Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-28

must either reject God altogether or
we must recognize that it is really as
unreasonable to say that infinite truth
creates the falsehood that twice two
is five. That we believe that sin, sick
ness and suffering are realities of mans
true being does not make them so. APP
pearances belong to one category in
sound reasoning, and truths belong to
another and distinct category.
"a profound truth is encompassed in
the scriptural statement: AS a man
thinketh I'm his heart, so is he The
conceptions which a person has Of God
exercise a most powerful influence over
that persons character, conduct, habits
of thinking and physical being. In
deed IL is impossible to measure or
limit the activities and scope of these
influences and their far-reaching effects.
Christian Science has been q chief fac-
tor in the last twenty-five years in
arousing the sleeping attention of man
kind 10 the pressing Importance of n
constant recognition of these influences
and effects. If we believe that God IL
the author OF sin, we look upon sin as
an unavoidable and, indeed. indis-
pensable part of the economy of the
universe. Does not such view of sin
tend to make us more tolerant of its
presence In ourselves and others and
sistance against It?
''If we believe God to be the author Of
sickness and that sickness is one of the
dspensations of divine Providence Uo
use phrase that Nwas once much in
fashion). what is the use of our taking
any steps to get well? If we really be-
lieVe that God intends and DEGREES us
to be sick can we expect that drugs or
prayers of faith, or anything else, Will
do hp w
become more hopeful in our efforts to
overcome sin and sickness as we lose
our belief in such n God. Thus our
false belief that God is the author Of
sin or sickness teaches us doubt re-
specting Gods existence and turns our
discouraged thoughts toward the de-
spair of atheism.
christian Science classifies and de-
fines infinite mind, or God, and his
infinite manifestation, as the real
ity, and all else, including material
phenomena, sin, sickness, and so forth.
as non-reality. This classification has
been the source of much misconception,
misrepresentation and ignorant ridicule.
Christian Science does not deny that all
these appearances seem real to our
sense consciousness. 1t does not treat
them as merely imaginary, as has been
incorrectly stated by some of its critics,
with scientific accuracy. 1t finds that
Jesus taught and proved the non-reality
of the appearances which he overcame
and that accordingly Jesus promised
his followers: 'Ye shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free!'
Truth Makes Free
"Of what shall the truth free us? Not
from what is true-truth frees us only
from what is false. And Jesus with
his supreme understanding of the truth
overcame sin, sickness, and their like,
as the falsehoods, not the truths of our
being. If they had been truths they
could not have been overcome. II finds
that Paul had the same classification
in mind when he wrote of the things
which are seen as being temporal and
the things which are not seen as
eternal. 1t finds that this classifica-
tion is the only one which can pos
sbly harmonize with the scriptural
statement that God saw that every
thing which he had made was very
good. 1t is only what is not good, and
therefore, not of God, which Christian
Science seeks to overcome. 1t would be
impossible to overcome anything which
comes of God, in other words, anything
which is good, or reality. 1t is only
what is false, not good, not real which
needs to be overcome or which can be
overcome. All that is not good is not