The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-05-21


foundation for the claim that Chris
tian Science is but a restratement of
Oriental PHILOSOPHERS, wherein it is.
taught that man reaches the highest
state of existence when he forgets
that he has ever lived and is absorbed
into Deity. The teachings of Chris
tan Science are absolutely opposed
to such an idea They lead us to
think of man as one with God in the
sense that the idea is one with the
mind that conceives it-no part of
the mind, but imseparable from it; and
so it is with man, Gods idea, His
image and likeness He is inseparable
from God, the Mind, the creator which
conceived him, but in no sense com
ponent part of God. In no sense is
his individuality ever lost, for it is as
eternal as the Mind that created him.
The Unhealthy OF Sin, Disease, and
Death.
Probably nothing has been more mis-
understood by people than the state
ment made by Christian Scientists
that sin, disease, and death are not
realm fact, are nothing but false
beliefs. When this statement is un-
derstood, it stands out in bold relief
as honoring God by recognizing in deed
as well as word His omnipotence, omni-
science, and omnipresence, as good,
wherein there is neither elemental
evil nor consecutive passivity which
seems to recognize evil and permit its
existence.
Christian Science gives us but one
standard of measurement, and that
standard is God! Whenever, therefore,
anything presents itself to a Christian
by the standard of perfection, which
is God, and if it fails to measure up
to that standard, it is known to be
un-Godlike; and if unGodlike, not eter-
nal; and if not eternal, not real
How de we know that sin, disease,
and death are not Godlike? How do
we know that sin, disease, and death
have nothing to do with God; never did
have, and never will? Jesus told us
so, and very plainly too. He said he
came to do the will of the Father
He also said he came, not to destroy,
but to fulfill, and he Immediately went
to work to heal the sick, cleanse the
leper, cast out evil, and raise the
dead, 'by the Spirit Of God" Do we
think Jesus knew what he was doing +?
Do we think he told the truth when
he said that he came not to destroy
but to fulfill? If we believe that the
,, told the truth, then we are forced to
admit that he destroyed nothing when
he cast those evils out, for not other
wise can the truth of his statement
that he came not to destroy but to full
fiji, be upheld,
More than this. let us recall Christ's
statement in speaking of a woman who
was ill, when he said that Satan had
bound her. Did he mean that in one
instance Satan had bound a woman be-
cause she was bad, and in another in
stance God would do the binding be-
cause man was good? Does the
statement which Jesus made indicate
an agreement or partnership between
God and Satan, God making some i'll
because they are good, and Satan
making some i'll because they are bad
Let us recall the man who was sick
of the palsy, to whom Jesus said
Man, thy sins are forgiven thee;" and
the man took up his bed and walked
Again he said, eff man keep my
saying, he shall never see Death
Do we believe that statement? Oh
what call that is to us to follow
in the footsteps of our Master; how
1t says to you and to me: The time
now is when We shall do the works
that the Master did; when We shall
take the world of God and heal the
sick, cleanse the leper, cast out evil
and raise the dead in the name of
Truth.
We shall have every one of these
things to do, either here or hereafter
in the self-same way that Jesus did
them, whether we want to or not. be-
cause there is no way whereby we
may enter the kingdom save through
him. If he is "the way" and the only
way, then you and | can reach that
kingdom of God which is within by do
ing what he did, and as he did, to
the accomplishment of our inividual
salvation in the manner that Jesus
Indicated
Universal Belief Cannot Alter Facts
What about this belief of sin, dis
ease, and death being real? A uni
versal belief is not any more foun-
dation for fact than it the belief of
a single person. TO illustrate, let me
call your attention to the time of CO.
lumbus. You remember that he was
treated with scorn and contempt and
cast into prison because he stood up
before the wise men of his time and
said that every one of their scientific
deductions, all of their scientific theses
all their scientific experiments to prove
That this earth is fiat were worthless, be
cause the earth is sphere. Who
was right? Columbus was right, of
course, and the wise men were all
wrong. What effect did the universal
false belief have on the shape of the
earth? None whatever! The earth con-
tinued to be a sphere just the same.
What effect did tho false he have