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gj r' y, ,! ,'is /I fin feg? VOL. XVIII. A CLEAR EXPOSITION Of the Tenets of Christian Science and the Work Its Adherents I Desire to Do. 1* Judge S. J. Hanoa, C. S. D., deliver ed what was, beyond doubt, tbe finest lecture on Christian Science ever heard In this oity, last Sunday afternoon. He said in part: Ladies and Gentlemen:—I assume that there are some here who are un familiar with Christian Science,— some who have come for the first time to hear of it. I will address myself in part to these. I therefore say that Christian Science has a text book entitled "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and its author is the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy. It was first puMished in 1875. It la a treatise on healing through the power of God, or the divine Mind. Or, as we claim, it is a thorough ex egesis of the Scriptural method of healing all manner of diseases, and of curing all manner of sin through the understanding of God as all-pres ent, all-powerful, all-wise, and uni versal tyind. In short, it is a spir itual Interpretation of the Bible hence its title: "Key to the Scrip tures," The Author. The author of a book of note and of value is a person of whom people desire to know, therefore I shall re fer briefly to the life and character of Mrs. Eddy. It may not be amiss for me to say that for nearly ten years, as former First Reader in the Mother Church in Boston and editor of the official periodicals, I have had oppor tunities which enable me to speak in telligently of her life and character as well as of her labors and lit erary attainments. Speaking from this vantage ground, I can truthfully say, that, in tellectually, she is one of the most alert persons I have ever known that she labors incessantly and unsel fishly for the cause to which she has devoted her life, and that, notwith standing her years, she performs an amount of labor each day which, if known, would seem incredible, even If done by one yet In the adolescence of life. As to her religious char acter, I speak my profoundest con viction when I say I believe it to be in accord with the highest standard of Christian living. Yet, notwithstanding her highly spiritual nature, she Is withal an In tensely practical person. She keeps close watch of current affairs and acquaints herself with the world's doings. She is, moreover, a patri otic citizen of her native state and of her adopted city, contributing gen erously of her means toward their material welfare and upbuilding. The Tenets. I shall next speak of the Church Tenets. There is In Boston a Mother Church, organised a number of years since, having a membership »f nearly forty thousand, composed of persons residing in almost every part of the eountry and of other countries. This membership is increasing at the rate of about 3,000 annually. The Mother Chnrch has branch churches and so» cletles to the number of nearly one -jousand, also situated in nearly ev ery part of this country and of other countries. Some years ago the Mother Chureh adopted a set of Chnrch Ten ets. These become also the tenets of all of her branches, and must be subscribed to and adopted by ev ery person becoming a member of the Mother Church or of any of her branches. These tenets furnish fair index to the religious faith or be lief of this movement, hence I shall refer to them in substance. They acknowledge the Scriptures to be the Inspired word of God. They acknowl edga fupremacy and Infinity of God, They acknowledge Christ and his divinity, »»4 dacjare there is but one Christ. They lactate the om nipotence, omnipresence and pmnlscl ence of God that God is Spirits that man—the real, spiritual man—la made in the Image and likeness of G&A according to the teachings of jm4 that this real man mu»t, by A# necessity Of his rela tlowfeip 0 Ood, r«H9Ct, "Xt'A or image forth, tfc* dtvlw eharftfttor, The real and Immortal ma*, tt^sratore, does reflect God, The mort#} man, or the unspirltual man, dees not re flect God, and la not thtrofore His Image and likeaew. The last of these tenets enjoins upon all who subscribe to them the necessity of striving, watching and praying to have in themselves the same Mind that was also in Christ Jesue, to love one another, and to be meek, merciful, just and pure. Surely there can be no higher standard pf Christianity. If there be a pera#* f» tbl" earth today who can truly fee «a!4 to have in himself the same Mind »1so in Christ Jesus, that perfe §.W«Man- If there are person* who ar? §i§e§f»lf striving, watching and pray^s have that Mind, they are, in thajt jew, IpuT'Of tty life €he Those Christian Scientists who are thus earnestly striving are true to the church tenets and to their teach ing. If there are those who are not so striving, they, like all others, have yet to attain to a higher standard of living. Because of this high stand ard Christian Science has sometimes been charged with holding up an Utopian or an Impossible standard of Christian living. It Is said that it is not possible for men here upon this earth to have in themselves the same Mind that was also in Christ Jesus, nor should they hope for such an at tainment yet this tenet of the Chris tian Science Church is but a re-state ment In almost the exact words of Paul's great injunction to the Philip pians wherein he enjoined them to have in themselves the same Mind that was also in Christ Jesus. If that was a true standard of Chris tianity in Paul's time, and in its early history, it ought to be a true stand ard now. Therefore, the Christian Science position is that it Is not an impossible standard, but that it does Impose upon those who subscribe to these tenets a solemn obligation to strive, watch and pray for the at tainment of that high Christian goal. know not what it is fully to pos sess the same Mind that was also in Christ Jesus. We can, at present, have only a faint glimpse of such a mighty fact but this we know, that it Is possible for all of us to begin an earnest effort in that direction. We can commence at the lower rung of that ladder whose top marks the full measure of the stature of man hood in Christ Jesus, and step by step we may make the ascent if we will. Every good thought you enter tain, which is unselfish and helpful to yourself, to your neighbor and to the world is, to that extent, having in you the same Mind that was in Christ Jesus. Every good act and deed which is the outflow of such good thought is, In due measure, an expression of the Mind of Christ and notwithstanding all the sin in the world we can brush aside the mists and see much of the Christ Mind manifested. Every time I see a man, care not how rough in exterior, at the risk of his own like, going to the rescue of the lives of his fellow be ings, I see there a beautiful manifes tation of the Christ Mind or the Christ spirit, and every day we wit ness or hear of such things. We have been too much wont to mag nify the evil of human nature and to minimize its good. We have so looked upon its wrong side that we have well nigh lost sight of its best side. We should see more the true man, and lees the sinning, dying, and diseased mortal who bears not the image of the eternal God. Tbe Scrlptaral Basis. The foregoing indicates, in general terms, the Christianity of our faith. No unbiased mind will say that, in statement and theory, it does not em brace all the essentials of Bible teaching but let us be more speci fic. All who belleye in God at all agree that He is all-powerful, all present, all-wise. All who believe in the Bible accept the statement of the first chapter of Genesis that God made man in Hi" own image and likeness. We should mdeaypr to give these Bible truths their full weight, their deep significance. If we do so, we must believe that with God all things are possible. We must believe that if God Is whole, His image and likeness reflects wholeness. We must believe that if God is pure, His image and likeness reflects purity. We must believe that if God is. good, His image and likeness reflects goodness. We must believe that If God is Love, His image and likeness reflects love. We must be lieve that if God, in His wholeness, Is free from sin, sickness and death, His image and likeness Is likewise free. Otherwise the words "image and likeness" were false and mean ingless—a ml8omer. A full belief in the first Chapter of Genesis, which Is the record tfie true, spiritual creation, puts upon us tl)s necg§g}£y of recognizing God as the only cre ator of man, and man as the image and likeness of his creator forever and forever. Paul expressed a clear discernment of the glBtlgejtaft between the real man and the fajge ^eg, recced In Col. 3, he safdf ''But nqw ye also put Off Ail thepe anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, flltby communica tion out of your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing ye have put off the old man with bis deeds and have put on tbe new man which re newed In knowledge after the Image of him that created him, Put on therefore, as tbe elect of Ood, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness and humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, and above all these things put on charity which Is the bond of perfect* negg," Herg fij distinctly shown the dif fered the true and & •Sjnkto$ the false, the Immortal and the mor tal, the perfect and the imperfect. Jesus referred to this difference when he said: "Ye must be born again," or "ye must be born anew," as it is in the revised version. He also rer ferred to the true man when he said: "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." That is, ye must be borne out of sin and Imperfection into sinlessness and per fection, for this is the necessity of your birthright as the image and likeness of God. If this Scripture is to be taken at its plain meaning, we have laid the foundation for further Scripture which* shows God's power and pur pose to transform the false into the true, by the destruction of the false. This is the only real transforma tion. Hear the "sweet singer of Israel" in the 103 Psalm: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who for glveth all thine iniquities who heal eth all thy diseases who redeemeth thy life from destruction who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the ea gle's." And listen to the prophet Jeremiah (33): "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not Behold 1 will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth." Of old, as now, those who trusted to human aid, instead of the Divine, suffered the consequences of their lack of faith and understanding. In 16 Chron. we read: "And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until tils disease was exceeding great and yei in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to physicians." What was the result? The record laconically tells us: "And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and for tieth year of his reign." We note that Asa slept with his fathers, not his Father. How many since Asa's time have slept permaturely with their fathers for a like reason! Jeans' Teaching. The Old Testament teachings, as Indicated by the few citations made, furnish an abundant foundation for the New Testament doctrine of heal ing through the divine law, and espe cially the teaching and works of Jesus. I might quote extensively from the New Testament did time permit, but I shall confine the quo tations to the sayings and precepts of the founder of the Christian re ligion. This should be sufficient auth ority for every professing Christian. Jesus sent forth his twelve disci ples to preach and to heal the sick. He gave them a commandment, called by some Bible commentators his Great Commission. In Matthew 10th, this commandment is thus re corded:— "Go not into the way of the Gen tiles, and into any city of the Sam aritans enter ye not but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Is rael. "And as ye go preache, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast qut devils freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, neither two coats, neither ahoee, nor yet staves for the workman is worthy of his meat." This commandment is a unit. It Is not two commandments. There is in this language no warrant for any attempt to separate the com mandment by declaring that the part relating to preaching was to be per petuated, but the part relating to healing the sick was to be put aside, as having reference only to the time in which, and those to whom, it was given. Even if, for the sake of argu ment, the kind of preaching men tioned in the commandment had been practiced, and a present kingdom of heaven had been preached, we yet maintain that the part retetJns to healing $}ckHsss |8 (is plain and im perative as that pertaining to preach ing. We should thus maintain if we rested the question alqne upon the words I have quoted but we are not compelled to J@ this. After his resurrection and Jnijt before bit *s censloi} Jggua gays tft tbe same dis ciples tq whom he gftye his first great commandment (excepting Judas Is cariot who had betrayed him) a final commandment, This constitute* the two last verses of tbe Book of Mat thew ^—t "do ye therefore, and teach all na tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of tho Holy Ghoit "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded yon and. lo, I am with you, alway, even unto the end of'the world." This language is broad and un qualified. It comprehends 4.11 the victories qvap death, it seems co^nao^eats previously ,giveq tj ^Uon^uued on •jink'S1' J~ -A-ND "WESTE^IT STOCK RAPID CITY. SOUTH DAKOTA, OCT. SO, iOOS. his disciples, and this of course, in cludes his first great commandment. It is a plain and unmistakable direc tion or instruction. Let me plainly ask: When was it ever repealed, countermanded, qualified, or changed in any manner, by Jesus or any one else of those having biblical auth ority to teach or preach? Where is the record thereof? We declare, therefore, on the most explicit bibli cal authority, that the part of the great commandment relating to heal ing the sick was as imperative as that pertaining to preaching. Healing sickness is, then, an essential and In dispensable part of Christ's gospel. No right exists for the effort to put aside Jesus' commandment to heal sick and to heal according to his teachings and his methods of heal ing. The same divine power that healed in Jesus' time heals today, so far as it is understood and prac ticed. There is but one Truth, and that Truth is eternal, unchangeable. The healing Christ never withdrew himself from the world. Jesus de clared as the solemn conclusion of his final commandment: "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." We might well rest our conten tion here. But I feel Impelled to call your attention to an utterance of Jesus yet more remarkable than any to which I have referred. In the 14th of John we read:— "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do, be cause I go unto the Father." Marvellous words! When we think of the mighty works bo performed sve are almost overwhelmed by the Jeep solemnity of such an utterance. Jesus destroyed all forms of sin •lealed all manner of sickness talked the waves raised the dead tnd did many other wonderful works. Vet in words startling in their plain iess he declares that those who be ieve on him shall do, not only the =reat works that he had done, but greater. Can this be? Is it pos sible that the believers in the great Nazarine are destined to do the mighty works he did and even mightier What shall' be our ans wer? If he meant what he said and was a true prophet, our answer must be, Yes. Then, my friends, what follows? We must either strive to learn the divine law by virtue of which these works may be done, or we must de clare ourselves unbelievers on Him unbelievers In Christ and his teach ing therefore unbelievers in God and the Bible. Shall we accept Jesus' words for what they say or shall we not? By whom shall these great works be done if not by Chris tians? Jesus distinctly said they should be done by those who believe on him, those who understand and obey his teachings. It is matter of well authenticated history that liealing sickness through prayer and the direct agency ©f the divine Power was pracM«?d by the early Christians down to the close of the third century and that as late as ^he close of the second cen tury, the dead, were raided,. Among other standard historians who treat of this subject |s Qihhen. In h|s his tory of the Peeltne and Fall of the Roman Empire he goes elaborately into it, under the head of the early Christians, I quote briefly from his work: The Christian Church, from the time of the apostles and their first disciples, has claimed an uninter rupted succession of miraculous pow ers, the gift of tongues, of vision, and of prophecy, the power of ex pelling demons, of healing the sick, and of raising the dead. The expulsion of the demons from the bodies of those unhappy persons whom they had been permitted to torment, was considered as a signal though ordinary triumph of religion, and is repeatedly alleged by the an* clent apologists, as the eon vincing evidence of the truthi of Christianity, But the mir aculous cure of diseases of the most inveterate or even preternatural kind, can no longer occasion any sur prise, when we recqjiect that In the days of Irenaeus, about the end of the second century, tbe resurrection of the dead was very far from be ing considered an uncommon event that the miracle was frequently per formed on necessary occasions, by great fasting,and the Joint supplica tion ot the church of the place, and that the persons thus restored had lived afterwards among them many years." In the course of his remarks Mr. Gibbon refers to the prevailing skep ticism of those early days in terms that might well be applied to many modern skeptics, both within and without the churches. 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