Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1916-05-09

anything else imam -SOOu, nor ever any
thing less than infinite. So as a basis
for our discussion of Christian Science
in some of its phases, we have the
fundamental proposition that God is
good, not merely in relative sense,
but always and forever immutably and
perfectly good.
God is also described with equal cor
rectness by the terms Spirit, Life,
Truth, and by the word already used,
Love Likewise, we may properly re-
fer to God as infinite Mind or Prin-
ciple. Each of these terms conveys
a different shade of meaning. All taken
together serve to enlarge our concep-
ton of Deity. 1t will be seen that that
which is infinitely good is also loving,
tender, steadfast, merciful and ''unut-
terably kind" miscellaneous Writings,
p. 1922 That which is Love itself
must be not only loving and good, but
impartial, universal, changeless and
enduring. That which is Life, the one
creative Principle, is not only good
and loving, but also eternal, indestruct-
ible, incorruptible, self-eXistent. That
which is infinite Truth, Spirit, or Mind
is not only good, loving and eternal,
Dul LnuSl dlSO Dc COIlSS1OuSs dCLlHCs Oll1-
nipotent and omniscient. Thus through
using some of these definitions of God
and of His qualities or attributes, we
find that we have greatly amplified our
sense of God. Not that words can ad-
equately describe the infinite and eter-
nal, not that the employment of terms
or phrases can change God; but the
proper use of these terms can help
us better to comprehend the divine
nature.
God Is Infinite
According to Christian Science this
infinite God, divine Love, eternal Life,
incOrporeal Spirit or Mind, is the first
and only cause or creator. Since there
is but one cause, which is infinite and
good, there can be but one kind of
effect or manifestation, which must
also be good and infinite. AS the effect,
or manifestation, of creator that is
infinite Spirit, or Mind, we can have
as creation nothing less than the sum
total of those spiritual ideas that eX-
press their divine origin. Therefore,
we learn in Christian Science that the
only real, enduring, indeStructible uni
verse is mental or spiritual and exists
as the result or effect of the one in
finitely good cause. This throws new
light on the Scriptural declarations
that God made all that was made"
John i. 81 and God saw every thing
that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good" Gen. i. 81.
The universal, complete expression
of divine Mind, comprising all that eX-
lists by way of creation, necessar-
lily includes individual spiritual man.
This man reflects perfectly the in
finite being called God. And this state
ment accords with the description of
creation in the first chapter of Gene
sis, which says that God made man
in His own image" and after His
likeness. If God made man in His
image, it is certain that man must
be exactly like his creator. When we
recall that the one only cause is divine
Mind, Spirit, Life, Love, then we see
that man in the image of his creator
must be spiritual, eternal, loving and
good, like his divine Principle.
Reviewing our discussion from this
point, we see that we have, first,
perfectly good God who is infinite
Spirit, or Mind. Next, we have a per
fectly good universe which is spirit
ual or mental, and consists of those
ideas that are good and true Then
we have a perfectly good man in
cluded in this spiritual universe as
the reflection or image of his infinite
Father-MOther, divine Mind.
But, you say, what of a material uni
verse and mortal man? What of the
existence into which mortals seem to
have been born and out of which they
appear to pass into an uncertain and
indefinite future state? What of sin
and suffering and sickness and death?
What of evil and matter? We shall
not ignore them although we have
already seen why in the best sense
they cannot be real for the simple
reason that they are not good We
have begun with a good cause, which
made all that was made" Effect
must be like cause. Evil is not like
good. Matter is not like Spirit. There
fore evil and matter cannot reason
ably be attributed to the one good
spiritual cause
ITnrp1litV of Evil