Articles

All giving and receiving is reciprocal; you entertain angels unawares, but they cannot impart more or higher things than you are in a state to receive. But every step of your progress affects the intercourse you hold with all others, elevates its tone, deepens its meaning, sanctifies its spirit; and when time and suffering and self-denial shall have transfigured and glorified this spotted self, you shall find your fellows also transformed, and their faces shall shine upon you with the light of wisdom and the beauty of holiness.

Christian Science , being the Science of harmony, must of necessity relate to every phase of life wherein man seeks the achievement of perfection. Harmony furthers progress, just as a smooth rail facilitates travel.

In accordance with the wish of Mrs. Eddy, the exercises to-day attending the laying of the corner-stone of the beautiful new church edifice, which is her gift to the Concord Christian Scientists, were of a very simple nature.

Zeno, Socrates, and Plato, beacon lights in early Grecian philosophy, originated and adopted the dialectic method of teaching; Jesus used that of illustrating by parable. Unlike those preceding him, the Master was not only profound, but extremely simple.

The words of Jesus, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," have a new and significant meaning in the light of Christian Science. We understand that the admonition, "let him deny himself," does not mean simply that those who are endeavoring to follow the footsteps of Jesus shall deprive themselves of various things in order that others may have the benefit of them, but it points to the existence of a false self or supposititious mind in each human being, a self made up of a multitude of false beliefs about eternal verities, and every one of these beliefs must be denied, cast out, and the truth put in its place.

The really independent thinker has ceased to sneer at Christian Science. He may retain all his skepticism and his allegiance to sense appearances; he may continue to order his life and conduct after the most approved philosophy of the materialist; and he may at times even feel a sense of supreme pity for those worthy people who are taking their idealism into actual practice; but a tolerant respect has taken place to scorn.

The following experience of a friend of mine, which I will give in his own words, has suggested several thoughts to me that may prove helpful. "Recently while hunting with a party of friends through a very wild and desolate tropical swamp, I became separated from my companions.

A Friend said, "When first I came in contact with Christian Scientists I thought them very unsympathetic. They never asked about one's health, and when any one complained of pain or sorrow, they always tried to cheer him instead of sympathizing with him, and I am not yet quite sure that I like it.

The question confronting the thinking world to-day is, What and where is consciousness? Advanced thought no longer asks, What is matter? Matter is rapidly finding its correct solution, as simply a false sense of that which in reality is mental, and so the question ceases now to be in relation to matter as such, but assumes a more intelligent position and asks: What is mind or consciousness? It is not alone from the Christian Science standpoint that this statement is made, though were it made only from that standpoint it would still be none the less true, but doubtless less acceptable to the general public than when coming from what is termed the material scientist's viewpoint. From time to time in the past few years most excellent articles have been published in The Christian Science Journal, bearing specifically on the subject of matter's unreality, as promulgated by leading scientific men.

When Saul, the son of Kish, went out to hunt for cattle and found a kingdom, his experience was prototypical of what occurs to the most of us when we become adherents of Christian Science. The time came when we lost our trust in pertinacious plasters and unknowable pellets.