The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-16

Ho says IL Is Based on an ErrO-
neous Conception of the Gospel
OF Christ and of the Nature of
Man, and Not on Biblical Author
ity-Litt1e Comfort to the Sim
full Soul.
Rev. George H. Mueller preached at
st. Peters Episcopal church, Fourth
and Maple streets, yesterday morning,
on christianity and Christian Sci
ence." DR.. Mueller took for his text
st. John L.. II: "And the word Of God
was made flesh and dwelt among u.s."
He said in part:
The Gospel Of Christmas has a bear
Ing upon the problem Of science and
philosophy upon the history of matter,
as truly as upon the problems Of reh-
gion. The common tendency is not
only to consider them entirely apart,
but to regard the physical world as in
some way outside the sphere of reli-
g1on-as If the two worlds of matter
and spirit We're entirely separate and
foreign to each other. The physicist
too often proceeds as If there were
only one realm Of material phenomena,
and the theologian as often loses him
self in transcendental speculation.
Christmas enters its protest by de-
claring that the world Of matter and
the world of spirit belong both to the
one God and are so closely welded that
no man may put them asunder. The
Eternal Son who was in the bosom of
the Father came into this world and
took. upon Him our flesh and bone.
The highest spiritual life united itself
to this material universe to show unto
the world that He is Lord over all.
Let the scientist go on and investi-
gate the laws Of the physical universe.
AS earnest Christians we ought to hail
every new invention, every discovery.
What we want Is the truth For we
believe that every step, every advance,
Will bring us nearer to Him who is the
center and fountain Of all truth. But,
as Christians. we also believe in an
other spiritual world, not far away,
but here In the very midst of this
world of sense. It, too, has it's laws
and principles. It's creed Is faith.
Within recent years, however, a new
doctrine has been preached by some
which denies the reality Of these two
worlds, Or to be more precise, 1t would
substitute one world the spiritual, for
the two. AS a speculation it would
probably have received little attention
were it not that 1t attempts to put it's
teaching into practice by claiming to
heal all sickness and promising deliv-
erance from all i'll by a short and easy
way. Already its victims are counted
by the thousands who have lost their
lives because they accepted this COS
pei. 1t calls itself Christian Science
1t claims to be based upon the Bible,
and therefore to be Christian; it pre-
tends to deal with the phenomena Of
the physical life, and so assumes the
role Of science.
70 Naa
there Is only one real existence, that is,
God. who is a pure spirit Conse-
quently since God is all, all is spirit,
and there is no matter. That which
men call matter does not really exist.
1t is the product of the mortal mind
This deity has no personality. He, or
rather 1t, is only a principle Second
y. of Christ they say that He is the
Son Of God, though 1t does not appear
how q personal being could sustain
sonsh1p to something that Is imper-
sonal. Nor is 1t quite clear how that
fmpersonal being called God can love
as they insist. The divinity of the
Savior Is not that which is enunciated
in the creed when we say, Very God
OF very God, begotten, not made" Of
sin they teach that 1t Is entirely bound
up with this material body. This, they
say, has really no existence, but is the
product of the mortal mind Hence
arises all suffering, all disease. To be
freed from this wrong conception and
to come to the belief that there is only
one world. the spiritual Is to be made
free from sin. Neither, these teachers
say. does death exist, for God is all
and He Is life. Therefore, all is life.
there Is no death except to the mortal
mind. '@'-
The chief end of life, you will per-
celve. according to this gospel, is phys
1cal well being. It regards sickness
and suffering as wholly foreign to
COOS will, and the overcoming of these
as the great purpose Of Christianity.
The great facts Of our Lords life are
entirely misunderstood. His diyin-
1ty and humanity are torn asunder as
by the Ebeonite and HISTORIAN heretics
OF Old. Because He suffered thew be-
l1eve that even He had not entirely
overcome the error that matter has
real existence. The great vital truths
OF His religion are utterly set aside
There is no place for His vicarious sac.
rlnce, no atonement, no room for the
sacraments.
And yet this system ought not TO
surprise us. When the pendulum has
reached It's extreme on the one side If
naturally swings to the extreme on the
other. And this Christian Science has
done. The present age is extremely ms
a. ~
eral belief in the existence of God. He
mas been largely relegated to a sphere
outside Of this world, Christian Science
stands for the truth that He is the
COO or this world, ruling and govern
ing all things by the word of His
mouth. In sickness and physical s11f
fering therefore it is not only the phy-
s1cian's skill upon which men ought to
rely, but upon the grace and help of
Him IN whose hands are the issues of
life and death.
new doctrine. On the other hand the
common sense of men will continue to
believe In the evidence Of both reason
and their senses that this material
world is real and not imaginary. And
this belief Is confirmed by the word
OF God. The Bible everywhere speaks
or this world Of matter as If 1t were
real. Into this world Christ came. and
He, too, lived as If it were real. He
submitted at all times to its lawsuits
own body conformed to the req uire
ments Of nature. In the desert He
hungered. When He hung upon the
cross He was athirst because of fever
and pain.
What are we to think? Was the
Christ imperfect. He declared that It
was necessary for Him to suffer that
only through obedience, even unto
death, could He work out the plan Of
redemption. St. Paul declares that
Christ was made perfect through SUI
fering, and that the Christian must
through much trfbulation enter into
the kingdom Of heaven
We are here In the midst Of a world
not of dreamers, but Of realities. Sin
and suffering not real? What then ia
the meaning OF this cry that has pona