The herald., March 17, 1921, Image 1

About The herald. (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953

Image provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

PAGES. THE HERALD. Be
Devoted t the UpbalMiag of the West Side of the River. "A very live and creditable weekly newspaper.."-MANIUACTMRBI ' RECORD.
.villI NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1921.
rr,
.R- 11
t VC
K.ý "4 "
.
", S.
*11
r~a~
~. *t
1~d1
·'I.
aD
4, 4
;p* ~1 *, ,
A LECTURE
ON
Christian Science
Entitled
Christian' Science;
The True Standard of Right
By
Bliss Knapp, C. S. B.
Member of the Board of Lectureship
of The Mother Church, The First
Church of Christ, Scientist.
in Boston, Massachusetts.
,An ex-mayor of New York declared
not long ago, that "a person who wants
to be honest nowadays must be a
crank on honesty." That is just a
forcible Hay of describing the present
contlict between good and evil, and the
extent to which one must go to main
tali his standard of right. Nations I
and individuals have been aroused as
never before to combat a movement
commonly known as Bolshevism; and
while armed forces have gathered to
oppose its military encroachments, its
mental forces of demoralization in
business add society operate apparently
unhindered. But there is a remedy
for such hidden evils in the promised
Comforter which Jesus described, not
as a person, but as the "Spirit of
truth," which "will guide you into all
truth." When Christian Science
brought a return of primitive Chris
tian healing, it raised that standard wa
ft Truth which makes us free in mind no
and in body. su
I remember when a child, with what ga
amazement I first discovered that some th
people do not always speak the truth; ea
and I remember my perplexity as I se
begged to be told how to detect false- to
hood in ordinary conversation. My p1
difficulty gradually disappeared as I pl
began to learn in Christian Science at
that a right sense of honesty, based Fi
upon Principle, is a keen detective of
dishonest motives. We sometimes Si
speak of that natural discernment as tiu
Intuition; for intuition is the ex- Si
pressed intelligence of spiritual qual- C1
ities. This may explain why so many is
spiritually minded women often go di- tI
rectly and uperringly to the very heart is
of i problem which seems to baffle the L
reasoning. process of others. That de
very directness is sometimes called "a
woman's reason."
Questionable Standards. of
Those who are unwilling to obey pi tl
absolute standard of right, generally  
have a flexible standard which Is C
sometimes called "the law of neces: b
sity." This phrase, "the law of neceuJ d
sity," applies to those who are honest *
in appearance, but who are quite ready d
to act dishonestly whenever the re- f
ward seems to shift about. Bach a 0
variable standard must be policy or a
dedception, and not Principle. In the ti
book of Job, in the Bible, you may re- to
member how Satan once challenged ti
the purity of Job's goofness, possibly tl
because the Deceiver is always the o
most deceived. So he insisted that t
Job's goodness wps nothing but a sub- 11
terfuge to gain some reward in heaven, c
-that is to say, a torm of selfishness. t
Those who make selfishness instead of P
Principle the standard of their actions 1i
must agree with Satan in upholding t
"the law of necessity." Bat the tram- t
er of 'the American Decltratioa of t
Independence reClognled an eternal t
Truth when they wrote that men
"are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights; that among C
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happliness." The God of Christen- c
dom, therefore, is the divine Principle
or Creator of those life-giving and lib- I
erkting fruits- of the 8pirit, which are
expressed nsaelflshly in right-minded I
men and wora everywhere.
An intelligent pagan of education
and renaement may be found obeylng
the ordinary canons of honesty, be
cause he has learned that honesty will
serve his best interests, therefore he
will be found acting uas honestly as he
can. But his standard of honesty Is
not the Christian God, or the divine
Principle of honesty; for he worships
a tod fashioned.by the hand of man.
So long as he has no Prlnciple, he can
have no real qualities derived from
Principle, and therefore no real msnse
of honesty. Thus a man's standard of
right depends entfitely upon the nature
of the God he worships.
According to the Century Dtitleoury,
"There are ho two wards in the E~g
ish language eewe eaotfasedly one
for the ether as the words rule' and
p-facpl&e... .... You em make a ri.e;
you canot make a priuciie; you esan
lay down a riae; yea cannot, rOperly
speakling, lay down a prlscp .......
Yoseannolydeclarel t . .  hisa
pr tcilIe that 'tlhe abath was made
ft;r man'.. The tact that the fourth
Commandment is an ma o ot m
P neiple rns the lessen Mmes learned
from-his e crrtee ithe wirldernss
witlh-the mmmm. A h u
~L ~~· S
*j1.
* .* ,
r'5
As time rolls on the world still sins,
SBut there on Calvay
Christ died! Christ lives! Redemption
brings
A hope eternally.
was enough for their daily supply and wil
nothing more; but on the sixth day, a dit
supply of bread for two clays could be set
gathered. The same God who supplied kin
the Children of Israel with food to I
eat for forty years. also set apar: the bet
seventh day for a sabbath rest from Ch
toil. This same God or Principle sup- api
plies every need, and because tie sup- of
plies our every need, He is not cold the
and austere. He is indeed the loving tw
Father who blesses all mankind. cia
In her. book "Rudimental Divine So
Science," Mrs. Eddy answers the ques- hi
tion, "What isthe Principle of Christian Tr
Science?" in these words:-"It is mi
God, 'i~ S"ipreme Being, Infinite and
immortal Mind, the Soul of man and
the universe. It is our Father which
is in heaven. It is substance, Spirit, fel
Life, Truth. and Love,-these are t1e th
dcudc Principle.' po
Idolatry. at
Contrast, it you will, the guidance ap
of divine Principle through law, with ef
the'praetice of heathen rites and cere- of
malies. Fh one of the great cities of ya
(hl , for example, there stands a t,
brve little Christian Science church, pe
dedicated to the healing ministry of re
our great Master. Surrounding this TI
church, there are heathen temples L,
illed frith idols fashioned by the hand st
of man. Not long ago a severe drought cc
afflicted the city, and for many days st
the pagan priests implored their gods .fa
to send rain. When the drought con
tinued unabated, the priests in one of a,
the temples took matters ipto their h4
owp hands, and proceeded to punish TI
the gods. The idols of their own mak- ej
ing were removed from the cool, spa- hi
clous temple and placed out of doors in al
the full heat of the sun. Then the fr
priests began to mock and chide them it
like so many children, even taunting a
them with such remarks as, "Stay tl
there and see Jow you like to bake in T
the sun." And there they sat until ,S
the rain came. About the same time tl
an accident, which was immediately a
charged to the anger of the gods, oc- a
curred in one of the mines of Korea. I
o80 the mines were closed until exor- is
cist priests were brought from long r,
distances to perform rites and cere- c
monies intended to appease the wrath t,
of the gods. It seems, therefore, that g
the hqathen diety which is liable to L
wrath, is very much like the Satan of F
the Bible. h
Christ Dethrones Satan. '
The Founder of Christianity repu- d
diated the notion- that Satan could cast
out Satan, and gave as a reason that t
a kingdom divided against itself can
not stand. He once spoke of a certain
woman who had been bowed together
eighteen years "and could in no wise
lift up herself," as "a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo,
these eighteen years." He healed her
immediately by the power of God, and
it was on the Sabbath day. The
Christian God therefore does not send
disease, but He heals disease. He is,
in other words, the divine prlnciple
of our ealth sand holiness.
To the Christian Sedenti$, the Christ
ide bears the same IdLan to the
divine Principle as the smta rays bear
to the sun itself Christ Jesus de
clared himself to be the light of the
wprld,-the same light that appeared
in the beginning when God said, "Let 1
there be light: sad there wis light"
t That light was the saving Christ: but
i God, the divine Principls, was the
i Creator of it. , In d4e course, the com
rltag of that lt es a s.tig power.
Swa1 hoek -o[ as "Iu gsael, or God
with us." which is the appearing of th
divine intelligence in human con- th
sciousness, healing and saving man- (1
kind. I)
SE
Bible scholars make a distinction S
between Christ and Jesus, which
Christian Science explains; for God tl
appointed the man Jesus to the office oa
of Christ. Christ Jesus therefore was
the promised Messiah, or Mediator be- la
tween God and men. He rightly de- hi
clared himself to be, not God, but the
Son of God, bearing witness through di
his healing ministry unto the Christ. a
Truth, that 1tdeems and saves all
mankind.
Healing By Faith. fl
For A long time professed Christians
fell into such idolatrous methods that M
they utterly lost sight of the healing il
power of Christ. All they beheld was h
the visitation of evil, and they prayed }
after the manner of the heathen tp t
appease the wrath of their god. In d
effect, they really became worshippers t
of Satan. and that continued until a 3
young priest of the church started a n
movement which made it possible for 1
people of every rank and station to a
read the Bible in their own language. 1
This was the great reformer, Martin r
Luther. As a result of this Bible a
study, the people began to gain a more r
correct view of God, and occasional in- I
stances of healing rewarded their
.faith.
A very significant and important re
sult of Luther's Bible study was the I
healing of his disciple, Melanchthon. 1
The man had lost consciousness, his e
eyes were set, and the c6urt physician e
had pronounced him, beyond human I
aid. When Luther saw his dearest
friend in that condition, he was vis
ibly frightened. Then, rousing him
self, he exclaimed: "0 God, how has
the devil injured this thy instrument!"
There was the evidence of his Bible
study; for he refused to attribute
that sickness to God. Rather did he
appeal to the Giver of all good to
save his friend. To use his own words,
I "wearied His ears with all His prom
ises of hearing prayers, which I could
repeat out of Holy Writ; so that He
could ot but hear me, if ever I were
to trust in His promises." Then
grasping Melanchthon by the hand,
Luther exclaimed, "Be of good courage,
Philip; thou shalt not die. . . He
has pleasure in life, not in death ...
Therefore give no place to the spirit
of sorrow, and be not thine own mur
derer." In response to that right
sense of God's loving care, Melanch
thon's breath revived, but he acted
very much like a drowning man who
begs to be let alone that he may die
In peace. "By no means, .Philip," cried
Luther; "thou must serve our Lord
God yet longer." When food was
brought, Luther burst Out with all the
threat, "Thou must eat, or I will, ex
comanunidate thee." It is interesting
S to know that Melanchthon responded
to that true sense of God and lived
twenty years longer.
Mrs. Eddy's Early Preparateo.
t It is not at all uncommon for devout
* Christians to be healed because their
r study of the ble opens to them a
Smore correct w of God. Calvin
e Knox, Wesley and otheq Christian
i worthles have maifuested wondertful
e bealing power, as their prayers lifted
" thought tb mgauls God's'true nature.
It Such ehild4ike qualitis as humility,
1al receptivity and teachableness
e- communicate thse heavenly blessings
r. to humam nsaele usm. BSo it Is ree
d ognisel as a Christian duty to histtact
the receptive thought of the child in
the saving grace of God. It was this bli
('hristian culture that Mrs. Eddy, the of
)iscoverer and Founder of Christian its
Science, received from her mother; for brl
Mrs. Eddy was taught from her youth the
to look to God for deliverance in every ns
time of trouble. When Mary Baker was
once taken with a fever, her mother Al
reminded the little girl of God's by
loving care and protection, and assured he
her of His healing grace, if only she s
would turn to Him in prayer. Mary *t
did pray fervently to God for deliver- *h
ance from the fever, and she was bh
quickly healed. Naturally her mother
was glad; for the healing had con
flrmed her loving trust in God's care.
Many proofs of healing attended M
Mrs. Eddy's walk through life, attest- is
ing God's ever presence and confirming tb
her faith in His goodness and power. a
Her faith was put to the severest ha
test in 1866, when she was facing be
death itself. Turning for consolation to
to her Bible, she began to read from
Matthew the healing of the palsied r1
man. The account of the healing hI
held her attention as never before, d
and she must have glimpsed the great W
Truth that the divine power which had
restored that man in Jesus' time was it
still operative; for God's power can
never change. The result was as im- 0
mediate; for she arose from her bed h
prefectly well, dressed herself and I
startled her family by her sudden ap
pearance. This was a most wonder
ful proof to her that God is the great
Physician, whose healing power is
changeless; and then and there she
determined to search for the scientific
Law which must underlie such in
stances of healing.
Personal Ienbs. a
Mrs. Eddy is known to thousands of
grateful men and women throughout
the worM to be the Discoverer and
Founder of Christian Science, and be
cause of that, she commands our pro
foundest reverence and gratitude.
It was my privilege to know some
thing of her as a loving, unsetfed wo
man,-the kindest friend I ever had.
My father was a deep student of the
Bible, and when Christian Science
healed two members of our family, he
began the study of this Sclence and
became an earnest Christian Scientist.
,For many years my parents were close
ly.associated with Mrs. Eddy, who was
their pastor, teacher and friend. At
one time Mrs. Eddy spebt a week at
our home, and I then had the oppor
tunity of seeing her to be a gentle, af
fectionate woman, interested in our
pets and problems, laughing with us
and sympathizing with us, yet always
mindful of her great mission to suffer
ing humanity.
An incident that occurred during her
isit with us has always stood out
vividly in my memory. One morning
before breakfast, my sister sat down
at the organ and began to play and
sing the good' old gospel hymn taken
from the pealms, "Weeping may en
dure for a night, but Joy cometh in
the morning." My father Joined in
the song, and when it was finished,
Mrs. Eddy's door opened and she ap
peared, her face radiant. Then she
told us that she had continued all
night in prayer over some problem,
and the answer had come when she
felt the sptrlit expressed in that song.
This Incident evidently impressed her;
s for several years later, she referred to
Sit in a letter to ly father.
S (Continued on next page.)
FAITH AND HOPE,
EASTER MESSAGE
Promise of Immortality Most
Glorious to the World
of Humanity
Sorrow and lnne
liners and bleak
winter come to
the entrance of
the cold, dark
tomb.
And, lo! the
tomb is bright
with light super
natural I The all
glorious Angel of
the Resurrection
stands within It!
They thought it
the grave of life.
It Is really the
womb of the
morning, 1l a
glitter with the
sun-rising of a
new and better
(day.
The tradition of
Easter is a holy
one. The Feast
lacks the merri
ment we have
learned to assocl
ate with the Na
tivity, but the
Resurrection is to
the full as essential to the Christian
faith.
Christmas is a season of joy, of
blithesome cheerfulness at the advent
of the Savior. To a world sobered by
I its Gethsemane and Calvary, Easter
brings a message of Faith and Hope,
the essence of the religion mankind
Sneeds.
s Mankind has passed through the
r Agony culminating in and symbolised
s by the little white cross. Heavy
d hearted we are still inclined to seek
e solace at the tomb. To us the mes
Ssagep comes again: "Why seek ye the
. living amog the desd He is not
, here; He is risen."
Therein lies the message of Easter:
- the promise of immortality beyond the
tomb.
Nor is it a mere ceincidence that
d Easter falls at this season. Spring
- Is simply Nature's way of reiterating
g the Baster message. Through the long
r. winter months the world of Nature
, has seemed asleep In death. Trees
g bare, fields destitute, death appared
n to reign supreme.
J Then, just as we are almost web
I tied enough to give up hope, the amp
ig begins to run, little green thing to
e, shoot, birds to chirp a cheerily a
t eer
,d It Is Nature's message of Immortal
I Ity to the world of humanity.
L There is another and a wider aspect
. of the Easter message. We seem to
d e standing by the tomb of much t
d holy. Belgion, belie in pfl
idealism, how dead they seem to 'tI
Seeking only material things, nelect
tfl of things of the spirit, the world
i tIn a parlous state. The few who
e have held their beliefs look about in
perplety and dilay. Has the very
body of the faith been removed? Ab
no. In the midst of our anxious grie
comes the reviving, heartening assur
ance: "He is not dead; He is risen."
of Ever the Easter festival come
ut around---fter the inevitable Agony
ad and every spring the magic words are
e spoken and we go forth clad In Invul
nerable armor for the frays for "He is
not dead; He is risen." o shall we
other men also rlse !
he
* Easter Blossoms
Sfor the AflBiiced
or
av
iwn
asimn, a purhse at the pemla e,
e mmsemt ld as tie monrort ta
gap Sm el tir nlea $rtpem Nr,
vents.
Ff
ti
&"
r
I
'4
*6*
6'i
e.I
s.
: 'j we
% **