Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-02-21
What In Man.


What Ii Man:
Perhaps in no particular does Chris.
tlan Science differ more from the gen.
orally accepted doctrines of religion
IMAM In the view which it takes con-
corning the essential nature of man.
Prevailing theories and doctrines hail
man before supposed bar of injustice,
ana condemn him before he has been
neard. Contrary to the practice of
the law throughout the centuries, he
is considered guilty until he can prove
himself innocent. Commonly accepted
theology has assumed that without
any choice upon his part man has been
porn sinner, has inherited evil pro-
pcnsities, tendencies and idiosyncra-
sizes, which invite disaster, and that
his chance of being saved from his in
herent evil is comparatively slight
The commonly accepted theories of
physiology and anatomy treat man as
material body so delicately fashioned
that the slightest jar in the wrong
place may destroy his usefulness and
rob him of life. If by any chance he
should escape the consequences of his
evil prOpensities and be saved from
sin, he is almost sure to fall into the
tolls of disease and become physically
disabled.
These theories place mans mind in
the brain and his soul somewhere else
III the body, generally in the heart
But, wherever placed, the mind and
the soul of this miserable sinner are
never safe from the assaults of the ac
cuser. He is believed to be the sport
or circumstances and the victim of
discord.
Christian Science comes to declare
man Alright. 1t invites him before the
bar of justice. where his real nature
may be set forth and his tornentors
condemned. 1t furnishes the evidence
that man, made in the image and like
ness of God, is innocent, inherently
good, naturally happy and of noble
purpose. 1t shows that man is by ma
4, ture healthy as well as good, that God
is his Mind and his Soul, that his fu-
ture is assured, for he is immortal
and indestructible like his Creator.
safe in the bosom of the Father, abid-
ing under the shadow of the Almighty.
God In Love.
Let us now consider the definition
of God given by John when he said,
'God is Love-" Do we carry that def
milton it's logical conclusion? One
such conclusion must be the following:
If God Is Love, then we cannot con-
ceive of Him as creating evil. There
fore Christian Science teaches that
God Ia not the author of evil in any of
its forms. He did not create 1t, since
1t could never lodge in His thought
for an instant, else He were not who'll
ly good and the Principle governing
the universe were not wholly reliable.
Evil has no origin in Spirit, no entity
nor reality of Gods making and no
eternity, but Is always 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 brighten. Evil has no
standing before God. Those who dwell
I'm 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.
''in the unity of the faith. and Of the
knowledge OF the Son of God, unto q
perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature Of the fulness of Christ"
There is much comfort to struggling
humanity in the conviction that God
does not authorize the miseries of ouI
earthly experience. This conviction Il
the first step toward the realization
that these very miseries, lacking d.
vine sanction, cannot have any real
entity or existence, and must perforce
have fictitious origin and an unreal
nature.
At this point the question naturally
presents itself, II evil is not of Gods
creation, then what Is 1t, and what Is
| it's origin? The essential nature OF
evil has proved puzzle to mankind
at large, and yet many centuries ago
it was laid bare by the Founder OF the
Christian religion when he said Of per.
sonified evil that he was "a liar and
the father of It." Mrs. Eddy, following
| the teachings of Jesus, has described
evil in SO many words as inherently
falsity. mistake, an illusion and q
delusion about something true. she
has given the general name OF error
to evil in all its forms and thereby un-
covered its essential nature to human
apprehension. Evil, no matter what
may be its pretense to power, no mat
ter how threatening 1t may seem to
mortal sense, Is never real In the pres.
ence of Truth, has no entity, no &C
tuality, is never the cause of anything
true, has no real origin. When con-
fronted with Truth 1t vanishes like
negative darkness before the positive
light. In the presence of God the sup
positions belief calling itself evil be-
comes a nonentity and so Is reduced to
its native nothingness.
| Law OF God.
Now God governs the universe In
Guiding man by law, and since God is
wholly good, His law Is good also, and
can never ultimate in sin, disease,
death, calamity or catastrophe. H.
therefore, we seem to be confronted by
| laws producing evil, We are 1ustihed
lin assuming that these laws are not OF
divine origin, have no reality or entity
ere only pretenses of laws and 40 not
deserve our respect or our obedience.
1 II Irzvx