Durango semi-weekly herald. (Durango, Colo.) 1899-1907, 1903-09-21

cal results known to mankind. II
cannot, therefore, be justly called
Utopian or Impractical.
Not a New Thing.
Christian Science is not new. Ii
comes clothed in a new garb. 1t Is
presented in a somewhat new form,
adapting 1t to present-day uses, but 1t
contains nothing that is not contained
in the spiritual essence of the Bible,
and especially OF the Mosaic Deca-
logue and the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus works and teachings were bat
an ampliticatlon of the Decalogue and
the Sermon on the Mount. and the
Christian Science text book says Je-
sus was true Christian Scientist:
the most scientific man that ever
trod the globe" 1t also declares
Christian Science TO be as ancient as
the Ancient of Days II is based ON
Divine Principle, and Divine Prinei-
pie is changeless and eternal. God
may reveal himself to mankind in
different ages. in seemingly new ways.
but the revelation is new only to NOR
tai sense. Truth is eternal, and God
is Truth. That system or method OF
revealing God to man which accom-
plshes the most good for man may
be regarded as the new, but its new
ness consists only in its further reye-
lation. In this sense Christian Sci
essential Christianity and Science
are as old as the eternal Truth 1t is
| a mistake, then, to regard IL as a re
cent invention or new religious fancy
| The Connection Between Sin and
Sickness.
The world would seem to have lost
| sight of the relationship between sin
and sickness. This relationship is
| ignored not only in theory but in
practice. It is even yet boldly main
| tanned that there is no kinship be
| tween sin as cause and sickness as
| effect The Christian Science text
book insists thst there is direct
connection. and il bases its contention
upon the unmistakable teaching OF
| the Bible, and especially Of Jesus as
well as upon common facts. AS a
theological question, the correctness
or ncorrectness of this contention
must be proved by the Bible. Jesus
said of the man sick of the palsy. il
reply to an accusation of certain
scribe that he blasphemed, whether
is easier TO say, Thy sins be forgiven
| thee; or to say. Arise. take up thj
bed and go unto thine house" He
|
| the dumb spake. Jesus here treated
dumbness as evil, or what we tern
human error These instances are re
corded in the ninth chapter of Mat
thew. In the tenth chapter we are
told that when he had called untt
| him his twelve disciples, he gave
them power against unclean spirits
to cast them out, and to heal all main
ner Of sickness, and all manner of dis
ease" Here. surely, sin-uncleai
4 spirits-aId sickness are classed to
gether Many similar instances Nigh
be cited, but they are all summed nj
in his Great Commission to the lively,
apostles. wherein Jesus said; AM
as We go, preach, saying, The kingdom
cleanse the lepers. raise the dead
cast out devils" Here he Distinct
couples sickness and sin together, an,
ii will be observed that sickness
comes first on the list. These decla
rations and acts of Jesus are, OF them
selves, sufficient to throw the burdel
of proof upon those who deny tina
Jesus taught that sin and sickness
were one. These citations could b
fortified by voluminous passage
from the Gospels. but enough hav
been quoted to prove my point. If
was good theology in the time of Jesu
to heal sickness, why is it not so now
Has what, was once a good thing be
come by lapse of time bad or use
less thing? Certainly not, unles
something better has taken Its place
Sickness the Result of Human Error
A chief point in Christian Science
that sickness is not of God. He
not its creator. He does not send i
1t is no part of His law. 1t is, rather
the result of not conforming to Hi
law. This is surely true of thos
kinds of sickness that are well know
to be the direct result of sin. / do no
wish to be understood that ever
kind of sickness is due to wilfull di.
obedience of the divine law, or the la,
of right living for | am aware, as yo
are. that some of the best people tn
world affods seem to suffer most fror
some forms of sickness. What l d
wish to be understood as saying |
that every kind of sickness is the re
suit of long ages of human error, o
straying away from Gods law, and tn
innocent suffer with the guilty, be
cause we are ALL more or less, unde
the ban of these long ages of tran.
gression until we come into an under
standing OF the divine law by virtu
of which these human conditions ma
be overcome and destroyed. Jesu
came to make known this divine laN
to mankind, and he did make it know
by proving the possibility of overcou
ing these human conditions in his ow
works
If these conditions, one or all @
them, were in accord with Gods lay
or were in any sense sent by Goo
why should Jesus have overcome o
destroyed them, and why should h