When one states a fact all hearers immediately agree with him unless ignorant of the truthfulness of his assertion. Yet, many of the most universally accepted facts of to-day had to force their way into human consciousness through the most stubborn resistance. Only when proof after proof has been given is mortal mind convinced and found ready to yield up its preconceived erroneous notions which a newly discovered fact corrects. Facts are eternal; only ignorance or misconception hide them from view. When the fact appears the misconception disappears with all the attending errors.
Take for illustration the false hypothesis that the earth was flat, held for so many centuries. This supposition gained credence of course from the evidence before the physical senses. Man's sight being limited, he looked out upon a comparatively level surface and naturally concluded that the earth was, as it appeared to his limited vision, flat. To his unenlightened sense this was a stubborn fact, because he had no proof to the contrary.
From such a standpoint, the earth was stationary and the sun traversed the heavens from east to west. All his calculations were built upon this false supposition. When it was finally discovered that the earth was round and revolved on its axis and also around the sun; that the sun was the stationary and central orb of a system of planets; what was the result? a complete overturning of all systems built upon the falsity. What had happened? Had anything been changed in God's universe? No; the truth had appeared, that was all. The earth had been revolving in the same manner always, wholly unaffected by this human theory; but man didn't know it. When he learned the truth, his ignorance was removed, the light of wisdom appeared, and he bowed to the fact. Not without a struggle, however, did the false yield. It contested stubbornly every inch of the ground, but truth prevailed because it was true and the lie could not stand before it. The false belief had never affected anything excepting mutable mortal opinions and those controlled by them. It never disturbed the fact, nor did its denial hinder the operation of the laws of the solar system. Thus, one by one, beliefs arising from evidence before the material senses have yielded to facts. That the world is awakening fast to the fact that Mind is causation is evidenced in every department of human activity. Mechanical inventions, by utilizing natural forces, are revolutionizing beliefs held for centuries. Man rises into greater dominion as he discovers his mental capacity,—the power of mind over matter. Yet, on the wholly material basis this discovery is not an unmixed blessing; for it liberates in one direction only to enslave in another. It is still the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; otherwise it would emancipate in all directions. The coming of railroads, the telegraph, telephone, and the thousands of other modern inventions, each designed to overcome in some degree existing limits, meet opposing forces, before unknown, which hinder the realization of the promised freedom. We see the continual warring of the forces of good and evil in human consciousness, and mortal man unable to find the pathway to peace and harmony. He still finds himself in bondage to sin, sickness, and death. Should he build to the skies without discovering his spiritual selfhood, his relationship to his Creator, and his proper place in creation, his structure would fall because not built upon the eternal rock of Spirit.
