Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-28
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
VALUE DISCUSSED
Lecture Given at First Church
by William w. Porter
of New York.

A lecture on Christian Science: Its
Value to Humanity" was delivered last
night in First Church Of Christ, Scien-
fist, by William w. Porter, c. S. B..
of New York City. Mr.. Porter is a
member of the board of lectureship of
the Mother Church, the First Church
of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass
He was introduced by Wilbur E. Yocum,
FIRST reader of First Church, under
whose auspices the lecture was given
The lecturer said in part:
"A little over half a century ago an
unusual woman appeared upon the
highway of human endeavor. She saw
about her humanitys sins, sufferings
and sorrows. A night of terror seemed
about to engulf her.
She turned away from earth and
looked toward heaven and God.
Through the mists of earth the woman
saw a reckoning path and into this
path she turned her footsteps. AS she
journeyed her vision grew and she saw
exceedingly near those many mansions
which are spoken of by the Master in
the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel
of John; she learned that these man
sionS are mansions of health, mansions
of happiness. peace and prosperity; she
found her own confidence and courage
ever mounting to meet opportunity;
there came to her unbounded and I'M
expected ability and success and a
higher sense of life as God.
Launched Undertaking.
This woman was the discoverer and
founder of Christian Science. Mary
Baker Eddy, the author Of the Christian
Science text book Science and Health
With Key to the Scriptures In the
year 1866 Mrs. Eddy was brought back
almost from the grave through her
spiritual understanding and pure de-
sire. Following her remarkable healing
Mrs. Eddy launched forth upon an I'M
dertaking which was destined to become
her crowning life-work, the demonstra-
ton of Christian Science. and its pres
entation in such way that humanity
could not fail to understand its mean
lngs and receive its benefits.
Mrs. Eddy tells us in her writings
that in the demonstration and eStab-
lishment of Christian Science she had
no other guide than the Bible. This
was her only text book.
In the orderly process Of arriving
at the correct statement of the problem
of being, one finds himself confronted
with the question, What is God? We
are told by Mrs. Eddy that one of the
chief difficulties encountered in her
early writings was that of finding words
or language which would adequately ex-
press the spiritual ideas which she
sought to impart. Today when one re-
fers to God a generous part of ones
listeners is found to be more or less
in harmony with the definition in the
Christian Science text book that God
is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite
mind, spirit, soul, principle, life, truth,
love-
Healing Power Described.
christian Science shows that spirit
and spiritual ideas are not intangible,
but that these are certain and real.
Indeed unless spiritual values and
power may be apprehended and en-
joyed in the everyday walks of life, then
spiritual things have no significance
with respect to daily existence.
Christian Science denies the psychol-
ogy of theh uman mind as a healing
factor. The mortal mind which pro-
duces disease cannot be the healer of
disease In Christian Science all heal
ing power is understood to belong to
God. and it accompanies always the
divine, or spiritual, idea of God"