Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1913-09-23

4 cOufaSet, IL is easy TO underStant
why Christian Science has sprea'
from one end of the earth to the 9th
Ter with such wonderful rapidity.
Why should any one not wish t.
believe that God heals the sick? L
lit not thing to be desired? and il
it not something for which human
] ity has been praying through thu
centuries? Now that 1t is here VIII,
should any one not wish to accep,
i it? Let each one ask himself thai
Question.
/ Christian Science is religion. II
is the Science Of Christianity-the
science of God and man. 1t reveals
spiritual law, and explains the op.
leration Of that law in it's relation tc
man and the universe. It defines
mortal mind and immortal Mind
and so makes plain the difference be-
tween mortal men and man made by
God in His image and likeness.
| Christian Science pleads for ra-
tional understanding of God in place
of mere belief about Him, and it is
urging mankind to look for the real
|causation in mind and not in mat
ter. It declares that God is not the
author of sin, sickness, or death,
hence these conditions are illegiti-
mate and can be destroyed by a
knowledge of the truth. 1t denies
that there Is any divine authority
for man to sin, suffer, or die, and
recalls the solemn declaration of the
Scripture that God gave man as his
birthright dominion over all the
earth and over all that it contain
ed. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you
free" Christian Science says to the
tired and suffering man who is wan
dering about without any dominion
at all, that the knowledge of the
truth will set him free from his
bondage to sin, suffering, sorrow,
and failure and will give to him
that dominion which God said in the
beginning belonged to man.
A correct understanding of God,
therefore, is necessary as the foun-
dalton of religion. Any system of
religious teaching that is founded
upon an imperfect or an erroneous
conception of God must necessarily
fail to bring to the believer the COM
fort and help that he seeks. When
we look around and see the devotion
and fidelity of people to their relig-
ious beliefs. and then see how often
they fail to realize the benefits for
which they seek, it is a fair deduc-
ton that there is something wrong
about their understanding Of God.
The prophet Micah said man s
enemies are they of his own house,
hold, and Jesus repeated the state
ment. I used to understand their
meaning to be that mans enemies
were his own kin, but now realize
that a mans enemies are they of his
own mental household. The mental
guests or thoughts that we enter
tain in our mental homes are either
our friends or our foes. Hatred,
fear. self-love, and all evil qualities
of thought are enemies that bind
man to sickness and death, and man
will never gain his freedom until he
drives out these enemies and makes
his consciousness the temple of God.
We are told in Christian Science
that fear is an ingredient Of every
disease, and If fear were entirely de-
stroyed a large number Of diseases
would 60 with it. If we could i'm
agine this world with all hatred,
fear, superstition, self-will, and self
love destroyed out of it, ii is con-
ceivable that longevity would be in
creased and that happiness and
HSdilU WOuiu pc Lhoic SSsoiS
If Christian Science had never
healed case of sickness it would
still be entitled to lasting praise for
compelling this age to recognize the
power and influence of thought. Sol
onion declared three thousand years
ago that as man "thinketh in his.
heart, so Is he." In other words,
the quality OF the man is determin-
ed by the quality of his thought. 1t
is therefore Of supreme Importance
that man should know the truth, to
the end that he may know how to
think correctly.
AS time goes on humanity exhib-
its an ever decreasing interest In
theories about God that are not help
full and practical. This tendency has
been deplored by the churches as in
dicating a loss of interest in re-
ligion, but it is not so. 1t indicates
tremendous desire for religion
that is practical.