What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" (Matt. 8:27.) So spake the disciples when, after being tossed about in the treacherous storm on the Sea of Galilee, they witnessed the great calm which followed the words of their awakened Master. The change from storm to calm, from danger to safety, was so sudden, so spectacular, that no freak of wind or weather could account for it.
The questions might well be asked today: What manner of man is this to whom the elements are subservient? Does he exist today, and if so can he be found among us? What was the cause of the great calm? Christian Science answers these questions by pointing to the Scriptural record of man as given in Genesis (1:27), "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him."
Orthodox theology has long believed that Jesus was the only one able to exercise God's control over the elements; that his apostles were endowed by God with similar power in a lesser degree, but that this power is not given to us today, and therefore the healing works of the first century cannot be repeated. Christian Science shows the contrary to be true. The purpose of Christianity is to heal, and this power is available to its adherents. If it were not so, Christianity would be nothing more than an ethical code or philosophy, devoid of the vital force with which it was originally actuated.
