Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-09-28

Inc IolIowfng Is the address In full
Of DR.. Ezra w. Palmer, given before a
large audience at the Pinney theatre
Friday evening:
The Christian world has recognized
for centuries three great verities OF
Spirit-that God Is omnipotent. mean
ing by this that God has all power, is
ever present. and is the creator and
source of all knowledge. These i'm
mortal fundamentals of Deity have
been accepted by Christians. because
on no other basis can we conceive of
God as infinite and supreme, a God
o. love who sends only good gifts to
His children.
But while men and women have ac-
cepted theoretically these eternal at
tributes of God they have not as a
matter of fact actually understood
them, nor have they ordered their lives
according to them. Christians have
accepted in theory the proposition that
God Is good and all powerful but they
have lived on the basis that there are
other powers to be feared, avoided or
propitiated. Now God is good, the
source of all power. That fact elimi-
mates at once and forever any other
power or goodness. Therefore, il we
fear disease, are avaricious, hate our
neighbor, or find pleasure in any sin,
we are denying the omnipotence of
God-no matter what our pretentions
to the contrary may be.
'"Tis in deeds we serve the Master
Words are idle, empty prayer;
All our Christian life a pretense,
II the deeds are wanting there
says the well known hymn.
Now, Christian Science corrects this
discrepancy between reality and prac-
tice. No matter what the testimony
of the material senses may be as to
the seeming reality of evil Christian
Science holds firmly, logically and
consistently to the eternal fact of the
omnipotent goodness of God, which
overrules all power of sickness and
sin. The writer of the Apocalypse had
a demonstrable knowledge of this
when he declared: 'rhe Lord God
omnipotent reigneth."
Christian Science. in teaching re-
lance on the omnipotent goodness of
God has reinstated primitive Chris
tianity The great Bible characters
proved that a right understanding of
God destroys fear, heals disease, and
frees the sinner There is nothing
mysterious about Christian Science
nor its practice. Christian Science is
simple, naturaland scientific. Chris
tan Scientists do not fear disease, be-
cause they know God never sent 1t and
that right understanding of Him
completely destroys it; and they see
clearly that it is useless to talk about
disease because it has no basis except
human fears and false mental pic
lures. They do not study medical
works because they do not reason
from the basis of physical man. They
agree with the statement of Josh Bill
lings, who is reported to have said:
What's the use of KNOWN so much
II what you know amt sou
HEALING OF SICKNESS NOT THE
ULTIMATE
The healing of the sick by spiritual
means is not an end in itself. Chris
tian Science probes to the bottom all
human ills and destroys their cause
sin. Christian Science is a law of an
initiation to everything that retards
or obstructs mans advance Spiritward,
even all human beliefs of pleasure and
pain, and brings TO light the fact that
Spirit and the spiritual universe, in
Gliding man, are the only realities of
being. Man lives because God lives,
for mans life is derived from God.
Man does not exist merely to keep
himself in repair or to satisfy his hu-
man desires. \ mans real business in
life is to know and understand God.
The function Of an automobile is to
carry its occupants, not to undergo re-
pairs, although its owner may at times
b. led to believe that the expense bill
t. the objective. Repairs must be
made, of course, if the machine does
not run. SO a man, when sick or sin
ful, must be healed before he is pre-
pared to realize his sonship with God.
But the healings of sin and disease are
only the preliminary steps by which a
man comes to see that his real duty,
his ideal, is to understand God and to
live according to His eternal laws.
Fear Cod said the writer of Eccles-
tastes, "and keep his commandments;
for this is the whole duty of man."
And so mans regeneration has
merely commenced when he is healed
of physical ills by Christian Science.
He begins to see a vision of a perfect
model of manhood based on mans
eternal sonship with God. He finds
that transformation of his character
must take place if he is ever to attain
this ideal, and that his former habits
and ideals no longer satisfy him. He
begins to measure himself by the
model Of perfect God and perfect
man, and to grow to that perfection OF
thought which the Psalmist saw when
he said: Il shall be satisfied when
] awake, with thy likeness" and this
process of regeneration requires the
undivided attention of every man.
THE VISION SUPERNAL
Now this vision of the eternal Faith
srhood Of God, and of all men and wo-
men as sons and daughters of God,
satisfies as nothing else can the inf
mite aspirations of man and trans
forms him into the likeness of his
Maker. This new born understanding
of God is the balm Of Gilead the
leaves of the tree of life" for the
healing of the nations."' This vision