St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-23
The SUTTON SERMON
Preached at Grand Forks
Yesterday by the Woman
Expounder.
The Spirit Of Intolerance Re-
tapds All Spiritual
Progress.
General misunderstanding of
the Tenets Of Christian
Science.
Should God Be Held Respon-
Should God Be Held ReSpon-
Sible for the Mistakes
Of Men =?

We have met here today to worship
God. Jesus said we should worship
Him only i'll spirit and in truth. There
fore. only as we are spiritually minded
and faithful to the truth. as we under
stand 1t, do we truly worship Him.
Doubtless there are representatives of
several religious denominations here,
but we are all seeking one object. You
are Methodist, and you are a Baptist,
and you Presbyterian, and L Chris
tian Scientist; but we are all seeking
God and His creature man-to know the
real truth concerning God and man;
and this we my very properly call
Goods truth" or 1.-The truth" as Jesus
said. Now, there can be but one truth,
though there may be many beliefs which
man sincerely believes. Mortal man
comes up through these beliefs to the
truth. We can look back only ten years
ago and realize that the religious beliefs
of today are more exalted than they
were then. We are almost ashamed,
and we are astonished that sensible peo.
pie .cculd have believed the religious
dogmas of one hundred years ago; and
in less than one hundred years to come
we will be astonished at the remem-
brance of the prevailing dogmas of to-
day.
Thus we see beliefs change but truth
is changeleSs. All sincere Christians
are reaching out for that changeless
truth. They want the rock Christ
promised and cannot feel these shift
ing beliefs to be that rock: not by any
stretch of Imagination. There is one
error that | sometimes think
Retards Spiritual Progress
more than anything else. and that is the
spirit of intolerance. Why. how mad
are Christians to be intolerant of each
others views Before the real and
only truth daWns upon mankind it is i'm
possible that all should see alike. In
mems beliefs concerning truth they
must differ and should be tolerant, char
liable, kindly affectionate as Christians.
toward each other. Let each remember
how his own beliefs have changed
in the past and bear in
much in the future If you are in
tolerant toward your brother whose be-
lief differs from yours, it is not Chris
tianity that makes you so, but the lack
of Christianity, and you will find your
faith is dead, for if your views are
right, your spirit of intolerance will pre-
vent you lifting that mistaken brother
to your level, where the light shines.
But il he be right and you wrong. that
same un-ChriStian spirit will prevent
you discerning your error and being
lifted up. The spirit or greater affec-
tiOn--let me repeat it-Should exist be-
tween Christians OF different denomlna-
tons. Children Of one Father. lost and
Iii, Id ,a1
about the path that leads to His house.
There is but one path, and that path is
love! Whosoever is in this path will
not, cannot auarrelwith the others; and
no quarrel ever originated in religion,
but in the absence of it.
So if we desire to see the true light,
we will put away all intolerance, un-
charitableneSS and malice, and diligently
search for the truth. Possessing that
we will be all of one mind, and there
will be perfect unity between us.
In your search for the light which is
truth you are come here today to learn
something Of what there is in Christian
science. and let me say l am convinced
Christian science is that truth which
all sincere Christians are seeking. and
in which all are in one mind who know
and live it. In true Christian science
Much acknowledgements
abroad concerning Christian science.
BY those unacquainted with its teach
ings it is said to be spiritualism, mes
meriSm, infidelity, atheism. 1t bears no
likeness to any of these. The beliefs
OF spiritualism are directly opposed to
Christian science, although many
spiritualiSts have adopted the name of
Christian science, which goes to show
that they see in it that which is higher
than splritualism. AS for meSmeriSm,
Christian science exposes its wicked
ness, and teaches that one human mind
controlling another is trespass upon
the rights of that other, and must
be repented of before the offender
gains forgiveness of his own trespasses.
Concerning infdelity, let me say that
we believe in the Inspiration of the
Scripture Just as Jesus did, and firmly
believe i'll the divine origin of Chris
tianity. Atheists we cannot be, for
there are ne people upon earth who
ascribe to God true omnipotence, ON
niscience and omnipresence except
are asked, Do you believe i'll Ged? and
the usual reply is: I'VE do not believe
in anything else"
Still another mistake is that Christian
science is something new put forth
! upon the world, new religious inven-
ton, a hitherto unheard-of doctrine.
1t is nothing new. There is but one
true doctrine, and that is the on
taught and practced and proven by
Jesus. Christian science is the revival
OF that healing truth which was demon
strated by Hin and His disciples and
apostles. 1t Is again demonstrated to-
day with power.
All Christians are looking for higher
religious experience. Clergymen every
where propheSy the coming Of hi CHER
type of Christianity and religious ex-
perience-the true Interpretation and
experience of the Christ-truth. 1t is
not coming-It has comet The Chris
tianlty taught by Jesus filled all needs
for those who practiced 1t, and the first
Christians had all needs supplied and
all things in common. But they did not
adhere strictly to the doctrine nor to the
living it, and IN time its spiritual mean
ings became more or less Obscured.
This was clearly proven by the diyis-
ions and contentious among them.
Surely while they were tremendously
united in one religious body they had
the true doctrine. But when they di-
vided into bodies, entertaining different
ing the healing works of Christ, it must
be that all were more or less out of the
way Jesus pointed.
Perverted beliefs are full of error, and
hide the perfection of Goo and the
unity of the creature and Creator. The
people have long felt the need of
wiser, more mighty and more loving
Heavenly Father than the prevailing
religious doctrines of the day teach. We
have all asked questions which these
Doctrines Cannot Answer.
When we were children we persisted
in asking them. But our mothers and
Sabbath school teachers told us these
things we could not understand, and
that, therefore. it would be of no use
tor them to anSwer-that we would I'M
derstand when we became men and
women. The fact was, they did not un-
derstand any more than we did, and
were hiding their lack of knowledge by
pretending we could not understand.
| They said we would answer all these