Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-10-06
the beautiful garments of scientific
thinking and doing.
THE BATTLE-GROUND AND THE
ARMAMENT

the beautiful garments OF selentltle
thinking and doing.
THE BATTLE-GROUND AND THE
ARMAMENT
A mans consciousness is for him
the battle-ground of the spiritual and
the material, the real and the unreal,
the true and the false, and it is there
that these issues will be fought out,
now or hereafter. There are two essen
tial things which everyone needs for
the successful demonstration of Chris
tian Science. One is persistence, and
the other quietness. With regard to
quietness, this is needed to offset the
false claim of activity, which urges
in a multiplicity of ways that not to
be materially active is to be convicted
of sloth, incidence, waste of time, etc.
Whether his occupation is carried on
in silence and alone or whether it takes
him into the busiest haunts of men, a
Christian Scientist holds as his most
treasured possession that inward quiet
ness which comes from his understand
ing of the truth.
"Be still, and know that l am God,"
wrote the Psalmist. The Master under
stood it better than all, and said that
hO SdNC Ills BCdCC uulO III IO1lOnOlos
Paul writes ''Study to be %quiet,N as
though this attitude can only be achiev-
ed by study, and we find in Mrs. Ed
dy's beautiful hymn the words, 81 will
listen for Thy voice, lest my footsteps
stray, ''-(Misc. Writings, p. 1888, ON
veying the same message, and the rea-
son for it. Only in the quiet attitude
of listening can the behests of Princi-
D1a fhn vs.,o, &c A1o rareoa4 4honUhA
model, yer come to us.
Persistence is needed for meeting
and overthrowing the arguments of
Encouragement, which, in one form or
another, turn up to oar the way to
right endeavor.
Jesus gave two parallels which serve
to illustrate this point, the parable of
the importunate widow and the unjust
judge, and that of the man who goes
to knock up his friend and ask for
bread in the middle of the night. In
both these cases, we see that it was the
refusal to accept the arguments of dis
couragement that won the day. 1t was
not the appeal for justice which car
ried the day with the impatient Judge
but the woman s importantly; no con-
siderations of friendship got the man
out of his bed, but the perpetual racket
on the door convinced him that his
friend could not be discouraged, and so
ne got up and gave him me bread. In
other words, mortal mind must give
way and let Gods will be done, if we
are sufficiently honest and persistent
in our demands that it shall do.
Benjamin Franklin tells the story of q
neighbor of his, who, in buying an axe
of a smith, desired to have the whole of
its surface as bright as the edge. The
smith consented to grind it bright for
him, if he would turn the wheel; he
in to do so, but the process prov
ed to be very ~laborious, and from time
to time the man would stop to ask how
it was getting on. At last, he said he
would take it as it was. "'Turn on' said )
the smith, "we shall have it bright
soon; as yet it is only speckled."
says the man, "but I think 1
like a speckled axe best"
People sometimes approach Christian
Science as if it was something which
you just acquiesced in, bracing and OPP
timistic in its teaching; but not calling
for any special application on their
part, and then when they find out that
It involves, as Science must to be wor-
of the name, patient, persistent,
orayerful effort on their part, they de-
tide that they like "the speckled axe''
oest. The first teacher of Christian
Science put it this way, whatsoever
10th not bear his cross, and com after
ne, cannot be my disciple" We might
Encourage each other more than we do
n this direction.
WHAT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOES
NOT MEAN.
The average man has now before him
points for his consideration
which we may perhaps sum up as fol
!
Christian Science does not mean that
-ou give up anything-except wrong