Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-03
CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE is
DISCUSSED
RELIGIOUS PHASE BROUGHT
FORWARD
MEN PROMINENT IN CHURCH
WRITE STATEMENTS
Striking Illustrations Of Intolerance
Are Given--lnconsistent Position
of Some Eastern Legislators
d Is Shown

Christian Science, as a means of physi
cal healing, is more generally known ant
appreciated by tho=e who know but little
about it than it's religion. But to those
who believe in and strive to practice II
the religious teachings it inculcates are
the vital things To them, the spiritual
understanding it brings, the better under
standing of the Bible. of God and OF
mans true relation to him and to the laws
of the universe are the essence II
Christian Science and the physical healing
only the demonstration or proof of the
truth of the Christian Science religion Or
the works following" Therefore, let US
lay aside the question of the healing,
through the practice of Christian Science,
and consider it briefly as a religion.
1t may be said. in the beginning, that
Christian Science is not new religion.
1t differs from the so-called orthodox
churches not so much in what they re-
gard as the essentials or fundamentals
of the Christian religion as it does in the
construction and application of them to
the everyday life of man snd his future
state.
Their Beliefs
Christian Scientists believe in the Bible,
In the omnipresence, omnipotence and
omniscience of God, in the immaculate
conception of Jesus. his crucifixion, resur-
rection and spiritual ascension. They be-
]ieve in his religious teachings in their
fullness and are striving to obey his COM
mand to preach the gospel and heal the
sick and to have that mind which was
In Christ" They believe In the atone
ment not in the sense that man was re-
deemed from sin by jesus suffering and
death on the cross, but in the sense that
his life and death and his resurrection
lit How fr1 tan
spirit were intended to demonstrate the
omnipotence of God, the mortality of tbs
neshly body and the immortality of the
spiritual; not in the sense that his Suf-
fering and final crucihxion could or was
intended to shield man from the punish
ment that must surely follow sin. but
were to show man the way to eternal life,
to that perfection which he commanded
when he said: BE we perfect even MS
your Father which is in heaven is per-
feet"
The religion of the Christian Scientist
is the religion of Jesus as he understands
At and as Jesus taught and demonstrated
it. His was religion not alone Of words
but of works. 1t included not only the
preaching of the gospel but the healing
of the sick. Mrs. Eddy has never claimed
TO have discovered a new religion, but
she has discovered the true principle of the
religion of Jesus that has for centuries
been lost and displaced by man-made
creeds and dogmas.
Lives Regenerated
That she has by her discovery opened
up the spiritual meaning of the Bible and
made practical here and now the teach
ings of Jesus is attested by the regener
ated lives of thousands of men and women
who have thereby been made to see in
religion not a dead ceremony; in life not
q preparation for death but a growth into
sternal life and perfection; and man, not
as sinful, mortal, dying being, but as
Gods child, created in his image and like
ness; not material but spiritual; and sin,
evil. sickness and disease, not as real and
permanent, but as unreal and temporal;
and in God the All in All, and that
All as good overcoming and destroying
all evil and discord of every nature: and
this omnipotent principle of good as
always and everywhere present as the
''refuge and fortress of many, and his
sure protection against all evil, if only
man will keep his commandments in
thought and deed.
Therefore Christian Scientists believe
that the way to salvation, the enjoyment
of life harmonious and eternal is through |
right living and right thinking by put
ting off the old man and putting on the
new, by repentance and reformation. In |
other words, that the divine law is fixed
tion and Immortality. to freedom from
the belief in evil and sin and spiritual
understanding by conforming himself to
that law. They beneve that every man |
must work out his own salvation in the |
way pointed out by Jesus, the Christ, and
that he can attain it in no other way. |
To sum up, the Christian Science religion
is q religion of right thinking and right |
living as the Master taught us how to
think and live. The textbook, Science
and Health, with Key to the Scriptures"
by the founder and leader of Christian
Science Mrs. Eddy, is commentary on
the Bible, not to refute or deny it's truth
but to ascertain and point out it's true
spiritual meaning and import.
Interest Is Awakened
Through it's teachings thousands have
been brought to study the Bible with new
and awakened interest and with an under
standing never before attained, to their
immeasurable advancement physically
and spiritually. 1t has increased their
respect and reverence for the Bible and
their love for God and their fellow man.
1t has made the Christian religion a liv-
ing, rulsating power for good, in the
elevation and regeneration of man. 1t
has brought harmony, good cheer and
love into thousands of families where be-
fore were discord, inharmony and strife
1t has elevated the standard of business
honesty and integrity, civic obligations
and brotherly love.
Is it at all wonderful that such
church, with such a religion, is bringing
to its ranks all classes of people, the rich
and poor. the unbeliever and the be-
Never, the educated and uneducated, young
and old alike? Is 1t wonderful that they
are coming by hundreds from the old
churches to find live practical work.
ing, everyday religion that meets their
lie In on kaaa
heaven is reached by true and right living
and not by dying? JOHN d. WORKS.