Articles

If one does not recognize and in some degree understand the relation of cause and effect, he cannot reasonably expect to succeed in any undertaking. Nothing comes by chance.

When one considers for how many centuries the vast resources of the American continent were hidden from the civilized nations of the earth, and how long the useful energies of steam and electricity were imprisoned in undiscovered realms of thought, a feeling of awe arises to think what power, what wealth must still lie out of sight, waiting through countless ages for some gifted eye to pierce the mask of ignorance and see beyond. The diamond waits in the dark of the earth, the pearl in the depth of the sea, until some one, braver than most, shall find them hidden there.

In that strangely beautiful story of the father and two sons narrated in the fifteenth chapter of Luke's gospel and commonly referred to as the parable of the prodigal son, interest centers almost exclusively about the profligate, the dutiful son all but escaping attention. This is not surprising, for the evenness of the ways of the obedient son presents few striking incidents for portrayal, while the life of the prodigal embodies those sharp experiences with which human existence abounds and which lend themselves so spontaneously to the thought or pen of him who would "point a moral, or adorn a tale.

That the account of creation as given in the first chapter of Genesis cannot be, as is generally conceived, the production or bringing into existence of that which never had before existed, is evident from the fact that the nature of God must be eternal, and whatever exists must have been known to Him from all eternity. On page 518 of Science and Health Mrs.

On page 241 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "The error of the ages is preaching without practice.

The practice of attributing virtues and vices, together with physical qualities and characteristics, to persons and material things, which has been in vogue continuously since time began, is found in the light of Christian Science to be but one of the many forbidden fruits of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil. " This practice, while resulting in no perceptible benefit to the human race, is being perpetuated today in the name of modern science and is taught in advanced institutions of learning under such various titles as ethnology, physiology, psychology, phrenology, and the like.

Back of every right activity in the Church of Christ, Scientist, is a spiritual idea to be discerned and demonstrated; and a business meeting with perfect divine intelligence understood and utilized therein, would be the expression of such an idea. Many human footsteps must be taken before this perfection is realized and demonstrated, and it may be profitable to consider some of them.

It is sometimes difficult for the beginner to understand that Christian Science does not destroy the doctrine of Christ Jesus' atonement upon which Christian churches strongly base the plan of salvation, especially in reference to the efficacy of the shedding of blood. In considering this subject it may be well to glance first at the place which the concept of blood holds in the human thought about life.

Isaiah declares of God, "The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. " How often in modern times is this desire but a mere abstraction and a frequent cause of self-deception! Sincere though it may seem to ourselves, no desire is of real value unless our lives, also our works, bear witness to our entire consecration to God, good.

It is both interesting and instructive to look up, with the aid of a concordance, all the passages in the Bible which refer to understanding, knowledge, and wisdom, especially those which point out the necessity of gaining or acquiring these qualities. One of the most striking passages is to be found in the first chapter of Ephesians, where Paul speaks to the members of the church at Ephesus of his constant prayer for them, that they might receive "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him [God]," and that the eyes of their understanding might be "enlightened.