St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-11-16

opinions, the true sense of God has been
lost. Rut In this scientific age men are
learning TO ask for results rather than
theories and 1t Is not strange that tbs y
should welcome the revival in Christian
Science Of the primitive Christianity
which afforded proof Of the power Of a
present God by healing the sick and cur
ing the sinful, in the way Christ Jesus
babe his followers do.
IT HAS ONE PRINCIPLE.
The first step in a science is the care
full observation of facts and their verilica-
ton: then comes the correct thinking
which correlates the facts and gains an
exact knowledge of laws. The final step
is to rise to the discovery and apprehen-
sion of the eternal Principle which is be-
hind these facts and laws, and accounts
for them
Those carly star-gazers the Egyptians
had a collection of observed facts regard
ing tie heavenly bodies. To correlate
these was the next step. Ptoemy did this
in gnocentric system. Then with enlarged
views came the formulation of the hello
centric system by Copernlcus and others.
These CONGRATULATIONS had to be formu-
lated as laws, which was done by Kepler;
and finally the principle or force account
ing for these laws had to be brought out,
and Newton posted this as universal
gravitation. To-day astronomers in diff
ferent lands who may not understand
each other in language, make calculations
that exactly agree,-because they are cal
culating from one understood and accept
ed principle.
The methods of Christian Scientists in
their world wide work are in agreement.
like those of astronomers, because one
principle is recognized, and that divine
Principle Is God. If this agreement dos
not appear in some cases. it is because,
like children at school, some learners are
still making mistakes in their figuring
making self rather than God the centre Of
their thought.
IT CONTROVERTS DUALISM.
We have to admit that the popular phil
osophy III Christendom Is dualistic. Two
powers are recognized in popular thought
by the civilized, just as frankly as the In
dans recognize an evil spirit as well as a
good This came to be done by Christian
philosophers since they found it impos-
siDe to prove the unity Of Good. Being
unable to Destroy the works of the
devil' in Jesus way and by removing
the manifestation of evil to nullify its
claim to power, Christendom has accepted
evil as fact, an actually of the uni
verse. And, in order to be consistent, has
carried the belief in evil to eternal terms
in various theories about everlasting pun
ishment. What about these theories Of
the eternity of sin and the perpetuity of
sufferings, the eternity of mercilessness
and the Immortality of agony-is 1t not
clear that the principle of harmony, or
der law, cannot contemplate eternal dis
order? We do not tolerate the engineer
whose bridges disohey mathematical re-
quirementS, nor the musician who agon-
ICES the ear with discords We expect
obedience to law and exact thought in en-
cheering work; yet it may be so that the
several engineers when at school made
many plumbers in their lingering. To say
that they shall inevitably make such mis-
takes and imperl the lives of other men
by inexactness and disregard of principle
would seem inappropriate. Why then in
viewing future longer than one man s
life on earth condemn men to perpetual
mistake ana suffering. In advancing his
doctrine ii Is interesting to note that
Jesus struck a new keynote by proclaim
ing only the good in his inaugural address
at Nazareth. He read from the prophet
about the blessing which should come
with the advent of the Messiah, but, ere
reading the words which followed, which
were about THE day of vengeance Oh
our God" we are told that he closed the
book. He omitted from the record the
crude conception of God after human
analogy as vengeful.
| 1t may be said here that no clergyman
now breaches eternal punishment as use(
| to be done. If so it Is admitted that eVi
| is not eternal, and therefore not real now
since only what Is eternal can have real
ity Why then give place and power t.
the unreal? 1t is a distinctive feature O
Christian Science that 1t does not have {
place for evil. Every system of philoso
ply has a place for evil, and accounts fol
the power of evil, but so large is the Goo
in this system that evil is without loca
habitation or a name. 1t is not simpl!
ignored; it Is displaced.
At the house of a Christian Science
practitioner some visitors who were In
vestigators asked the waiting maid hov
her mistress diagnosed disease. How
does she locate it," they asked. In repl,
they had this: she let's the doctors 10
cate disease; her work is to dislocate it.
Suppose the case of man both sick ali
a sinner; here very evidently are tw
evils moral and physical, made manifest
The doctor attends him for his sickness:
and comes with an absolutely certain an
satisfied sense of the reality of sickness:
The clergyman who visits him has just a
certain and settled conviction regardin
the reality of sin. In the philosophy c
both these thinkers evil Is a power while
sometimes may be greater than the powe
of good. Suppose that case to be heale
by a Christian Scientist; health Is mad
manifest and a Christ-like character mad
manifest as well. The sickness and II
sin have been displaced and health an
holiness occupy the ground. In that or
, particular case 1t has been possible
, overcome evil with good. When evil
j. overcome then good holds possession ar
, that which Is present, and the only pre-
: ence Is Good.
+ 1t is a distinctive feature of Christi
, Science that its postulate, rather shou
: one say its axiom, is this: that by provil
the unreality of sin, disease and deaf
! you demonstrate the Alness OF Goo
When the sinner becomes a righteo
q man, and the sick perfectly well, in ea
o case dualism Is shown to be a hum
= theory and the glory of one God is reve;
J. ed in the destruction of both the thee
! and its supporting evidence. When Go
becomes the only presence, and we
member that Good or God Is Love, it
easy to see how this present certainty
If Divine Love destroys wholly in consciol
A ness both memory of past distresses, a
t. fear of future disasters, and proves to [
w individual that God, Good is his life, q
E. all that really exists.
IN WHAT ABOUT FAILURES?
I'd Good is never transformed Il
IN evil. The worlds belief Is that, food
re instance, may both preserve life and
e. stroy-medicine both heal and poison.
= Good Is one. If treatment In Christ
1t Science seem to fail, 1t Is because tn