Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-13

tnlS Is a point winch may seem novel
to many-Christian Science shows that
the true health of mankind is deter
| mined by their understanding of Col
and His Christ Not only is this cor
rect and scientific knowledge proved
to be beneficial to man in his daily
aVoCations. in his home, in his bust
ness. in his individual affairs and in
his participation in the affairs of the
nation, but il exerts a beneficial effect
upon the physical condition Of men.
women and children, and heals sick
ness as well as sin and sorrow.
To know God and His Christ is not
therefore. merely TO learn the doc
trinal points in some barren and des-
ultory theology, to set up dry pedantlc
postulates, but, as Jesus has said, TO
know God "is life eternal" As soon
ass man turns Understandings TO the
only true God, he begins to dwell i'm
the consciousness of Life. begins TO be
unconscious of everything which can
in any way infringe upon or impair
life, and to be free mentally from
the encroachments of fear. He is
learning to be absent from the body"
from this material penthouse, and
present with the Lord" with the life
giving Principle which is eternal and
fadeth not away. 1t is clear that if
this knowledge of God and His Christ
were never for an instant absent from
our consciousness, Life would be ever
present to us and death would be both
unthought and unthinkable, leaving
eternal Life to reign supreme, un-
checked in perpetual activity, through
out eternity. No wonder we read in
the Proverbs that understanding is a
wellspring of life unto him that
hath it,"
In spite of much that is being written
and preached on this infinite theme Of
the nature Of the Godhead, one has
only TO watch public expression or.
indeed, to search ones own habits of
thought, to recognize many illogical
and even dangerous concepts which
need correction through careful def
milton.
Let us consider two of the definitiosn
used by Mrs. Eddy in her answer to
the question, What is God? namely,
the detnltlons of God as Love and as
spirit: The apostle John makes the
statement that God is love" Much
emphasis is laid upon this reassuring
declaration in current theological writ
ing. Mankind, harassed bv sin and
SICKNESS, wishes TO believe this af-
frmation of John, hopes that It is
true and is eager for the Science which
explains how 1t is that God must of
necessity be Love, though mortal ev-
pointment, apprehension, and worry.
ana eliminates in disease and death
Inc explanation of this seeming para
uoN Is furnished bv Jesus statement
10 tne samaritan woman that God
IS a spirit or, as this appears in tbe
Revised version, God is Spirit" PRO-
Seedlng from this latter saying as
DiraiS, we arrive at far-reaching con-
clusions, fraught with vital importance
TO mankind 'l''i ''hCF
The Real Man
If God is Spirit. then the roo, ,,,o,,
:, ~ MS creation, who is made i'm His
image and likeness, and therefore narl
t'heS OF his nature, must be spiritual.
J.. l.. ." must express and manifest Shirt
= ne reaI mans Life must be Shirt
ms faculties must be spiritual Fur,
III WlneIInOre' as the image and likeness
u uou, the real man must be COM
PJele' nappy' Wholesome and healthy.
ne cannot deny his parentage nor
orlng discredit upon his ancestry. He
must be eternal and indestructibIe
now, the ideal man, the son of God
bul thlS conclusion, derived from
the Word of Cod is found to be ar
variance with the testimony of ma
terlal sense. 1t does not agree with
me experience of mortal man from
lhe cradle To the grave, for the ex-
perience of mortal man is one of sin.
sickness and death, not of undlmmed
JOY and eternal life. Here is a dis
crepancY, and Christian Science pro-
Nldes the necessary explanation by
showing that mortal, material man,
who is believed to be the sport of cir
cumstance, the prey of discord and the
victim of death, is not the real man
Of Gods creation. declared in the
Bible TO be the image and likeness of
God. Christian Science teaches that
mortal man is a false concept of the
true man, a counterfeit attemnting to
the true. but, nevertheless,
easily detected because of his unlike
ness TO God, who is Spirit God is not
the author of mortal, material man.
nor Of mortal mans failures, limita-
uons and losses, of his final break
down and his death sentence God
IS not responsible for evil i'm any of
its forms. He did not create it, since
it could never lodge in His thought for
an instant. else He were not wholly
good and the Principle governing the
were not wholly reliable. Evil
has no origin in Spirit. no entity nor
reality Of Gods making, and no eter-
nifty, but is always a false concept,
assailing the mind of mortal man until
such time as its lying nature is laid
bare and its futile, transitory pre-
lenses cease to frighten. Evil has no
standing before God. Those who dwell
lin the secret place of the most High"
need not fear its empty threats, but,
asserting their divine rights, may rise,
in the words Of the apostle Paul, lin
the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature Of the fulness of Christ"
Thus it IS that the two statements
of the Bible. namely. that God is
7 ic GtaiV
in this Science. The doubts
which have ever assailed suffering hu
manity concerning the goodness of
God are dissipated. Though physical
sense, left to its own devices, rises
in opposition to the most High, and
tries to give the impression that God
is cruel and willingly afflicts His de-
fenseless children, Christian Science,
the Scriptures, proves that
evil is not Of Gods creation or per
mission. Good and good only pro
ceeds from the Giver Of every good
gift. and all assertions to the contrary
are due to ignorance or blindness OF
heart. Johns statement that God is
Love lives on forever side by side with
Jesus profound explanation that COO
is Spirit.
There IS much comfort to struggling
in the conviction that God
does not authorize the miseries of our
earthly experience This conviction Is
the first step toward the realization
that these very miseries, lacking di-
vine sanction, cannot have any real
cntitv or existence, and must perforce
have a fictitious origin and an unreal
nature God becomes fully reinstated
in human affections at the same time
that the so-called law Of sin and death
loses its supposed hold upon human
affairs.
But We will not deceive ourselves in