St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-02
A Strong Argument for the
Principles Of Christian
Science,
Delivered by Miss Sutton in
Her Grand Forks Sermon
Yesterday.
1t Must Be Either Absolutely
True or Absolutely
False.
Reasons Why 1t Cannot Be the
Last and Must Be the
First.

Text: "Woe unto them that calleth evil
good and good evil Isaiah, ". -.
What is the Christians hope in the
hereafte r? Perfection! All look for
ward to the time, or the condition. when
they will have passed beyond all evil.
When feeling and thought will he as
pure as a chld's. This condition is
called heaven (harmOny). But to pass
beyond the diScords of evil man must
pass beyond its consciousness. TO him
il must be as unreal as lmpurlty is to
child. He must be as unconscious of it.
But if we are ever to advance to that
height where evil Is unreal we must
first reach the point where we begin to
recognize its unreality. There must
be commencement"
Here is a thought | want you to pom
der over-if we are ever to know the
unreallty of evil it must be unreal now.
This unreality is leading factor in
Christian science, and one which cannot
he graSped without study.
The Deep E'hings of Life
are not gained by superficial thought.
Every statement of Christian science is
SO radical that it must be either abSO-
lutely false or absolutely true. There
Is no halfway position to be taken.
partly true and partly false" cannot
be said of Christian Science, for it has
no conflicting statements. 1t saith not:
"God is all, yet Satan is something's"
nor, "Truth is real, but error is also
real;" nor Good is true, but evil is also
true" Its doctrines are consistent with
each other throughout; therefore, re-
peat, it is absolutely false or absolutely
true. Whereas, if they opposed each
other, it must then be partly true and
partly false.
Divine science is absolute. 1t saith:
"God is all; there is nought beside
Him." Truth is real, error is unreal,
good is true: evil is false" Therefore,
there can be no halfway truelsm in it,
and no halfway acceptance or rejection
of it. He who partially accepts, OF
thinks he does, really rejects it, Just as
he who thinks to partially accept perfec-
ton, in fact rejects it, and has accepted
imperfectiOn.
Christian Scientists are often falsely
accused of countenancing and encour-
aging and covering sin by saying there
is no sin. 1t is supposed that they APP
prove of all sinful practices and condi-
tons. They are reported as lndulging
This is most fragrant mistake. We do
say, "There is no evil, no sin. sickness
and DEATH" But we ale simply stating
the truth as it is in spiritual sense, as
we must see it when we emerge from
the erring senses of the flesh into the
realization of the senses of the spirit.
In that consciousness we will surely
realize there is no evil.
But the understanding of evils un-
reality requires spiritual insight, OPP
posed by human thought and beyond its
comprehension. The true understand
ing of Jesus teachings separated good
and evil in just this manner. This was
the power of primitive Christianity. But
more modern Christianity practically
recognizes good and evil as the two
great realities of life with the super
abundance of force and influence upon
the side of evil. Does this honor God or
the devil? Christian science giveth unto
good its own and denies to evil the nat
ure and all the characteristics of good.
Is not this correct? Is it not reason and
is it not religion?
Let Us Reason Together.
Because good and evil oppose each
other in every respect, they are oppo-
sites. Then whatever good is, evil is
not. Opposite causes produce opposite
effects, and Christian Science teaches
that no system of religion can be found
ed upon these two opposites which
would advance man to the goal, perfec-
tianity is based upon both good nd evil.
How? Through the belief that life
itself is based upon good and evil.
| said mOment ago that whatever
good is. evil is not. Then we may dis
Germ the following: Good is God, evil
is not God. Good is mind and its facul-
ties. evil is neither mind nor one of It's
faculties. Good is soul, evil is not soul.
Good is intelligence, evil is n0n-intelli-
gence. Good is life. evil is not life.
Therefore evil is Godless, goddess,
mindless, soulless, lifeless and non-il-
| telligence.
1t must be admitted, also, that good
| is real and evil unreal, good fact and
evil an illusion. falsely claiming to be
| Just what good is i'll fact; claiming in
| telligence, life, reality and power.
| These false claims you admit as real,
| but the whole OF evil to your conscious
ness is that very admission or belief.
| Who gave evil being, Intelligence and
power? Did God? Nay. He knoweth
| Himself tObe the one supreme intelli-
gence, possessing all power. Then the
only seeming reality and power OF evil
is superstition. VIII you longer ell
| terrain the supposlton?
What do you seriously think of life
| being founded upon that which you can
understand to be mindless and power
| less? Good is positive. 1t is something.
Evil is negative: the opposite of some
thing; i'll fact, nothing. Yet is not mod
ern Christianity founded upon the SUP
| position that good and evil are the I'M
| DERIVING principle of life? That evil is
split, Intelligence, mind, soul, power
something just as real and substantial
as good, just as eternal as God? Ger
tanly!
We are taught in orthodoxy that two
opposing intelligences. good and evil,
formed cO-parJnerShlp in the creation
of man; that the all-goOd (God) first
made man, leaylng deficiency, and
afterwards permitted the evil to
supply the Deficiency,
permeating mans entire body with
evil: that from this ruined man God
proposed to resurrect, through CONVEX
sion, perfect and spiritual man. This
is like pouring pint of vinegar into a
dish of sweet milk and expecting to
draw off sweet cream. We should
know that the Adam and Eve story of
mans creation, temptation and down
fall. is the opposing human or evil sense
i'll Its attempt 10 contradict the true and
spiritual account of mans creation, as
recorded in the first chapter of Genesis,
where God is revealed as creating man
good, and that He finished HIS work
not to be completed by an evil agency
called the serpent. When will this
man-made explanation be rightly
viewed as an attempt to find an origin
for the illusion of evil and so believe it
real? When will man know that the
only way to escape evil is first to know
it hath no origin save in supposition.
and that man is, in fact, good and flaw
less.
Christianity insists that although God
made man perfectly good, yet he was
tempted to evil of Satan. That would
be impossible, for that which can be
tempted is evil! If there was anything
in the man God made which could be
tempted, it was evil and God made it;
therefore God Himself must, in that
case, be evil, as only evil can produce