The evening news., April 29, 1916, Page 7, Image 7

THE EVENING NEWS, SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1910.
8KTBK
AiECTiE ON
CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE
By VIK.IL O. STRICKLElt, C. 8.
Member of the Hoard of lectureship
of The Mother Church, The First
Church of Christ, Scientist,
in Boston, Mass.
The speaker was ' introduced by
Warren G. Burt who said in part:
"Nineteen centuries ago Jesus
saitl; la snail know the truth and
the truth shall make you free.' By
MS understanding oi mis uum, "
rf'f. . .!T . h ,,; ., ', wi
sight to the blind, turueu soriowi
into rejoicing, changed lack into
plenty. The last words Jbsub spoke
to nis lonowers. ana wnicu
as a uuniage tor all time are found
in Mark Itith chapter, t(tn ana
18th verses, 'And these signs shall
follow them that believe; in my
name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues; They
shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any utadly thing. It shall not
. hurt them; they shall lay-hands on
the sick and they shall recover.'
"According to secular history
Christian healing was practiced by
the Church for three centuries after
the crucifixion of JesuB but was
finally lost Bight of in creedal and
ritualistic difierences. It remained
'almost completely a lost art until re
discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, and
waa first given to the public by her
boi'k 'Science and Health With Key
to the Scriptures' In the year 1875.
This old-new truth was received by
a material world with Bcoffing and
unbelief. But because it is the
Truth, because it has been proved
time and time again, it bas gained
adherents, until today, all over tbe
world, thousands of grateful men
and women are testifying to Us ef
ficacy In healing every manner of
trouble to which the human family
seems heir."
Mr. Strickler spoke as follows:
It is undeniable that Christian
Science has henled many sick people
and bas brought about the regenera
tion of many who were the victims
of sin. Among its memuersnip are
those who have been healed of In
temperance, of so-called chronic and
organic diseases, as wen as ui mum
dies that were acute or functional, j
It lias healed others of sorrow, fear, I
unhappiness and similar diseased
mental conditions that often cause
more suffering and distress than
physical disorders.
In every case of Christian Science
healing, whether the disease was
chronic or acute, physical or mental,
the cure was brought about without
the use of hypnotism, mental sug
gestion, drugs or any material
means, and entirely through the ap
plication of tbe spiritual and meta
physical teachings of Christian
Science.
The healing of the sick, however,
Is not the primary purpose of
Christian Science. According to the
teachings of this Science all sickness
and disease result from error and
' falBe belief, which are summarized
as sin, and when the error of belief
Is destroyed by the truth rwhlch
Christian Science Imparts, the dis
ease disappears. Christian Science,
therefore, tenches that the cause of
"jl disease and sin is mental, and
. not physical, and that both sin and
disease may be cured by one and the
same metaphysical process, namely,
by tho substitution of nilritual
truth In place of error and false be
lief in the human consciousness.
"YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH
AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE
YOU FREE"
It is recorded la the 8th Chapter
of the Gospel ot John that upon
one occasion when Jesus was being
harrassed by the lawyers and theolo
gians, who were plying him with
questions and seeking to entrap him
by his answers, he turned to a group
of bis followers, who were standing
noor nii said to them. "Ye shall
know the truth and the truth shall j
make you free." In an oi me diui
there Is no statement of greater Im
portance to mankind than this ut
terance of the Master. It prescribes
the remedy ,,r every human 111.
Knowledge if a thing must como
through the mental and not tnrougnj manifest that He could not have
the physical, hence, according to thej created It. then It follows absolutely
words of Jesus, mankind will be de-j that evil 1b not eternal. For what
livored from sin, disease and death j ever God created must be eternal
not bv doctoring the physical, but by : like Himself, and If God were the
filling the mental with truth. If
tills statement of Jesus was true itj eternal, and, hence. Indestructible,
fillows by irresistible logic that thei Christian Science presents a scl
enslavlng conditions from which hu- online method for the destruction of
nianity suffers must be due to the! evil. No matter in what form It may
belief of something which Is not true. present Itself to the Individual,
In other words, If the time is everj whether as sickness, sin. unhappl
to come, as Jesus has declared that ness, sorrow or distress. Christian
It will come, when the knowledge ofl Science says, that since it Is evil, it
the truth shall emancipate humanity j may be destroyed and that the de
from Its bondage fo sickness, sin, un-i stmyer of evil In every case Is
inliirs. novertv. old age
and!
death, such results can only be
i,r,,.i -limit when tbe knowledge
of the truth Bliall have displaced and
deitroved (out of human conscious-! destroy evil out or his or her ex-1 pull tne onject nown m inn mm -i wm n iim j mum m" ,.;. m . - . .... -
ness) the belief of that which ls not perience bv means of the scientific.! structlon. Christian Science teaches) truth of their own being, nnd of tholr! en to o person and the i human mind Is
trie There la no escape from this, nief-od -Mrh hr''lan Science pre-! tbM r.nd l vind. or Principle, and! own relationship to God. put to sleep. The body may then
conclusion ' sents. ' While It mav he true thMahat Mind gor.rns th'nuch sbirltiwi; Christian Sclen-e -.ehe that man ; be cut and gashed and the nerves
c-ienre. FhowB that It Is one. thus far. but Jesus, has -tar.-, which lw I. operating throtirh-j j.t what the Bible says bo la; lacerated, without Ihe slightest Indl-
the efrect produced by Truth operat- Vmcn able to make a perfect tlemon
Ing In the human mentality, destroy- rTJticn over ov't. yet every one will
In simerstilion. false nnd vicious rnncede that Christian Scientists
beliefs thst must and will some day have, at leart. mnde some progress,
emancipate mankind from bondage and have succeeded, to some extent,
to sin, d'scftse and death. in dctrovfnr both s(cVne?s and sin
ULTIMATE TRUTH. I for themselves and others.
There must be ultimate truth The Bible further discloses that
somewhere and wheu it ls appre- Gnd not only Is Love, but is also om-
bended by the human mind It will
emancipate those who apprehend it
from bondage to evil. Christian
Science asserts that ultimate truth
concerning God and man and their
relationship is revealed by the Scrip
tures, and may be gained by every
person when the Scriptures (are
rlghtlv Interpreted.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BELIEF
AND UNDERSTANDING
It is sometimes difficult for peo
ple to understand bow religion can
heal sickness and destroy Bin, but
the words of Jesils make It plain.
Since It is through a knowledge of
the truta that these results are ac
complished the important thing for
each one is to gain an understanding!
of truth instead of being satisfied
with mere belief about it. In other
wor()S, n order to find out how re-
! llgion can destroy sin, sickness and
all sorts of evil condition, it is first
necessary to gain an understanding
as to what is religion. To gain the
benefits promised in the Bible to
true believers it is necessary to get
rid of that which is erroneous In re
ligious belief and practice, and to as
certain what constitutes true re
ligion. thmK that it make8 no difference
what religious beliefs they entertain i
go rs they are 8,ncere ,n
monlent.s reflection, however, will
... h ,hrv iB ,,Pnirn,13 ,
and destructive, for It Is perfectly
plain that it a thing Is not, in fact,
true, no amount of sincerity on the
part of the believer can ever make it
true. No engineer ever arrived- at -
a correct result, no matter how
sincerely he may have believed that ,
his processes were correct, if they !
vere not so in fact.
With respect to many things it
may be unimportant whether the
thing believed is true or not, but
with respect to the things that peo
ple believe about God, and about
themselves, and about their relationship-to
God, they are vital, because
it will be shown that the things be
lieved with respect to these mutters.
become laws that are binding upon
the believer,
GOI)
In trying to ascertain what con
stitutes religion the very first sub
ject to be considered Is that which
relates to God. Every one must agree
that a correct understanding of God
Is essential as the foundation of re
ligion. Any system of religious
teaching that is founded upon an
imperfect or erroneous conception of
God must necessarily fail to bring
to its adherents the help and com
fort for which they seek. When
we look about us and Bee the splen
did fidelity of men and women to
their religious beliefs, and then see
how much suffering and failure they
experience, and how far short they
come of attaining the good which
they so honoRtly seek, it Is a fair
deduction that there is something
wrong about their understanding of
God.
No offense will be given, there
fore, by the statement that the aver
age person has a very indefinite and
nebulous conception of God. It you
were to ask a dozen people to tell
you who and what God Ir, you would
get a dozen different nnswers. There
fire some who think God Is a per
son. How many people thore are
who, when they Kneel down and
close their eyes, and reverently pray
to, God. have in mind a person, or a
form, or an image, to which they
pray. And how many others there
are who think of God as a being of
anger and resentment who sends fail
ure and suffering to those who dis
please him? And are there not
great many others who think of God
as a being who lives In a far-off
country called Heaven, and that It
is necessary for people to die, and
go there In order to Bee Him?
The3o are only a few ot the In
correct beliefs which people enter
tain about God. When it is remem
bered that Jesus has said tbat it is
the knowledge of the truth that shall
make men free, in the face of such
confusion of belief about Him, is ft
strange that people are sick and
that they die?. Is it not apparent
that what humanity need i is a dem
onstrable understanding of God in
place of theoretical and speculative
beliefs about Him?
Yet, all the while that people have
gone on believing these erroneous
things about God, the Pible state
ments concerning bim have been
perfectly plain. The Bible says, for
Instance, that God IB Love, and.
since He is infinite, He must be
infinite Love. Christian Scence says,
therefore thai .nfinite Love cannot bo
the author of evil, either in the form
of sickness or Bin, and that, no mat
ter what one may think about evil,
it must be accounted for In some
other way than as being a part of
the creation of God. Now, note the
significance of that statement, for
If God did not create evil, and It is
creator of evil, then evil would bo!
Truth precisely as JesMq has declar -
ed. Wherever you find a Christian
Scientist, therefore, you will find
: ... . . . .
( a person who Is honestly striving to
nlpresent If that is so, then He
fa everywhere, for that is what the
word means. He fills all space, and
Is in one place in precisely the same
degree and to precisely tbe same
extent that He is In every other
place. Docs that not lift one's
thought above the concept of a lim
ited God? And is it not plain that
so long as people believe in a limited
God, who is limited as to His form,
dwelling place, or goodness,, they
will continue to suffer from limita
tions limitations with respect to
Ufa and the duration thereof, health
strength, mental capacity, success, superstition, false beliefs, human will ( would not bo In the object thought uiscord and has genu down In wreck
love, spirituality and every good! and the like.. As they are removed, appearing to be there, for It would i ag0 in u 0f the ages of the past.
thing? Christian science makes
plain that humanity can hope to be
einancipaieu iruui me cuiae wi limi
tations in any and all of these direc
tions when men ' and women shall
have given up their false beliefs
about a limited God, and shall have
learned the truth concerning His na
ture and character.
"Upon one occasion they asked Je
sus to tell them when the Kingdom
of Cod would come and he made an i
answer that has proved to be a
Btumbling block to many poople from
that day .to this. Ho said,
In substance, that the King
dom of God is not a place that you
can see wilh observation ; it Is not a
e cajj Lq her(J ,B
or Lo there it is. for behold, he said,
,,, ,,,,, , .iM,in vnn
if that stntemant is true, thon it
follows absolutely that tho Kingdom
of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven,
must be a state oT consciousness,
and not a locality. Then is It not
plain that the further people go in
the belief that the Kingdom of God,
or tho K'.ngdom of Heaven, is a lo-
cality, and that It is necessary for
people to die ard go there in order
to become citizens of that kingdom,
in reality the further they are alien
ating themselves from It? And the
mnra innerelv fhnv helteve. that
sort of thing, the more their sincerity
will stand as a barrier to prevent
their progress towards that king
dom. Christian Science, therefore,
pleads for a rational anu ueuiuu-
strable understanding of God in place
ot theoretical and speculative be
liefs aouut tiiui.
PRAYER.
Another subject that enters into
the ruligious lilo of-ail people is that
of prayer. Since prayer is the me
dium through which the connection
is established between the numan
and tho divine, it is, therefore, of
great importance for every person to
find out what constitutes true pray
er. What are its characteristics,
what Is its nature, and how it may
uo employed so as to bring to the
one who prays with certainty tho
blessings which the Scriptures say
shall come as a result of true prayer.
It is slated In the fifth chapter of
James that "The iprayer of faith
shall save the sick." There is no
ambiguity nuout that lungiiage. It
is not Indefinite or uncertain iu mo
narticular. It is. In- fact, as positive
and direct a stateineut aa cau be made
with humaii language. And yet. It
would seem that one of two things
must necessarily be true, either that
statement in the Scriptures is wholly
false, or else people have not known
how to make the "rnyer of faith
throughout 'the confirles. Except
In sporadic instances, the sick have
not been saved as the result of pray
er. - It, therefore, becomes a subject
for legitimate inquiry In order that
It mav be determined. If poss'Ole
wnether or not that statement in
the Scriptures Is true. Many people
ask if Christian Scientists pray, and
how Christian Science prayer differs
from that of other churches, and It
will doubtloss prove both Interest
ing and helpful if the difference is
explained.
It can be Bald that almost every
person is taught to makn the prayer
or petition, the prayer of pleading.
They are taught to petition God for
whatever good thing they desire,
and also to petition Him to withhold
whatever evil thing they seek to
avoid. Running through the prayer
of petition, and In fact, its very foun
dation and essence, is the belief that
the mind of God can be changed by
the petition. There is the belief that,
but for the petition, God would not
do the tb'ng He Is asked to do, else
whv- ask Him? Or that but for the
petition. He would do the Mng and
would send fhe ev 1, that He Is asked
not to do or not to send.
Yet, all the while that this form
of prayer nat gone -ip from unnum
bered milllonB of agonizing hearts,
the Bible has declnred that God is
unchanging. If God is unchanging,
as the Bible declares Him to be,
then is it not nlaln that so long as
people go on In tho belief that it is
the function of prayer to change tho
mind of God to meet the humun de
sire. In reality tbe further they nr3
getting away from tho true theory
of prayer: and the more sincerely
they believe tbat sort of thing, the
more their very sincerity will con
fuse their understanding and will
prevent them from making the pray
er of fnlth, whlrh. tho Bible says,
"uhnll save the sick."
Christian Science, upon me mum
hnnri. teat-lien its
ndiicrenis 10 mo
tho mver of realization, the prayer
of affirmation. Christian S-lenceja death-nrnd ! Does any one bo-
that n.nt la Infinite eood. and ; item th.it eid ever created a death-
that It Is wholly unnecessary to beg!
or petition Infinite good, to manifest :
good to us, for Infinite good cannot j
do anything else except manifest!
eoort to every creature. If one should
l let fall an object it would bo absurd
..... . i , n r
to beg Or petition me liiw i
tation'to operate. That law would
operate automatically, and would
out th" entire universe, and Is a taw! that he is spirituM; Hist God made canon ot inteiiigenrr. er pens.-uuw.
ef Infinite toed, and Is manifesting hi In His own linage and after His I thus learned Hint sensation and
rooti nnd nothing but good ceae-j own lH:eiies; that He niade h!;n per- Intellirence do not reside In the rut
In?. lv to everv human being, j feet, and tun I what God made per- man body apart from, the human
One person snvs if that Is tnte.,tPct h;-s never possessed the caput:- mind,
whv (hen. do peeele seem to hnvej )ty i, ienme Imperfect. I Home day all mankind will recog-
little rood, and so much that Isj Christian Science Is the only ays- nix 'he Immeasurable servlco that
not pond-' let us leolt at (hit for: (em or teaching, either religious or Christian Science baa performed for
a moment. If one drops an object secular, that even makes an attempt the human race In making this fact
tbe law of gravitation will pull it
down to the first obstruction, but If
tbe obstruction be removed, it will
pull It down further and further as
the obstructions are removed, until
at last. If every obstruction were re
moved, the law of gravitation would
then have its perfect work, and would
pull tho object to the center of the
earth. That Is precisely what hap
pens through the operation of spirit
ual law. That law Is operating In
human consciousness, just as far as
the obstructions will permit, which
obstructions are mentnl Qualities '
the spiritual law will operate tur-,
tner ana runner in numan con- loosen ai u. me umy iiiiug - eminent, Christian Science is prov
sclousness, bringing good deeper and sary for the man to do In order to ing that In the future the body will
deeper Into human experience, until translate the entire universe back j respond with health and harmony,
at last, when every such obstruction '. into its, normal aspect would be for, when it shall be governed by "tbat
shall have been removed, when the. him merely to take off tho green mind which was ulso In Christ
human consciousness shall have been lenses through which ho was look- Jesus".
completely evangelized by truth, and ' Ing. In like manner the only thing Regard0g8 o( what any one ,,,
every mortal thought shall have been necessary for us to do In order to tUiuk or miy lo tll0 collliary Cuns
brought into obedience to Christ, as translate what seems to be a ma- (iaI) Sclcnc0 hHg provc Uuo..u il
llio scripture rommnun, men me
spiritual law will have its perfect
work In human consciousness. In
that day men and women will walk
the earth free from every evil con
dition, no longer in bondage to sick
ness, sin, poverty, old ago or death,
but shall then be found in the con
scious possession of that dominion
which God snld in the beginning be
longs to man.
As each ono shall work out this
question for himself, striving to ar-j
rive at that conclusion wnich shall i
best satisfy him as to which Is tlio
true theory of prayer, one other; aside the mortal eyeglasses aud shuil . dictate tho terms and conditions up
tblng can he mentioned to aid the - begin to look througu the leuscB of ou which he may live, but upon tho
inquirer in reaching mai conclusion,'
and that is that through the Chris
tian Science method of prayer hun
dreds of thousands- of sick people
have been healed. Is not thlB great
array of proof by demonstration at
least sufficient to put every think
ing person upon inquiry, lest the
Christian Science theory of prayer
may not, In fact, bo the truo theory.
Every person who prays desires to I
know how to make true prayor. All!
people desire good and not evil, and,
in the main, all people are equally I
hnnevt in their reiliMous a f f illations. !
for no one would knowingly deceive j
himself about so important a matter.
1 he only reason, therefore, why peo
ple are grouped together In different
religious organizations is because
tuoy honestly believe that through
the organization to which they be
long iliey will be most likely to gain
tho good v. Inch they so earnestly do
sire. Since, men thru Christian Sci
ence prayer, bo many peoplo have
found health, contentment aud peace,
It Is plain that sooner or later, every
thinking person will desiro to know
how to pray as Christian Science
teaches.
CREATION.
Another subject about which there
ls great confusion of belief, is tno
subject of creation. There is per
haps no subject connoctod with re
ligion or mentioned In tho tiible,
about which there is greater nUsuu-
derslandiug than thure is about crea-j
Uon. It is surprising how many peo
ple thore are who do not even know
that there are two accounts ot the
creation in the Bible. The first ac
count is to be found in the first chap
ter of Genesis, and extends down to
and includes the third vorso of tho
second chapter. Beginning with tbe
fourth verse of tho second chapter,
there follows another account thut
is wholly different from the flrBt.
In the first account, we are told
that God created the universe, and
that everything made by Him was
good, and lastly, that Ho created
man, tn His Imago, and aftor His
own likeness, and that he was good;
while in the second account, wo.
have the allegory about God coming;
down to earth, and mixing tip dust
anu calling n inau. "'"'
me story oi auhih nm ..-..c, ...
ihe Garden of Eden, and we ore
told that a deep sleep fell upon Ad
am. and that then Bin appeared, and
that brother murdered brother, anu
rrom mat ony 10 una uai '"
made OI Ulist nan iii-bh a miiiiri
has been at enmity with God.
Christian Science nccepls tbe first
account of tho creation as the spirit
ual and real creation and upon this
foundation and basis it builds. Re
ligious teachers throughout the cen
turies have(ej-roneoii3ly regarded tho
Adam-man aa being the real man
made in tbe imago and likeness of
God, and yet the Bible nowhere Bays
so. Tho Bible nowhoro Bays that
the Adam-ninn was made In God's
Image or likeness. That Btatomcntl
was mado concerning the real man j
described In an account of the real,
creation. And religious leacnera
have vainly striven to make tho wis
dom and the lovo of God fit tho
creation of a sinner.
Such a doctrine as lhat is ImpoB
slide. It dishonors God, and do-j (rlP, and then I found that It was
grades man. It makes God respons-J necessarily truo, and then 1 began
lble for ail or the sin and all of tlio , to wondcr why I myself had not
mlBory rrom the beginning of time,: ihouirht of It long before, because It
and the best proof thnt It Is not true, a)IRure(l so perfectly plain and nil
's tbat It Tna never delivered those j VHK. n was pointed out to mo that
who bellev.id It from evil. thin body which people worship and
How perfectly the name "mortal fear, and which most peoplo get
man" 'its him. Have you ever i down on their knees before every
inmn-hi nf It? Mortnl-iiiort-deuth,! dav and Bay to It, "Oh, body, what
for that Is what the word means. A
death-man. having a death-body and
,nan or gave him a denlh-niind or
a death-body? And is It not plain '
that so long as people conceive of,
themselves a9 i.ng mortals, or the
mortal, or death-man. so long wllfi
I they continue to remnln In partner-
snip Willi ,iertm. .n,,nn,. o.,. . ,...,,,.., , " -
j makes plain that men and women I -mes and nerves than when In
-Li w ck. nn cinnna
can be emancipated rrom mat enemy
to explain the difference between plain. For If It be true, and it is
man and the Adam-nun, and Cbris-: true, that sensation and intelligence
turn Science does explain It and make' do not reside In the human nouy,
it perfectly plain by pointing out' apart from the human mind, then It
that the Adam-man tbe diiBt-man , follows, absolutely, that the human
tbe mortal or death-man. Is nothing - body oannot do anything, foel any
more or less than tbe false mortal j thing, or have anything, except that
concept of man the mls-conccpt of; which the human mind first decrees,
man. It Is precisely as though one! and that by educating, instructing
should put on a pair of green eye-! and controlling the human mind
glasses. He would then look out!
upon a green universe. iiu iiugm;
scrub and scour some object all lie:
pleased, but could never remove the,
green from It, because tho green
oe in me lens mruuKii wuuu no
teriut nuim m..-. ..........
buck Into tho spiritual Is lo take off
the fnlso, mortal eye-glasses.
Christian Science is making pluiu
in uuiuy ways tuui so iuuj, as jiuuyiu
continue lo iouk lurough ntoi-iui eye
glasses, througu ieuseb uiui aiu com
posed ot superstition, iibo nonets,
uutuau Willi prluu, seu-llguioousues!
and the like, they will vouimuo ,io
see uiuu and the universe as mater
ial instead of spiritual; luoy will
contiuuo to see a uelormed and dlB-l
eased man and a distorted uuiteise.
But when they slull begin to lay I
tn0 spirit louses mai are cuiiipuseui
oi truth, spiritual understanding, lego ot every ono to bo governed by
meekness, humility, lovo, faith uuu ; the Inw of Spirit Instead of the bo
purity they will then see a con- called laws of matter, and that by
stuntiy Improving man and universe., telling the truth to mortal mind, and
As this mental transformation pro- thereby destroying false belief, to
giesses, disease, sin, sorrow, poverty , preserve Ills body In health,
and tho limitations of old ago will To llhl8tI.ale how tho body ro
disappoar and the spiritual I real man BUOndg to , meIltailty that gov
wlll begin to appear. When this crn8 u BtU(,y the aces ()f tWQ men
transformation shall have been com- 0nd ,s fllrrowed with deep linos, it
pleted we shall then see man uud the exl)1.0SBe8 bitterness, and shows that
universe as wholly spiritual us they thu man uUcs everyone, aIld bulleves
now anucur to God and as they have, ,,,... ,,,., ,,,,, ,.,,.,.
ulwilys appeared to God, lor God has
never seen His children nor His
creation luruugu mourn wo6... love8 ovory one and thinks that ev
He has always seen us as spiritual, j ery ona lovpB hlnu what is it that
and hence to Him we have lwa; mukes tbe difference botween the
been perfect. In that day we shall - (accB of thf tw0 mon? jB ,t not
know, as in fact wo have now loarn-
ed, that nothing that God made is
material or cvbr needs to be healed,
and that tho only thing that needs
to be healed is our own false con
cept of that which Ho mado perfect.
If all this were only a theory peo
ple might be justlflod In refusing
to accept it, but Christian Science
practitioners are proving dally In all
parts of the civilized world that by
holding tho porfect man In concept,
by knowing that man ls spiritual
and perfect and is governed by an
all-loving God, nnd by arguing stead
fastly from tho standpoint of the
reality of good instead ot from the
standpoint of the oupposcd roiillty
ir evil, the sick are healed, and
human conditions do Improve.
Christian Science, therefore, 1b
proving step by Btep that the decla
ration made by JesuB ls truo, and
that In proportion as the knowledge
of the truth fills human conscious
ness, driving out error and falBO be
liefs, men and women come into the
possession hero and now ot tholr
God-given dominion.
MENTAL CAUSATION
I know how difficult a thing it 1b
for peoplo Iwho are (unacquainted
with the teachingB of Christian Sci
ence to understand what 1b meant
by mentnl causation. Humanity haB
been accustomed through so many
centuries to consider that all causa
., ,, , mnlir that when
I we begln t0 discuss the subject of
mental causation we are ueaiing wiui
nnm nihlne that Is unfamiliar
mnnv. When I first turned to
Christian Scionco, I did so for physic-
I . . ,, and t' WBa healed under
j er(,unimnncel) that admltc1 of no
,iilt i had been healed, i
therefore hecame dooply convinced
that Christian Scionco must bo tho
truth, because t hod wrought in
me so great a change. Whon I was
told, however, that there wag no In
tellicenco or sensation In tho hu
man body, I said that the thing was
bo mnn..estly ohsiird Hint no iniei
liirent person could believe it for a
moment, and In Bplto of tne raci mat
, mi(, bpen healed through Christian
gcionce. -I came very near turning
my )aci 11)lon t. Instead of doing
0 however, I determined to ninke
an honest effort to find out, If I
,.011d, what Christian Science meunt
))V ,ne atatement that there is no
Intelligence or BonBatlon in tho mor
tal body,
I had not proceeded very far be
fore I found that tho statement wna
can I do for you lonay, to seep yuu
from hurting me?" Is rompoped of
something over 7 't per cent of water.
and that the balance of it Is chalk,
lime, starch, potash nnd a few other
things that It ls matter, just as
truly as the Ingredients of the dirt
and wood am matter,
I then learned that thero could bo
no more Intelligence or sensation in
- .....Mi.p n- hi.n it, lite turiii ni iietm.
( tne form oi oirt or mum-, mni mei
with truth, we shall thereby control
me uouy witu (rum, ana me ooay
will then be healthy and harmonious,
just a8 certulnly as the human
body has suffered from disease ami
as the result of wroug mental gov-
, ......,...,,,, ..,,, h,,.
Hon, that tho litmuu body is lint
self-acting. It it, not a ulf-acting
machine. Since It possesses nuuor
intelligence nor sensation in nor of
itsolf , It can act uuly . m ubcdi.-Ui-o
to the mentality thai guveruu u.
At this point curisuaii .Sj..ii-o
perforins an lnvuliitio.o servic- to
mankind by explaining bow each ono
may tako possession of Ills body and
govern it hurmoulouBlv,. Chi-isliaii
Scionco hero declures that no Olio u
under any obligation whatever, to
niiw the on-called mortal miml tn
contrary it Is the right and prlvl-
)s rdant wlth goort wm', and shows
by its every expression that the man
tholr thought? And If thought can
produce such radical changes In tlio
Bhape, expression and contour kit
men's faces, 1b It not plain thut
thought will also produce like
changes In the shape and action or
evory organ and part or the body?
For thero la no part of the body that
Is beyond the reach of human
thought, and since no part of the
body possesses, intelligence or fion
sntion in unr ot ItBelf, It ' follows
tbat no orgun or nerve can act ex
cept In obedience to the mentality
that governB It. .
Also observo what happens whon
a person becomes angry, immediate
ly the functions or every organ in
tho body are disarranged. The liver
at once begin to secrete bile, and to
cliff use It through tho system, so
that one of the first results of a tit
of anger is that the breath becomes
foul. The heart action Is also dis
turbed, either being nccoleratod or
rotardod, and tho face becomes pale
or flushed. Any physician will say
that many deaths have occurred from
fits of anger, and yet anger la only
a mental quality or stato.
Now, let one aak himself that,
Blnco ruch results as those, which are
witnessed dally, can arise from a
Biiddcn wrong mental Impulse, docB
It require much thought to Bee thut
Hko evil resuItB will also occur from
the habituul entertainment of a
wrong mental quality? Is it not
plain, that hatred, and all of ItB Bub
dlvlslons nnd by-products, such as
malice, Bplto, rosontmnnt aud ro
vonge, must necessarily produce
evil and discordant condltlona upon
tho human body? And,. Ukowlse,
that every evil quality of tho mortal
mind, Buch as dlBhonesty, Jealousy,
greed, avarice, self-will, Xear pud
the llko, are so many conspirators
against the peace and harmony of
mankind and that until tbeso quali
ties aro cast out, and are displace
by tho qualities of that mind "which
was alBO In Christ JeBiis," men and
women will continue to suffer sin,
be unhappy, and die.
As another illustration of how tho
human mind governs tho human
body, let a mother tell her little girt
that alio will take cold (t she guts
her foot wet, and It will be bo, end
why? It Ib bocuuso the child be
lieves what her mothor Buys, and
when she believes it, she embraces
her body within her bcleir, unit her
body respouds to tlio belief. Let the
same mother, however, tell the same
little girl, that water huB no more
power to matte ner taso cold wnen
It gels on her foot than when It ets
on hor face, or when she drinks it,
and tho child may then get her feet
wet every day, without tho slightest
bad results.
Again, one man believes thnt If
ho sleeps In u draught, tin will take
cold, and It will bo so. Sitting right
by his side is another man who be
lieves that unless he Bleeps In a
draught, he will be sick, and It will
bo so. and there aro two exactly
opposite results following from tho
same draught, not because there Is
any power In the draught, but be
cause or humun belief about It, thus
showing that Ihe body responds to
whatever tho humun mind believes
concerning It.
Thus Christian Science Is proving
In many different directions that tho
body Is not self-acting, that It has
no intelligence to act and no sensa
tion to feel, and that In evory case,
It o-cys and responds tn tho mental
ity that governs It.
Indeed, this fact Is so plain, that
when It Is once pointed out, every
one will ie.ni-!y. observe Juatuncea to
prove It, and Hie more one gives heed
lo It, the morj It becomes plain that
by controlling on's mental slato of
truth, be can thereby control his
(Continued on page 8.)