The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-05-16


profess any such thing. As it was in the time
OF Jesus, so now the power that heals the sick
is the power Of God.
Christian Scientists assert that the benefcent
God of nineteen hundred years ago, who so7oyed
the world that lie gave His Son 20 suffer what
ever might be necessary for Him TO suffer to
reconcile man to God, to enable man 70 know
God. is our God today, with all the power. all
the tenderness, all the love, all the sympathy for
man that lie manifested nineteen hundred years
ago, and that il is the same power and love that
now makes the lame to walk and the blind TO sec.
The only argument that Jesus ever used TO es.
questioning John; Go tell John the blind re.
ceive their sight and the lame walk; and that
is the argument we used today to establish the
divine origin Of Christian Science. The lame
do walk and the blind do see, and all the logic
in the world cannot lessen the force OF tins
fact.
If, as Christian rcligionists, you believe that
God by the word of His power created all the
worlds, whirled them into space, and set them
forever circling round the sum-" you must be-
lieve that lie has the power to keep His creature,
man, in the image in which he was created free
from sorrow, sickness and suffering, as well as
from sin; you must believe that He who fash
ioned the eye and the ear, and strung TO cN-
qusite harmony what you call the marvellous as
sociation Of human nerves, has the power to re-
move a film from the eye He created thickness
from the drum Of the ear He made, and inhar.
mony, discord, or arring, from the nerves created
for song and Joy and not for arches and groans.
Now you really believe, or think you believe, that
God has the power to do this and you also be-
lieve that God is willing to exercise that power,
and heal the sick, give Joy for SORROW peace Tor
crying, roses for ashes
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK.
| say this, because, in your churches every
Sabbath, and at your family altars daily, trust
you pray to God for the sick and suffering. 1t
is yet fresh in the memory Of us all that the
whole civilized world was redolent with the
prayers Of Christian people for Grant and Garfield
in their hours of dreadful anguish; andsyet can
not be so harsh as to presume that Christian
people would indulge the impiety of pettonlng
God for relief while they questioned either His
power or His willingness to bestow. II is true
you come a little tardily to the Great Physician
with your cherished sick, and somewhat, 1t must
be confessed, in the spirit OF the old elder VINO
prayed: 80 God, we come to Thee because We
have no other place to 60"
It is only after the doctors, patent nostrums,
seven bark lnment. mud baths, electrical Shocks
blue glass; pignut bread, cod liver oil and tcpd
water have left you dcsolate and hopeless, that
you 20 to God, the infinite fountain of light, JOY
and life, with your loved sick ones, and even
then, not trusting God for the relief you ask,
for the chances are many to one that you pray
with medicines in your pocket and doctors at
your call.
All Of you say, have said a thousand times
tin God we live, move and have our being"
but do you really believe thisY For IT is sim
ply equivalent to saying "ln God we live, have
our health and Immortality" l sometimes
doubt whether you do believe it, for you act as
il this beautiful declaration of the Allncss OF
God were a promise made to the ear, to be
broken to the hope; and that, in fact, your life
and health rest in human aids, material things,
the dull, IMPLYING cods OF earth. This VIII
not do; a moral belief that does not find CN-
preston in act is not an intellectual convic-
tion; you may deceive others, possibly your.
selves, but you cannot deceive the Infinite. I
submit to you this simple proposition: If yor
believe you live and move in God, should you
not, as a mere act Of intellectual integrity Of
common honesty trust your life and health to
their infinite Keeper.
Really, your lack of trust in Gods healing
power is not very strange; it is the natural
result of the ancestral opinion | spoke Of a
moment ago. Our fathers believed and taught
us to believe, that God makes us sick; that
God makes us blind and deaf and lame, and,
therefore, we can easily understand how reluct-
antly and doubtingy one who believes that God
is the fruitful source of all his sorrow and
heartache would 90 to Him with confdiug
petition for relief from the very sorrows He
has wrought. And here is the marked distinc-
tion between the old churches thought Of God
and our thought of Him. Christian Scientists
do not believe that God makes you sick or
blind or deaf or halt but we do believe that
God is infinite Love, "the Great Physician who
heals all our diseases"
DIFFERENT CONCEPTIONS OF CREATon.
The fact is, my friends, our respective con-
copts of God are wide apart Christian Scicn-
fists do not believe that Infinite Goodness filed
the world with reprobates and sinners simply
to give Himself occupation in pardoning their
sins "to the praise of His glorious grace" in
torturnS them with sickness, anguish and flame
TO the plaise OF His glorious Justice; but
they do believe, and act upon the belief, that
God is infinite Love, the bountiful Source and
Preserver of life, the Great Physician who heals
all our diseases.
Christian Scientists believe that when Jesus
went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and read from the prophecy of Esaias, respect
ing the "otlce of Christ" where il is written,
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because lie
hath anonted me TO preach the gospel to the
poor lie hath sent me to heal the broken
hearted, to preach deliverance to the caPtivcs
ana recovering ~ot sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised' and closing the
book, declared to the congregation, "This day
is this scripture fulfilled in your ears'
Christian Scientists insist that when Jesus did
this lie thereby socmnly made proclamation to
all men, Of all time, OF His God sealed ambas-
sadorhsip, not only to preach the gospel. but
also TO heal the sick break the shackles of the
bound and usher in 'the acceptable year OF the
Lord And thus we have clearly defined by
prophecy and by the uneQuiyocal words of Jesus
Ihe substance, spirit and practice Of the religion
lie established; religion Of faith, works, free
dom-trcedom from mans oppression, from sick
ness, sin and death; a religion of ministry cheer
and love. And Jesus literally fulfilled His high
commission, preached the gospel, healed the sick
cleansed the lepers, broke the fetters of sin and
gave liberty TO the bound. He taught His dis.
ciples TO emulate His example and told them
that the mighty works He did, and greater.
they should do. Who in the old churches will
be so recklcssly bold as to assert that Jesus
did not mean what lie said2
WHAT THE MIRACLES WERE.
1t must be remembered that the "woris" of
which Jesus spoke were His so-called miracles,
HIS mnstrations to suffering, stumbling, crng
ing crying men; the restoration of health,
sight, hearing, strength, courage, hope, happi.
ness, life, to men; and all without the aid of
any drug, manipulation, diet, change of cli-
mate, mechanical contrNance, mesmcrism, hyp-
notism, or effect of mortal mind upon human
ills; but all, from the withered hand to the
raising of Lazarus by the power of God-the
supreme majesty of the all'peryading Spirit of
Good.
This is what Jesus did, and in His last al.
moniton to the eleven, His chosen faithful dis.
ciples, is found the crowning cheer of His sub
lime ambassiadorshp;, Go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature Z.
And these signs shall follow them that believe:
In my name shall they cast out devils; they
snail speak with new tongues; they shall take
up serpents; and il they drink any deadly thing
It shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands en-
the sick and they shall recover"
| submit that it is not within the range Of
intellectual operation to apply this last com.
mand and blessed promise OF Jesus to the eleven
only, and not to all generations of men for.
ever and aye; and consequently TO us, to you
and to me; Jesus the Christ has spoken it,
spoken 1t TO you and to me: "lf You believe,
in my name you shall east out devils; if you
believe, in my name you shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover"
Christian Scientists accept this call to duty
as addressed to them, and by the most crucial
tests, by thousands upon thousands OF absolute
cures covering the whole range, of mortal at
Fiction, have demonstrated the efficacy of meta.
physical healing and, therefore, the absolute
truth Of Christian Science.
From what l have said it must be apparent to
you thpt at Mrs, Eddy, with perfect Propretyy,
Christian, because it is the Christ system, the
Christ practice, and Science because it is dem.
onstIable truth, infallible principle.
WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED.
May tell you some things Christian Science