Spirit, which is constantly informing us of man's well-being and of God's all-inclusive oneness. In the words of a well-known hymn (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 58),