Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1921-01-26

! On the other hand, if these discord-
| ant manifestations are not real, nor
nal, and legitimate, let the facts
presented by Christian Science in re-
gard 20 the unhealthy of matter, evil,
sickness, discord, death, be approach
ed and measured honestly and Justly;
and above all with the desire to be
consistent in premises as well as in
conclusions.
ORTHODOXY
The objection is sometimes made
that Christian Science is not ortho-
dox. This brings up the question of
what is and what is not orthodox.
Human opinions combine in a state
ment of belief, and then declare that
those who differ from beliefs thus
stated are unorthodox. The amount
OF this is: If you believe as we do,
you are orthodox. If you do not be-
lieve as we do, then you are decided
ly unorthodOx, and-"do not believe
in the divinity of Christ"
That alone is orthodox which, pro-
ceeding from Principle, Truth or
God, brings out such fruits as health
and righteousness, honesty and good
will. This is the mission and work of
Christian Science.
; UNDERLYING DESIRE FOR GOOD
! A fundamental desire for harmony
and good exists in the consciousness
of every person. Because of lack of
education or instruction in pure
Christianity, the human or mortal
mind has accepted its own miscon-
ceptions of God, its own misinterpre-
tations of man, and it's own mis-
statements of Spirit or Substance, as
real.
Thus mankind have found them
selves the innocent victims of a mis-
conceived existence, expressing it
self in SIM, sickness, and death. 1t
is the mission and province of Christ
ian Science to clear away and to des-
troy these misconceptions, misinter-
pretations and misstatements, togeth-
er with the sin, sickness, and des-
truction that follow in their wake,
and TO restore to mankind the true
reflection or image and likeness of
God, and the true understanding of
the nature or character of Causuat-
ion.
On page 465 of Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures"
which is the textbook of Christian
Science written by Mary Baker
Eddy, the following definition of God
appears: "God is incorporeal, divine,
supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul,
Principle, Life, Truth, Love-" This
definition of God is exact, and is in
accord with the definitions of God
found throughout the Scriptures.
RESTORATIVE DEFINITIONS
Christian Science unfolds certain
fundamental and primary idease One
such primary idea is this: Mankind
is conscious at least of existence.
This consciousness of existence i'm
plies Mind. In fact, withou. Mind.
there could be no consciousness,
hence no consciousness Of existence.
When speaking of Mind in Christian
Science let it be understood that it
is not the limited human sense of
mind wlich is referred 20, but is
that Mind which is inanite in its
being, wisdom, and identity. This
Mind, then. without which there can
be no consciousness Of existence,
must be the creator of all that ey-
lists. As it would be impossible to
think of any place where Mind is
not It follows that God. who is in
finite Mind. is incorporea1 ani every
where present as Mind.
In this realization OF he nature or
character Of God, one becomes cor
scious IF peace which the world,
or when material sense Of (ud,
can neser give.
EVIL SUGGESTION DESTROYED
The human mind, uninstructed by
divine Science. is controlled by its
own suggestive fears of evil, disease.
and death. Thus controlled, this
mind is more or less continually
looking for these evils. On the other
hand, that person whose thought is
fundamentally fortified by Christian
Science is able to discriminate in
telligently between the impressions
and suggestions which presentq.them-
selves, excluding those which later
produce these evils, and admits into
MS consciousness only those ideas of
truth and good which he desires
later to see reproduced in his active
experience.
| The universe of the Christian
Scientist is filled with Gods IDEAS
with ideas of Life, Mind, Love.-in-
stead of diseased thought germs of
the mortal mind. He knows, in a de-
\ praa that tho nr,n;no.o a ~