Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-01
BIT REV. WILLIAM =. McKENzm

as visionary, as an amiable dreamer;
but far. indeed, is this from the truth.
Jesus. the anointed of God, came IL
lu1nined with divine light, so that he
was able to say, II am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness. but shall have the
light of life." He gave certain signs
by which we could recognize orthodoxy
whenever we found 1t. That word goes
back, etymologically, to two Greek
words, and simply means right think
ing, or judging. We recognize that
every act is preceded by thought
consequently, all the action that Is
found in the world among men pro-
ceeds from a right basis or wrong
basis. If am working from right
basis OF thought, then my thoughts
will be harmonious with all other men
who are right thinking. But If my
thinking proceed from the basis of a
wrong theory, then there will be no
possible reconciliation of my actions
and thoughts with those of other men.
Jesus gave us a series of signs by
which we might be able to see where
there was right thinking. These signs
are universal He sail, If you remem-
ber, "These signs shall follow them
that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with
pents; and IL they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they
shall lay hands on the sick and they
shall recover"
Now would like you to observe that
this orthodoxy, of which Jesus spoke,
includes both medicine and theology;
it includes both therhealing of sick
ness and the healing of sin. So If you
and come to the point where we are
orthodox in Jesus way, being ortho-
dox, we shall find ourselves i'm agree
ment with all men who do right think
ing throughout the world; we shall
find ourselves able to be well. and
able to be righteous. And that under
standing will not be gained by going
to some one who gives us a drug or
a dogma; it will not come by going
to some one else for advice. but will
be within us. Jesus words understood
are in the hearts of men like a foun-
tain of water springing up into ever
lasting life.
Truth in Understanding
The trouble with our past theories
has been that they have dealt with
man as q dualism; as combine of soul
and body. Body was supposed to be
the place where life was inherent. and
the soul was supposed to be capable
OF such error and sin that the whole
flld0 must Dt lOSt. 4NOW 50 iOllS dS II 10
believed that the body is the residence
of life and the cause of life, people
will seek for health through the doc
toring of the body, through dealing
with the external man. Instead of
going at the root-cause of sickness,
the effect only win be dealt with. And
so with regard to sin. Instead Of pro-
ducing a new spring of action, the
attempt will be made to treat sin with
dogmas or statements of truth. just
as the sick are treated with drugs
A man is not his own doctor as a rule,
He takes the advice of someone else.
He takes the remedy which is offered
him by some one else; he does not
understand the ingredients of it, so 1t
is to him something mysterious, and
he relies upon the mysterious action
of this thing which he does not un-
derstand to bring him back to health.
In the same way a man who is sin
ner instead of understanding the cause
of sin, and annihilating it, tries to
make himself right by going TO some
one who will give him statements of
truth, some one who will from the
outset, so to speak, tell him what is
right. People use catechisms and for
mulas of truth with the idea that by
believing certain things they are going
to be assured of a future world sal
walton. But we need to find some-
thing which reaches deeper down than
catechism, creed or dogmatic belief;
something which will reveal man to
us as being made in the image and
likeness of God.
Do you not recognize that such
result must come from system of
religion, an understanding of Truth,
which merits the title of orthodox?
The true orthodoxy is the right think
ing which Jesus taught, the scientific
II ~ IL -ttt1l aIrx.
our lives as harmonious one with an
other as the closely fitting parts of
some of the structures which men
build: which will cause the whole
building to be fifty framed together,
every part supplying comfort, and
strength, and beauty to every other
part fitted together into a unity which
has for it's head and insignia the same
Mind or Spirit which was in Christ.
This, then, is the problem of our lives,
to have the same Mind which was also
in Christ Jesus, the Mind which en-
abled him to let sickness and sin dis
appear If that same intelligence is
operative to govern your thought, sick
ness and sin will disappear from your
consciousness. And as the good is
illumined and unfolded, and the pres
ence of divine Love becomes reg
ular and O. constant thing, then you will
know that the kingdom of Heaven is
come to earth, and that it is possible
for men and women, as the children
Of God, to dwell in happiness, and in
peace, and in mutual brotherly love
here below. And thus is wrought out
the atonement between man and God.
illumination VS.. illusion
No change needs to be made in the
evolving Of everlasting goodness, the
principle of mans life, but a change
does need to be made in the con-
sciousness and understanding of man.
We need to get rid of the idea that
life is in body and dependent upon
matter. We must get rid of the idea
that there is any happiness in sin, or
that man can find any JOY whatever
in anything contrary to what is good
and true. And when the illusion of
sickness and the illusion of sin have
been displaced by the illumination of
Truth and the understandings of di-
vine Love, then is brought to pass the
proof that sin and sickness are swal-
lowed up in victory; and that there is
no death, since man, understanding
God, loving God, being at one with
God, recognizing God as his life, recog-
nizing God ais the source of holiness,
understanding that he is related to God
actually as father and child are re-
lated, as Mind and idea, as Principle
and manifestation, as the Sender-forth
of love. and as the answerer of love-
man thus developed and related knows
that all this is, Is Good and its mani
festation as 1t was In the beginning
when God saw all that he had cre-
ated land behold 1t was very good"