The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-06-22
Peter v. Ross, C.S.B., Talks
Under Third Church Auspices
"Christion Science: Its Challenge to the
Wrong Thinking Of the Ages" Is Topic

Speaking under auspices of The
Third Church Of Christ, Scientist
Of Tacoma, Peter v. Ross, c. S. B..
of San Francisco. addressed a
large audience In Jason Lee Junior
high school auditorium Thursday
evening. Ross is a member of the
Board Of Lectureship Of The
Mother Church. the First Church
Of Christ, Scientist. in Boston
Mass His lecture subject was;
''1ts Challenge to the Wrong
Thinking of the Ages" The visitor
epoke substantially as follows:
A normal. satisfactory life is
Impossible without good health
Naturally therefore we wonder
how disease ever got into the
world. In casting about for a rea-
son people have pretty generally
reached the conclusion that disease
comes rs a punishment for wrong
doing. The sick man has been
disobedient. He has been pursuing
some evil practice. His suffering
In the penalty.
The weakness In this logic is
seen when we observe that good
people a. well a. bad are subject
to sickness. because human good
ness may exist along with the be-
lief In disease and the fear of il.
Therefore we shall have TO look
farther than mere wrongdoing for
q satisfactory answer to our ques-
ton. Here Jobs experience Is en-
tightening. He was a good man.
Yet he was seized by a painful
malady Friends who gathered
about TO sympathize argued that
he must have strayed from the
straight and narrow way else he
would not have encountered mis-
fortune. Indeed one of them asked.
who ever persisted. being inno-
cent? or where were the righteous
cut off ?" But job. unconvinced.
insisted upon his integrity. though
he confessed. The thing which I
greatly feared is come upon me. .
LOOKING FOR DISEASE
All down the ages people have
accepted the suggestion OF disease
thrust upon them by mortal mind.
Generation after generation have
they feared disease. talked disease.
pictured IT. built it up into a uni
versal belle. or mesmerism. Today
this mesmerism settles down upon
mankind generally-good. bad, in
different-as the rain falls upon
the just and unjust.
Hence ii Is that the best OF men
and women, as measured by hui
man standards. are occasionally
victimized by the mesmerism. 1t
cannot be said that they are being
punished. They have not done
anything to be punished for. They
have however failed to challenge
the general belief In disease, and
10 recognize the immunity from
disease which their divine sonship
enjoys. Thereby have they left
their defcnses down. That is
enough. That In all anyone need
do In order to become vulnerable
to the attacks OF mortality.
Disease then Is not genuine. or
course II Is not. This is why suf-
ferers are constantly in revolt
against it. This is why every sys-
tenn Of healing looks for the time
when sickness will cease to appear.
II disease were a reality people
would accept it without protest.
They would have no alternative. be-
cause realities cannot be evsded or
overcome.
When we say that disease IL in
belief or in appearance or in ignor-
ance. rather than in reality. we
place II In the same category with
the belief in the flatness OF the
earth. For certainly the earth APP
pears fiat Occasionally to this
day may be found 4 person who
believes 1t flat. Obviously the fiat
ness is in his thought. in his ig-
norance. Some day the simple fact
viii dawn upon him that the earth
u round. Then the flatness will
be cured.
Some day the undeniable fact
viii dawn upon the supposedly sick
man that Life Is God. Then his
sickness viii be healed, because
disease and mortality cannot be
ascribed TO Deity. II God is Life,
then Life must be diseaseiess, age
Less. endless.
DISEASEI.ESSNESS OF LIFE
What basis is there for the state
ment that Life is God (? Time after
time In Scripture Deity is referred
20 ~ Life. When the lsraelites
we're struggling 80 desperately IN
the desert on their journey to the
Promised Land. Moses. by way
Of encouragement. declared to
them. God 10 thy life"
Fifteen hundred years later
Jesus, In talking with the Samari-
tan woman ut Jacobs well. re-
xerred to God rs Spirit. Spirit and
Life are synonymous terms They
have essentially the same sig
nificance. The woman supposed
God to be sort Of judge or king
rho held court in the nearby
mountain Jesus made II clear q
her that God u not manlike OF
kinglike but that He 10 incorpores-
Spirit or Life
New Testament writers follow
{ng Jeulia nnoke Of God not only n