Weekly Arizona journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1903-1908, 1904-01-27

IN Scientists have the keenest APP 7
recitation of the prophylactic and
virtue of their religion, !
nd earnestly contend, and indeed {
lany of us do know, know as certain f;
Y as Paul knew, that his Redeemer
ived, that Christian Science does {
ring surcease to the heart ache and
eart break of men, gives roses for
shes to men, peace for pain, love for
late, hope for despair, health (rosy
heeked) for gnawing disease, gives
ife for death to men. Yet neither of
hese benefactions, nor all of them
combined, is Christian Science in its
,ssence, its infinite good. They are
he results of Christian Science; they
ire the inevitable product, the IN
lvoidable fruitage of Christian Science
and lived; and under
stood only when lived. L assert, in
his magnificent presence, that there
IS not a phase of the religion of Jesus |
Christ represented on earth-I care not |
what your phase of it may be-that is
worth the snap of your finger or mine,
unless that religion is lived. The ex-
pectant children of men the world
around are grasping the fact that the
of Jesus Christ is not relig-
ion of words, of ceremony, of plati-
tudes, professions, confessions, or
creeds, but a religion of works, of
fruits, of demonstration. 1t may have
been he1esy yesterday, but in the
brighter today 1t is not, to say that il
will do you no good to simply confess
religion; it will do you no good to
merely profess religion; you may re-
peat your creeds, the creeds of men,
from now until the very flashing of
doom and it will do you no good, no
semblance of good, unless your lives
are so ordered, that day by day and
hour by hour you may know, and
your neighbors may know as we'll,
that you do indeed believe what you
profess to believe, and know it by
what YOU do. This is the only way
given whereby you may know what
you think of eternal things, what
your real concept of the Infinite
Father is, by what you do, and not
by what you say. The great Master
laid down the rule long years ago in
his pilgrimage among men, and 1t
must be equally satisfying to us all,
whatever our UNCONVENTIONAL name,
to know that Jesus never established
a rule for the government Of your
conduct and mine that he did not
apply to his own. Repeatedly he said
to his disciples-and when he spoke
to them he as certainly and directly
spoke to you and me-''By their
works you shall know them. And
with striking fidelity and picturesque
force, Jesus applied this severe test to
L 10, avVrnS,1 rarinA of his
mission. one of his own raised the
startling and impiOus question as to
whether He was the Christ or pre-
tender? Then your human judgment
and mine would have said, now, now
is suspicious moment, when this Mes
senger of God, this master of all
learning, all logic, and the master OF
| the minds of men, too, may easily
make an argument that will satisfy
the learned and unlearned world
alike, that he is the Christ, the sol
of the living God. Ii is the moment
/ of all the centuries: The world stand:
aghast with the stupendous issue Of
its redemption hinged upon the an
swer. What shall it be? Listen! Mel
and women hush the beating of th'
I hearts to hear 1.-THE mightiest speecl
/ & all the ages, spoken with the sim
/ piicity of a child, the sublime assur
ance of God: $50 tell John tina
the lame do walk and the blind do
see.' That was all; it was not NOR,
brief than conclusive; it touched thu
high level of the momentOUs occasion
and hushed to silence through all the
march of the years, every impioui
questioning of the Christ's divinity
| Have YOU ever thought of it for
moment that this is the only argu
ment that Jesus ever made in thi
world to establish His divinity
Think of it now. He said, indeed
He was the Christ, that He was in tn
Father and the Father in Him, bu
the only argument He ever made t
establish the truth of His declaration
is found in the simple assertion of tn
patent fact, "The lame do walk ano
the blind do see. - And that Is tn
argument, the impregnable aTgumen
of Christian Scientists to the doubling
Johns of the world today. 1.-The lam
do walk and the blind do see'' today
as they did walk and see nineteel
hundred years ago, and by the virtu
of the same limitless power and tn
same boundless love that they dit
walk and see then; and so long as W
can say this in truth, as in truth W
can say it tonight, just so long ever.
shaft aimed at Christian Science, com
ing from whatever source it may, viii
fall harmless TO the ground.
From what l have said, it is appar
ent that our contention is that Christ
ian Science is a religion pure an
, simple, a religion of works, neare
approach than men have known 70
seventeen hundred years to the relig
ion that Jesus taught in the temple
that He preached throughout al
Judea, that He so lovingly and ten
DERBY practiced among all His people
and if it is all of this. then you wan
it, everyone in the world wants it
and it is less than all of this, W
do not want it, no one in the worl,
wants it. Wherefore this contention
of ours is the only debatable question
respecting Christian Science: Is
the religion Jesus brought, taught
and practiced?
In the discussion of this question
we are somewhat embarrassed by in
herited religious opinions; by tina
peculiar and almost universal condl
ton of mind, best known as pride Il
ancestral religious belief. 1t is s
much easier to have some one thin
for YOU than to think for yourself; (
do for you than to do for yourself; {
have a religious belief, doctrine, o
: creed handed down to you as gar
ment, decoration, title, or jewe
might descend from father to son, in
81 ,fVna n9FmQnnt
winning your own decoration, deserv
ing your title. 1t is so very easy, an
therefore inviting, to put aside tn
whole matter with a sweep Of fila
, pride, ''My fathers were good an
pious people, and the religion that wa
good enough for them is good enoug
for me-" But the religion of you
fathers is not good enough for you
and if good enough for your fathers
it was only because they had the hes
that the time in which they lived an,
the locality in which they live,
afforded. You live in a brighter da
than ever gladdened your fathers-at
period in the worlds progress tina
YOUR fathers never knew. a moment
consideration should satisfy you tina
there is no reason why the religion O
YOUR fathers should be good enoug
for you any more than that the wood
en- shoes and leather clothing of you
fathers, are good enough for you; o
that your fathers ignorance of tn
laws of gravitation, the form of tn
earth, the rules of navigation, tn
power of steam, compressed air, an,
electricity is good enough for you
The fallacy of your position is some
what graphically illustrated by tn
| IL .nnnntlr- rnndn in nna of tn