The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-08-12

~ P~ASNAoAS s4lSS Presumably implies
limitation. You who listen to these
words are personal; consequently YOU
are not God, because God is NOT cir.
cumscribed by any limits whatever
You embody within yourself as much
of this personal power as you can re.
cognize Of its attributes; but you are
not God. You are one Of the NANTES.
tations of this infinite reservoir Of pos.
sibilities which men call God, and
which call Law; but it would be a
mistake to say that you are it.
Now, Christian Science, according
to my belief, contains more than one
inconsistency; but its main inconsist-
ency is in denying the personality Of
God, and then writing and speaking
of this impersonal power as if it were
personal. There is no reason in this,
but then Christian Science is distin-
guished by the absence Of reason. How
could it be otherwise when denying the
results of human thought and condemn
ing the power of thought
Long before | attended Christian
Science lectures ! had reasoned my
self into what still consider the true
conception Of God. | was surprised
when | found that Christian Science
had the same conception. God is a
Being; the forever unseen though mo-
wing power in every manifestation of
life; in the animals, the plants, the
stones and stars, There is no spot in
all the universe where this principle
does not exist, and where its essence
does not transfuse every atom and ev-
cry creature. 1t is the active agent
within all things. without which there
would be nothing; no life, no action,
world. This is the omnipresent power
that men have personified and called
God.
Mrs. Eddy's conception Of this
ubiquitous and omniscient power is pre-.
cisely the same as my own. She af-
firms, as | do, the existence of it, anc
its all-pervading and all-embracine
potency. Without it there could be nc
manifest existence; it is the living
principle in all things, self-existent anc
eternal. Such position as this is the
inevitable denial of the personality
which the Christian religion applies tc
it; and it proves the inadequacy Of de.
scribing it as a person, by attributine
sex to it, and calling it man.
And yet, while denying the person
atty of this life principle, she still calls
it God and refers to it constantly as a
masculine individual.
Friends. | know that many of you,
while kind to us and disposed to be
perfectly fair in your estimate of US,
still feel that we are separated from
you by an almost impossible gulf. from
the fact that we are called a goddess
people. But we are not goddess. if you
are willing to accept our Interpretation
of the word. You believe in limited
God, whose manifestations of power
are arbitrary, resembling those of hui
man beings, on y on a vaster scale.
We believe in an absolutely unlimited
God, whose attributes of love and in
telligence circumference all things and
permeate all things, rendering all
things One with itself. This mighty
Life Principle we do not call God, be-
cause the word implies limitations, and
we recognize no limitations to it. The
word God means a man. Therefore
the word conveys no true meaning of
the omnipresent Life Principle that is
the soul of all things.
We are teaching science and not
a religion. We occupy place outside
the pale of the churches. and we are
not trying to proselyte Christians. We
are not trying to destroy Christianity.
If the true principlesc of science are
unfavorable to the churches. and if
they have tendency to liberalize thot
in the people, we cannot help it, even
if we would. Science is demonstrated
truth, and nothing can stand against
lit. If Christianity is also demonstrate
ed truth. then it is ready to accept
science.
Mental Science is based on immuta-
bic law. 1t is as much of science as
mathematics. 1t simply FORCES ahead
in the manifestation of truth, and has
no side issues whatever. Its principles
are founded on the doctrine of evolu-
ton. We do not teach from the
Bible, but it is fact that-according
to my understanding of the Bible
Mental Science is in almost complete
accord with it.
have only mentioned two points
where Mental Science and Christian
Science meet. One Is in the statement
that all is goord, and there is no evil,
s~I Il Il 4