Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-10-29
THE SCIENCE LECTURE.
Continued from first page.

living, gracious, long-suffering, album
dant In goodness and truth, forgiving
iniquity, transgression and sin. .
God hath all life. glory. goodness. bles
sedness In and of himself, and is alone
in and unto himself all-sufficient.s
He is the alone fountain of all being,
of whom. through whom. and TO whom
are all things. His knowledge
Is infinite, infallible, and Independent
upon the creature, SO as nothing is to
him contingent or uncertain"
Words could not define a more inn
personal God, If we accept words at
their ordinary meaning. III we give
to the words quoted from the Confess
sion of Faith their ordinary and ra
tional meaning, we could not imagine
better definition of an impersonal
God. May / not fairly and honestly
ask: How can we think of q God
who is infinite as being composed
of flesh, blood, and bones, with all
the infirmatives and limitations per-
tanning thereto? How car ne thus
think of God who is "spirit?'' How
can we thus think of a God who is
Almighty" How can we thus think
OF God who is without body, parts,
or passions?' / submit these ques-
tions in no spirit of captious criti-
cism, but by way of sincere and
earnest inquiry.
The Methodist Episcopal church
adopts substantially the Westminster
definition, but leaves out the word
PASSIONS" thus describing God as
being without body or parts And
yet our orthodox ministerial friends
including those of the Methodist
church-oppose Christian Science
largely upon the ground that, as they
claim, 1t teaches that God is not a per
son. 1t remains for our orthodox
friends, not for Christian Scientists,
to explain how God who is 'infin-
ite,' who is Spirit" who is "etern-
al who is without body, parts or
passions" can be person in the or
binary sense of the term, or a mere
ly big man." as he is so commonly
understood to be.
/ The definition above quoted is
found in the Westminster Confession
OF Faith of the Presbyterian. church
of the United States; and, as / have
said, has been substantially adopted
by all the orthodox Christian church.
es. 1t does not appear in what is
called the Shorter Catechism. The
book from which / quote bears date
of 1906, so that it stands as authori-
ty now.
l now call your attention to part
of the New Testament record which
we consider as fundamental Christian
doctrine or teaching. l refer to the
great commandment given by Jesus
to his disciples, called by some BIZ
BILE commentators his Great Commits
sion to the Twelve. If it is true
that this part OF the Bible is funda-
mental Christian doctrine or teach
ing then surely those who desire to
live Christian lives cannot too much
study nor too we'll understand it, For
present purposes, quote the account
contained in Matthew 10th:
GO not into the way of the Gen
tiles, and into any city of the Sam
aritans enter We not; but go rather
to the lost sheep OF the house of Is
rael
And as We go preach, saying the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
/ Heal the sick cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead. cast out devils; free
/ ly We have received, freely give
Provide neither gold nor silver,
nor brass in your purses. Nor scrip
for your journey, neither two coats
neither shoes, nor yet slaves, for the
workman is worthy of his meat" Or
of his hire, or wages as it is else
where rendered
This commandment is unit II
is not two commandments There is
in this language no authority TO sep
arate or subdivide it. No more au-
authority to do this than there is to
reject il as a whole. The words re-
lating to healing sickness and doing
the other works there mentioned are
not only a part of the general COM
mandment, but of part the very SEN
tence in which occur the words re-
lating to preaching Yet we have
been taught TO believe that while a
part of this commandment was in.
tended for all times and all peoples
another part was intended only fol
a particular time and particular PEG
pie. In other words, that the part re-
lating to preaching the pospel was
to be handed down TO all nations OIL
the world, until the heather nation:
should be converted to the Christian
religion. But that the part relating
to healing the sick and doing the 9th
err works mentioned was intended on
ly for the time of Jesus and his dis.
ciples. Or, in other words. the the
oretical part was to be perpetuated
but the practical part, the doing o
the work. was to be relegated to tn,
dead ages of the past, left away bacl
. beside the sea of Galilee. Christian
Scientists cannot agree to this at
tempt to cut out or make obsolete
this part of the great commandment