Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-11-26


is followed absolutely, we shall solve Il
all LIES problems correctly and shallI|
realize in full the meaning of the say
ing, Glory to God in the highest, peace /
on earth, good will toward men,
Mind, Not Matter.
Human sense cannot conceive of |
the individuality of God, but to think |
of him as a person. deified, located in |
one spot or place is indefensible. be- |
cause he could not be omnipresent and |
be in less than all of infinite space |
Even if God be such a person, Is it not |
true that He must have a mind that |
controls His body. and which must
have preceded it? From this viewpoint
is not the Christian Science statement
that God is infinite mind. and that,
therefore, all is mind and minds idea
the most practical, reasonable and logi-
cal solution of the subject?
"The contention that God is infinite
mind carries with it the logical con-
clusion that the Infinite cannot think
of finite things or have finite ideasl
Every thought emanating from mind
or God must be infinitely good or in
| finitely bad. There can be no dispute
on this point, for one is the antithesis
of the other. hence all reality must be
either absolute good or absolute bad,
| without qualification.
IF infinite mind ever had for one
| instant an idea, perception or concep-
| ton of sin, in that very instant it ceas-
| ed to be absolutely sinless. You may
as well assert that an immovable OBJ
| ject and an irresistible force can occu-
| Ply the same place at the same time;
that love and hate. truth and a lie, in
telligence and acknowledgement are all
synonymous, as to cling to the unseen
ly belief that the good God creates,
permits, sees or knows sin.
God, after He finished His creative
work, called it very good and rested
| Look around you and see the mis-
cry. shame. dishonesty immortality, deg
radiation and crime that mortal man is
STEPPED in, and tell PIE, is it very
good?' Can you conceive of the immu-
table good God, able to make His
children reflect Himself. looking down
on such things and enjoying them? No.
a thousand times. no; such a thing is
utterly impossible. These things can
not be chung to as real, but outside OF
and apart from God, for He is Omni-
present. Then we are forced to admit
either that the Christian Science teach
ing as to the unreality of sin is true.
or else that God is infinitely bad.
Sin Has No Place.
Us there no sin? Yes, as long as peo-
pie believe so, and so long as they m
dulge in the belief in it, they shall
suffer for it, and there can be no hope
lof pardon so long as it is INDUCED in.
Christian Science teaches that the
only way to escape the penalty of sin
is to stop sinningi When sin is aban-
doned and destroyed. there is nothing
left to be forgiven or suffered for and
man is free Sin has no place in the
idivine creation, is not of God, and, in
reality, does not exist
THE great sin for which people suf-
fer is the belief in a power apart from
God. God is the only creator and. if
such power exist He must have Gre
iated 1t. If it is true, and who will
Question it, that A double-minded man
is unstable i'll all his ways. what hope
would there be for us in seeking sal.
walton if God be 'double-minded' and
has done this thing?
rs it possible for people to be both
good and bad at the same time?
Would it be possible for God to be so?
What right have we to call anything
that God creates bad when the scrip
ture tell us that everything He made
lis good? If we accept the theory that
God creates or permits evil. how shall
we know whether that which the world
lcalls good is bad or whether that which
it calls bad is good?
IF God is capable only of good, and
knows nothing but good. and man is
capable of both good and evil. then it
would seem as though the created man.
lifests something the creator knows
nothing of. and that the idea has inner
ent possibilities of which the mind.
which conceives it, is totally uncon-
scious.
1T is impossible to reconcile all the
many theories concerning God. and
bring them into one harmonious whole,
so long as He is believed to be the Gre
ator of both good and evil. The world
seems unwilling to accept Christian
Science chiefly because it is different
in practice and precept from the COM
monty accepted ideas about God. even
though it is the first application of
Jesus teachings, since He was on
earth, that has healed the sick from a
purely spiritual and, therefore, from a
purely good or godly basis.
There are in the world today near
ly $50 different Christian sects. Don't
you think this condition might we'll be
called the modern Babel?
Looking at the history of Christian
ity what do we find? That the world
has seen more brutality, criminal in.
genuity and fiendish torture perpe
trated in the name of Christ than in
any other.
II Result of Fear.