The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-06-14

Christian Science. Briefly. this theory
taught in the process of subdivision of
matter, point must be reached at which
no further division could be made Ply
sizes termed this rreducible particle of
matter the atom and upon it raised the en-
tire structure of natural science. includ-
ing physical man. Instinctively | felt the
untruth of it. In college, and later
IN medical college, | questioned the atomic
theory and found myself always reaching
back of the material toward primary
cause. Now | know that even then the
leaven was at work in human conscious
ness. To me it aeVer seemed logical that
there could be an indivisible portion of
matter Anything that could be divided,
| contended. could be divided again. and so
Indefinitely. Before my college course was
complete, The atomic theory began to
crumble. The atom was split in two. and
not only in two, but divided many
times, until at last matter as matter disap-
peared. Freed from the limitations of the
atomic theory thought began to expand
and the conquest Ct matter received an
! impetus Chemistry. physics. the arts.
gained the benefit of liberated thought and
many useful inventions came, giving evil
dence Of mans dominion over all the
earth. The disprovin% of the atomic the
ory to be the final statement of matter
necesstated further explanation and so
physicists have been advancing from one
theory TO another. until they have con-
to be down to the very minute, matter is
Just holes in the ether. More than fifty
years ago, Mrs. Eddy said something that
amounts to very nearly that when she
declared matter to be nothing more than
a phase of false belief. Physical science
under the leavening. is slowly. by devious
paths, approaching the point where Mrs.
Eddy began namely the identity of matter
and the human mind. Mrs. Eddy needed
not to be pedant to conclude that the
essence of matter mortal mind, for hers
was a dlvinely inspired course which pass
ed unerringly over the intervening steps
necessarily taken by human reason and
research The ancient philosophers taught
that matter is but the subjective state of
| human consciousness, that in the words
of Mrs. Eddy. Mortal mind 500 what it
believes as certainly as it believes what it
gees. 1t feels, hears, and its own
thoughts (S&H. pS6. 2g-3D. But Chris
tian Science alone reveals the fact that
neither matter nor the human mind have
existence save as the misstatement Of
cause and effect, the Misunderstanding of
God and His spiritual creation. Mrs.
Eddy's revelation of Truth was ultimate
She declared cause and effect TO be the
I divine Mind and its idea, thus revealing
man and Science o be not humanity, but
dvnely mental.
The human mind is an accretion of
mortal education. and that is illustrated
in the case of the newborn infant. Nor
tai man comes into the world without
the consciousness Of identity. without eN-
! porience. without intelligence. Nothing in
animal life is born so helpless, so com
! pletely without sense the human kind.
! commonly it has not sense enough to eat
Its very cries ARE but the chemical re-
action of shock. II is plainly little more
| than animated matter. Weak, helpless
| unintelligent. it lives wholly dependent
I on Others for even the simplest thought
I processes. The educational process where
| by the infant acquires q SO-callcd mind
! Of its own begins from birth and goes on
I by little and by little. First this little
= bundle of mortality learns to brca he
then to eat. These are not yet. howeve err
/ intelligent acts, tut rather the impulses
| Of animal instinct. Education continues
until the child begins to manifest intelli-
gence, becoming less and less dependent
/ ON others, and acquires at last what is
| termed mind. But from first to last
| human existence, when unleavened by Di-
! vince Science is mortally mental pro-
! cess, rising no HIGHER than the limits of
1 it's materially mental selfhood. Christian
Science has come to make education di-
! vnely mental. thus raising mortal self
| hood above itself. leavening the race with
! true Science, and putting TO an end the
| Kaleidoscope round of material life,
| Although recent higher attachments in
| mans conquest of matter have been far
/ in advance of the atom, the atomic the
Dry. though disproved, continues to be the
| practical working basis of physical sci
| ence. Just so, matter exposed by Chris
/ tan Science merely human belief. con-
tinues to be the practical working basis
, for the present state of human life. This
| explains why Christian Scientists are
! consistent in continuing to employ social
ed matter in its various useful forms. We
eat. wear clothes. heat our houses, con-
duct ourselves much as others do. But
+ the effect of Christian Science at this
/ 1arIaI &c tn Itsas, L ,l,,xt~,, 4ba ,,f Il
imitation by which mortal mans endeav-
ors hedged about. The Christian
| Scientist is therefore putting off daily the
old, the Inadequate, the material and is
| putting on the new, the spiritual. Mean
| while he does not increase his depend
enc eupon matter by making concessions
! TO material laws. The Christian Scen-
! lists motto is not more and more. but
less and less reliance on matter The
way in Christian Science is the way of
! overcoming material dependence. and few
! er concessions to matter is the mark of
! the Christians progress. The van
| ishing point of matter is foreshown in
mans always Increasing dominion over
/ it, Inevitably there will come dav
when. in the words of Isaiah THE earth
| is clean dissolved" isaiah. "A :19.)
THE LEAVEN IN THEOLOGY
The proper study of mankind said
| the poet, lis man" and that is meta ply
scally true. Had the poet been a Chris
| tian Scientist. he might have declared
/ further the proper study Of man is God.
! his Maker The great barrier human
progress has been ignorance Ignorance
| of God. ignorance of man. Christ Jesus
SAID to the woman at Sychar, I'VE know
| what we worship Thereby be scparat
ed from all other religious beliefs from
true Christianity and indicated both the
possibility and the necessity to know God.
| 70 knw God is to know man, for man.
the Bible says, Is Gods image and like
! ness.
Because of ignorance, the earliest con-
cepts Of God involved fear. taboo and
nenaty. The basis of scholastic theo-
/ logy was God Il punisher of man.
! Whatever the concept of God. He was al
! ways terrible Being 10 be feared and
| hence to be, if possible, appeased. This
! prevailing belief was perhaps no greater
! in the pagan priest Offering sacrifices of
| blood 10 ar offended deity than p clergy
! man | used to know. On a SUNDAY morn
| ing after society event of the nicht be
/ fore. at which snanv of his congregation
| had induced in certain prohibited amusc-
ments. this dear Did saint levelled his hnr-
| err al his shamefaced. though unrepentant
/ flock. and SOlemnly exclaimed, oh YOU
/ had better be glad I'm not God! How
| far above mis- creed than was com
/ PEELED 10 live TO he a Christian into the
! concept of God as q nunisher of His oil
/ spring no element of love could enter. for
/ there is no love in fear. Because of tho
/ prescription Of love. some of The blacklist
! crimes in history have been cimmitted i'm
name If Deity. Tho practice Of RELIGION
/ has always tended toward discipline to-
/ ward the citation to love. obey. and serve
! God through the exercise Of fear of pun
i i~Fmcrt. IN consequence OF this false be-
/ lief of Deity. men have he'd little faith
/ in Good. in health. and well-heing As the
natural sequence of events under God
. care and government. but have shown
/ unbounded and everpresent expectation
/ Of evil. Why d not people eNu1ct net
| uraly the unfoldroent Of good in their
I experience 1t is because of the hu-
man minds educated belief that the So
preme power. God is e wreaker of ven
| rcance. a visitor of iniquity. False gods