The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-11-11
Revelation of Gods
Nature and Omni-
presence Presented
by Adair Hickman

a ldI se duu apr CN4d i've duuleANS
vas present IN the High School
Tuesday evening for the
lecture on Christian Science deiiy-
bred by Adair Hickman, c. s. B.,
New York City. His topic was
Christian Science: The Revelation
Of Gods Nature and Omnipresence.
Following is the full text OF his
address:
One Of the most urgent questions
throughout all Christendom today
Is: What must We do 10 refute the
insidious and misleading sugges-
tons, so widely prevalent, that
Christianity may yet prove unavail-
Ing TO meet the great human need,
or indeed has already failed?
In the first place, Christians them
selves must be fully convinced that
Christianity as Jesus taught and
practiced 1t Is the Science of Mind,
because It is the complete and exact
knowledge Of God. Therefore It has
never failed-it cannot fail. The
main purpose Of this lecture is TO
show that, by its very nature and
law, there can be no possibility that
= Christianity in its primitive purity
and practice can ever fail to fulfill
its God-ordained mission. The GER
tainty of this, the great prophet
Isaiah foretold centuries ago, in
these symbolic words: las the rain
cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither.
but watereth the earth, and maketh
1t bring forth and bud, that it may
give seed TO the sower, and bread
TO the eater: so shall my word be
that goeth forth out Of my mouth:
it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and 1t shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it,"
Christian Science has come TO this
age in fulfiilment of this promise.
The truth which Is 10 enlighten,
feed, and sustain mankind has gone
forth from infinite Mind and cam
not return void. Many years ago,
Mary Baker Eddy foresaw and cou-
rageously declared in her textbook,
Science and Health with Key TO
the Scriptures" (p. 1922, THE hour
has struck when proof and demon
stration, instead Of opinion and
dogma, are summoned to the sup
port Of Christianity"
This Is the obvious demand upon
all Christendom today, namely,
proof and demonstration. Christian
Science teaches (Science and Health,
D. 323) that good is not understood
until demonstrated" 1t therefore
demands Of its students practical
proofs OF Gods ever-presence and
sllness. Through the application Of
His spiritual law as revealed in this
Science, its students are learning
how practically to overcome the
limitations and discordant condi-
tons Of mortal existence.
In the earliest years Of her great
discovery Mrs. Eddy drafted a con-
stitution for the first Christian
Scientist Association. In that con-
stitution she gave this carefully
formulated statement Of scientific
Christianity, which is found in the
Historical and Biographical Papers,
compiled by Clifford P. Smith,
Series I (p. I'D: "A Divine prin-
ciple and given rule applicable 70
every condition Of man, and con-
shutting the Divine plan Of his
salvation from sin, sickness, and
death, exist in the order Of Eternal
life, Truth, and Love, . Jesus
demonstrated for mans example
and his redemption, this holy prin-
ciple of Divine Science; =. clearly
showing by this Divine understand
ing and proof, the indivisibility OF
Science and Christianity"
1t is this divine indivisibility,
this oneness Of Science, and Chris
tianity. that must be the reYitaliz-
ing element Of religious faith in this
hour of atheistic and materialistic
challenge to the Christ ideal. For
centuries IL was the general convic-
ton in public thought that religion
and Science we're wholly inccmpati-
bic. The acceptance Of one pre-
Guided the possibility of the accept
ance and teaching Of the other. 1t
vas believed, and taught in some
instances, that religion was an emo
tional experience in which faith was
based largely upon an unknown God.
Many who reasoned logically upon
all other subjects seemed unable to
60 beyond blind faith in God, and
accepted as real all that claimed to
be unlike good, namely, sin, sick
ness, and death. These errors we're
believed to be known to God, and
therefore we're thought TO exist as
realities.
Mrs. Eddy was deeply impressed
by the necessity TO bring back to the
Christian church an understanding
OF the primal order OF the first great
cause. thus establishing the divine
nature of Science as constituting
the exact knowledge Of God, who is
the one infinite cause. She discov-
cred and proved that Science and
Christianity are identical in actual
demonstration. She saw and de-
clared II her textbook %. A., I'VE
reach the Science Of Christianity
through demonstration Of the d.
vine nature"
This brings us 10 the all-impor-
tant question, What is this nature7
Each one, at some time In his indi-
vidual experience, must ask himself
this question. In other words, how
do we define God to our own con-
seriousness? Does our concept of
God bring us a sense Of His near
ness? Do we love or fear Him2
Does His law seem available to meet
our everyday needs? When we de-
clare Gods omnipotence, do We
really mean that God, good, is ALL
mall?
Christian Science is based firmly
on the Scriptural declarations Of
Gods nature. In the light OF this
Science we see that Moses virtually
declared God as Mind when he was