Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-06-18
A Religion Based on Love and
the Divine Law.
Jacob s. shield in Lecture mt Majestic
Theatre Corrects Some Popular
Idens Ms TO Beliefs of His
Church.


S. Shield, c. S. B., of Chicago, member
of the board Of lectureship Of the Moth
err Church, the First Church or
Christ, Scientist, in Boston. He
was introduced by Charles II Spear,
first reader of the Burlington Christ
ian Science society, who, after welcom-
ing the audience, said In substance:
"Christian Science Is a religion OF
love. 1t is the fulfilling of the COM
mandment Of the gentle master to
His disciples, "A new commandment
l give unto you, that ye shall love one
another as l have loved you Christ
ian Science brings a message of hope
and Joy to all the world and this mes
sage is Peace on earth, good will
to man. 1t requires its followers to
obey the commandments, and the I'M
Outstanding of love as it is demon
strated in Christian Science enables
man to reach out to his brother with
tenderness. a sweetness and sense
of consideration which the world
otherwise knows not of"
MR.. SHIELDS LECTURE
Mr Shield said in part:
The Mosaic law, revealed to all mel
for all time from Mount Sinai, was the
first exposition of the divine law which
should govern man in his relationship
to God, as well as to his fellow man.
From it spring all human laws and
moral codes The first commandment
is supreme and all inclusive, in its de-
caration of God, and its warning
against the recognition of any power
or law as originating in anything that
is physical or material. Thou shalt
have no other gods before me" is the
origin and basis of all true religion.
Christ Jesus taught this same law,
saying, Think not that | am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: | am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill"
Christian Science accepts the law in
all it's completeness, as expounded by
both Moses and Christ Jesus. On
page 467 of Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures" the Christian
Science textbook, we read-"The first
demand of this Science is, Thou shalt
have no other gods before me-.
The second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as myself
Thoughtful men are beginning to
realize that religion must be more
than a mere belief. They are learning
that it cannot be inherited. transfer
red nor adopted; that it is not the
chattel of any particular organization
or church, and that it is not acquired
by fasting or feasting. They are ask
ing for a more practical religion; for
less dogma and more love- less ritual
ism and more spirituality; less creed
and more works; less scholasticism
and more truth.
The religions of the world have fail
ed to answer the hearts appeal. The
searcher for Truth has been made to
believe that nothing definite can be
known until the portals of human eX-
istence close behind him. The man
who is hungry and thirsty will seek
food and drink wherever he can find
it, and the same is true of him who
is hungry and thirsty for spiritual
food and drink.
Christian Science is doing much to
satisfy this craving by giving men
scientific, demonstrate religion, a reli
gion not so much of preaching as of
works.
Many honest Christian people be-
lieve Jesus to be God, and address
much Of their prayers and worship to
him, Others disbelieve him entirely
and use every possible argument to
discredit His Messiahship, his works,
and the narratives relating to him.
Christian Science corrects these widely
differing beliefs.
Jesus taught His disciples how to
heal the sick and reform sinners, and
they In turn taught others, so that, as
history records, the healing was prac-
ticed nearly three centuries after the
crucifxion, and then it became so den
sely overshadowed by the evil in mortal
mind that the human consciousness
could not longer retain 1t. BY depart
ing from the law of Moses and his
trust In God. and failing to heed the
fulfilment of the law, as eXpounded by
Christ Jesus, mankind perverted spirit
uality to materialism; true religion to
superstition; religious zeal to fanatic
ism; divine wonders to neCromancy
and black art; divine science to occult
ism; divine influence to animal mag
netism and hypnotism; spiritual Joys
to physical pleasures; spiritua, desires
to lust for material things; the help
of God in time Of sickness to drugs
and other material means
If you were the only person in the
world and you had been thinking good
and then you should conclude to dis
continue this way and decide 10 think
! exactly as the commandments and the
Sermon on the Mount direct, and you
should carry this out To the very let
ter, that Is, thiak and do only that
which ia good, pure and upright, then
where would evil be? Evil has no
| principle, law or government to uphold
| 1t. 1t Is only what you permit II to
be, in your thought. Hate. jealousy,
anger and revenge are devils and they
are our worst enemies to health and
happiness.
Good thoughts, such as the childlike
trust In God, kindness, love, gentle
ness, purity, honesty uprightness, re-
| fleet health, harmony and beauty upon
the body, while their opposites-trust
in material help, hate, jealousy, dis
honesty, immortality. etc, express dis
cord and sickness in the body.
What Is true of the human body is
also true of the body polite A panic
produces a rigid state In the arteries
of trade, in the manufacturing and
commercial centers, so that nothing
seems to move without extreme pres
sure. The dictionaries define panic as
extreme or sudden causeless, unreas-
enable fright. To cure such condition,
confidence must be restored It was
the great cry during the panic of 1907
that everything would be righted If
only the fear Of the people would relax.
| II all people were Christian Scien-
lists there would be no more panics.
because they have confidence in the