Articles

IN the old days of blind striving after that which was tangible in religion, the writer used to feel that something should be done, taken up, in order to gain a nearer approach to God, but this helplessness arose in the doubt as to what to do. Certain standards set up by traditional religious systems lay open to follow.

IN the eighteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus gives utterance to a parable spoken, as the inspired record declares, "unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. " In this parable the words, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are," present a picture of self-righteousness and self-satisfaction which, standing out in striking contrast with the picture of humility and self-abnegation portrayed by the words of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner," has justly received the condemnation of all thinking people.

ONE of the points of widest divergence between Christian Science and other Christian faiths is the method of accepting and applying the phrase "Thy will be done" of the Lord's Prayer. The more usual attitude is one of almost hopeless though half-rebellious resignation; the Christian Science attitude is one of expectant joy.

WHEN Mrs. Eddy affixed the name Christian Science to Christianity, she roused the world to the fact that there had never been, since the early Christian era, a frank acceptance of spiritual truth as definitely knowable, practically demonstrable, susceptible of proof.

CHRIST JESUS at one time declared that "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. " At another time he said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

IN social intercourse pride of place and power is all too often the master of ceremonies. Self-seeking motives and the attitude of "I am holier than thou" would shut out from social circles the natural expression of individualized good.

THERE is in every man an inherent desire to be free, and the abiding conviction that freedom in the fullest and broadest sense of the word is his divine right, impels him to strive for that which he believes is essential to his present and future well-being. While the desire for freedom is universal, all are not agreed as to just how this freedom is to be attained; neither is it understood, as it should be, that true freedom is not to be gained at the expense of others.

THERE is an old-time children's story respecting a contest of strength between the wind and the sun which affords wholesome food for thought, because it illustrates this subtle but vital truth that real power is to be recognized not so much in the gain of a given end as in the method of its achievement. So long as the desire for or belief in error is allowed to influence thought, the necromancers of Egypt are apt to try to seduce men by imitations of the divine power demonstrated by Moses.

QUESTIONS of law are constantly confronting us, for all human association and action are based upon law. While state legislatures and the Federal Congress are law-making bodies, the courts interpret these laws.

TO the onlooker, Christian Science appears no better in any community than the Christian Scientists themselves appear. He who knows little or nothing of the teaching of Christian Science is very likely to judge it by the conduct of its adherents.