Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-09-10

healed, is miraculous, and that the
time for miracles has gone by. We
are told that today Gods word is de-
stroying sin and saving the sinner
just as it did in the early days of the
Christian era, and that the only rea-
son Jesus healed the sick as he did
when on earth was to convince the
Jews, who were a stiff-necked people,
that he was the Messiah of promise
and the fulflment of prophecy. Do
we not know that never in the history
of the world were there SO many who
need to be convinced that Christ is
the Messiah, as at the present time?
Shall it be urged that all of the stiff
necked people were Jews who died
two thousand years ago? Shall it be
urged that we no longer need proof
that Christ is the Messiah? Or shall
we recognize the error of our former
ways, and in humility study the life
and teaching of Christ Jesus on earth,
SO that we may be able to fulfil his
promise and show to the doubter and
unbeliever of today that he was 'the
Son of the living God''-the absolute
promise which the Bible holds out to
fulfilment of all prophecy and every
mankind?
There is no way whereby we can
demonstrate that God is true, other
than by doing His will and manifest
ing His suprem acy in all things. The
Bible teaches us that God is "a very
present help in trouble" Mankind
say that He is in cases of sin, but
that if one be sick, he must turn to
medicine if he expects to regain his
health. There is nothing in the
Bible that gives authority for any one
to say in what kind of trouble God
may be a very present help, nor to
say there is a trouble that is beyond
| Gods ability or desire to overcome
and destroy; and Christian Science
teaches that man has just as much
right to take a sick trouble to God as
he has a sin trouble, and just as
much right to expect freedom from
one as the other.
The general belief is that one must
| have great faith in Christian Science
before any benefit may be derived
from treatment by Christian
Science practitioner. This belief is
erroneous; all the faith one needs to
have in Christian Science at the in
ception of his desire to be benefited
by it, is sufficient faith to find a prac-
titioner and express desire for treat
ment. To illustrate the truth of this
statement l will relate my own exper-
ienCe when I turned from medicine
to Christian Science to find health.
Personal Experience.
l was born with a supposedly in
durable organic disease; had never
known a well day in my life; l had
| taken all kinds of treatment known
| in those days, and had received no
benefit l had come to the place
where the physicians were unanimous
in saying that dissolution was at
| hand | did not want to die; | want
| ed to stay hereto live, and be well
and able to do as other boys did.
About this time l learned that in
| Boston, Mass, body of people call
| ing themselves Christian Scientists
were claiming Gods word to be as
| presently efficacious for the destruc-
ton of disease as it was when Jesus
was on earth; and that they were
proving the truth of their statement
by healing people who had gone to
them for treatment after having been
pronounced hopeless and incurable by
their physicians. l accepted the sug-
gestion that l try Christian Science,
| in the hope that it might be of bene-
| fit to me, and l went to a Christian
| Science practitioner for help.
The practitioner, a woman, ushered
me into a small room which did duty
as an office, and asked me to be seat
| ed, she at the same time seating her
self in the opposite corner of the
room. After being seated, she asked
me what seemed to be the trouble
with me. | felt as though that ques-
ton added insult to injury, for to me
| nv suffering was most real and
| intense, so l told her that the physi-
clans said l had an incurable organic
disease, telling her what they said IL
was After a few moments conver-
sation, she said she would treat me.
| had not the faintest idea what 4
Christian Science treatment was, so
| was waiting with a good deal OF
curiosity for her to begin the treat
ment, when to my surprise she folded
her arms and closed her eyes. l
watched her for a moment or two.
wondering when the treatment would
begin, when it dawned on me that
this was the treatment. The absurlty
of the belief that she could do ne any
good, sick as l was with an incurable
organic disease, without even laying
her hands on me, was SO apparent to
me that l could scarcely avoid the
discourtesy of laughing aloud in her
face.
In a short time she arose and said,
Il will see you tomorrow at the same
time" If she had been able to
know what l was thinking, she would
have known that l thought she
wouldn't, for l did not then intend
to return for another treatment; on
the contrary, my mind was fully made
I'D to return to the use of the tonic
our family physician had told me 1t
was as much as my life was worth
to go without. This, however, l did
mot do. The disease with which |
was afflicted was of such a nature
and had reached so advanced a stage