The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-03-05

ence has healed many sick people and
has brought about the regeneration
OF many who were the victims Of sin,
Among It's membership are those who
have been healed OF Intemperance, OF
so-called chronic and organic dis
eases. as well as Of maladieB that
were acute or functional. 1t has healed
others OF sorrow. fear. unhappiness
and similar diseased mental condition
that often cause more suffering and
distress than physical disorders.
The healing OF the sick. however. is
not the primary purpose Of Christian
Science. According to the teachings
OF this science all sickness and dis
case result from error and false be-
lief. which are summarized as sin.
and when the error OF belief Is de-
stroyCd by the truth which Christian
Science imparts. the disease disap-
pears. Christian Science, therefore,
teaches that the cause Of all disease
and sin is mental and not physical.
and that both sin and disease may be
cured by one and the same mctaphysi-
cal process, namely, by the substtu-
ton OF spiritual truth in place Of er-
rOr and false belief in the human con-
seriousness.
You Shall Know the Truth.
II Is recorded in the eighth chap
ter or the gospel OF John that upon
one occasion Jesus turned To group
OF his followers who were standing
near. and said to them, Eye shall know
the truth and the truth shall make
YOU free" In all OF the Bible there
Is no statement Of greater importance
to mankind than this utteranCe OF the
Master II prescribcs the remedy for
every human Ill. knowledge Of a
| thing must come through the mental
and not through the physical. hence.
according to the words Of Jesus. man
kind will he delivered from sin, dis
case and death not by doctoring the
physical, but by filling the mental with
| truth.
Christian Scienve shows that II Is
the effect produced by truth operating
GAL TWO-HGaling E. =. ..........
In the human mentality, destroying
superstition. false and vicious beliefs
| that must and will some day Cmanci-
pate mankind from bondage to sin,
disease and death.
Ultimate Truth.
There must be an ultimate truth
somewhere, and when 1t Is appre-
hended= by the human mind 1t will
emanclpate those who apprehend 1t
! from bondage to evil Christian Sci
ence asserts that ultimate truth con.
corning God and man and their re-
lationshtp is revealed by the Scrip
lures. and may be gained by every
] person when the Scriptures are right
ly interpreted.
God.
In trying to ascertain what consti-
tutes religion the very first subject to
J be considered is that which relates to
God. Every one must agree that a
correct understanding of God is es-
sential as the foundation of religion.
| Any system Of religious teaching that
is founded upon an imperfect or err
\ roneous conception of God must nee
essariy fail to bring to It's adherents
the help and comfort for which they
seek. When we look about us and
see the splendid fidelity of men and
women to their religious beliefs and
then see how much suffering and fail
IRE they experience. and how far
short they come of attaining the good
which they so honestly seek, it is q
fair deduction that there is something
wrong about their understanding Of
God.
Prayer.
Another subject that enters into
the religious life Of all people is that
of prayer
1t is said in the fifth chapter OF
James that 1.-THE prayer of faith shall
save the sick" There is 10 ambi-
guilty about that language. II is not
indefinite or uncertain In any partic-
ular 1t is, in fact, as positive and
direct n statement as can be made
with human language. And yet, 1t
would seem that one of two things
must necessarily be true. either that
statement in the scriptures Is wholly
false or else people have not known
how to make the prayer OF faith
throughout the centuries. Except in
sporadic instances. the sick have not
been saved as the result of prayer.
1t. therefore. becames subject for
legitimate inquiry in order that II may
be determined. II possible. whether or
not the statement in the scriptures is
true.
Prayer OF Petition.
1t can be said that almost every
person is taught TO make the prayer
of petition, the prayer of pleading.
They are taught To petition God for
whatever good thing they desire. and
also to petition Him to withhold what
ever evil thing they seek to avoid.
Running through the prayer OF petit
ton, and, in fact. It's very foundation
and essence. is the belief that the
mind of God can be changed by the
petition. There Is the belief that. but
for the petition. God would not do
the thing He is asked to do. else why
ask Him? Or that but for the petit
ton, lie would do the same thing and
would send the evil that He is asked
not TO do or not TO send.
Yet. all the while that this form
OF prayer has gone up from unnum-
herod millions OF agoni2ing hearts. the
Bible has declared that God is un-
changing. II God is unchanglng. as
the Bible declares Him to be, then
Is it not plain that so long as people
so on in the belief that 1t is the func-
ton of prayer TO change the mind Of
God to meet the human desire. In
reality the further they are getting
away from the true theory of prayer;
and the more sincerely they believe
TINT sort of thing tho moro thnir very