Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-10-20
dresses Large Audience


all entity or existence, the only
Cause or Creator, whose works are
spiritual, righteous, unchanging and
eternal
Christian Science declares that
God is the Principle of His creation;
hence the energizing, governing,
controlling, directing, sustaining
presence of the universe-the very
law of completenss, perfection and
operation of all that is. 1t declares
that He is Love; hence He is COM
passionate, merciful, tender, loving,
comfortable, true. In a word. Chris
tion Science teaches that God, our
Heavenly Father, is All-in-all.
Spiritual Man and His Dominion.
Having indicated something of
what Christian Science teaches about
God, next in Importance naturally
follows what it teaches concerning
man as the offspring, or son of God.
Our Bible tells us that the man
whom God made was a good man,
and that he was given unrestricted
dominion over all the earth; that
is, the divine sonship. the spiritual
creation, should dominate and be
made manifest.
Perhaps all of you do not take
this view of dominion and have an
abiding conviction that mortal man
does rule things and sometimes with
a pretty high hand at that. Well,
am prompted to ask If any one
knows of mortal man who is,
after all exercising, dominion over
the earth to any considerable ex-
tent? Where is the one in ten
thousand. or ten million. who knows
anything about what 1t is to have in
complete subjection to his wish or
will even his own body. to say moth
ing of other things?
Theology's Claim as to God and Man
Now what has scholastic theology
asked us to believe with respect to
God and man? As you we'll know
scholastic theology in it's explana-
tion of the nature of God and the re-
lationship existing between Him and
man. has represented God as q hu-
manly mighty potentate and man as
corporal being and a sinner be-
fore his maker. Then 1t has de-
clared that this man could only rise !
above his sin and it's polluting in
fiuence by the special favor of God,
thus holding salvation as the latter's
optional gift. In plain English then,
we have been taught that there ex-
lists on the one hand an avenging.
merciless, whimsical God, and on
the other a damned man. whose
chances for a far-away heaven or
near-at-hand hell are about equal.
This doctrine, mark you, has been
proclaimed in the very presence of
the acknowledgment that God is
the essence of holiness, justice,
goodness and truth. We have here
an incongruous PROPOSE
ton and upon analysis find that hu-
manity has been induced TO believe
the strange sophistry that primitive
good is the creator of evil and there
fore by inference. IL not actual state
ment, that good is the procurer OF
all discord and man a foreordained
sinner and a hopeless victim by the
act and authority OF
Godl
This analysis furnishes us with
a situation at once astounding, In
extrieable and irreconcilable! And
what 7 ask in all seriousness. has ,
this sort OF conception OF God and
man. and it's strange issues, by way ,
Of promise. Of hope and Joy for you
and me? Simply nothing. The |,
heritage OF the believer in such
doctrine mus. ever be Ignorance,
fear, despair, misery, want and woe.
In view OF such teaching is II any
wonder that humanity languishes In ,
distress. and that we have in the
world today thousands of inhdels and
atheists? II
Voluntary Sin and Punishment.
Commenting on this doctrine to
which I have Just referred, an emf {
nent historian pertinently observes |
that the most OF our religious be- |
liefs or systems. which fortunately
are rapidly passing away, "aserioe |
10 God attributes which according 70
natural Justice would be injustice
and cruelty. such IS no earthly u
u A.