Describing the turbulent mental struggle of mankind in terms of stormtossed mariners, the Psalmist sang: "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto the haven where they would be" (Ps. 107: 28-30, Rev. Ver.). Calmness, stillness, and joy, the Psalmist recorded, come with the understanding acceptance of God's guidance; and then follows the quiet and steady attainment of the desired haven, the kingdom of God, of Spirit, eternal Life.
"But where can I find, how can I recognize, God's guidance?" the troubled seeker asks. The answer can be found in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where Mary Baker Eddy states (p. 126): "The Bible has been my only authority. I have had no other guide in 'the straight and narrow way' of Truth." In the same book our beloved Leader lists the following as the first religious tenet of Christian Science (p. 497): "As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life."
To one versed in human learning the implications of this tenet may come at first as something of a shock. Can the Bible possibly deal with the complex problems of the modern world? This is a serious question, which can be answered sincerely in the affirmative by each individual only as he gains for himself a demonstrable understanding of the inspired Word. "The divine Science taught in the original language of the Bible came through inspiration, and needs inspiration to be understood" (ibid., p. 319). Because of their unwillingness to discard material theories and hypotheses, human beings often have to reach their extremity before "they cry unto the Lord in their trouble," and their extremity becomes God's opportunity to impart the inspiration needed to understand His Word.
