Articles

GROWTH OF THE GOD-CONCEPT. Give a prophet the God-idea of a nation, and he will write its history.

The new building erected at the corner of Simcoe and Caer Howell Streets, and which is to be known as the first Church of Christ. Scientist, was formally opened for worship yesterday.

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. — Jeremiah, 9:23, 24.

On the evening of June 11, 1898, at the Auditorium in Chicago, Hon. W G.

Is it not strange that there should be a moment of silence in a Christian Science testimonial meeting? Would there ever be a spare moment in such a gathering if only a fraction of those present would stand up and make "an open confession" of their faith, and tell what Christian Science had done for them? In the Mother Church, for instance, would there be a single soundless second, if only one-tenth of those present should speak for a minute each? There are places where silence is grateful and satisfying, but that place does not seem to me to be a Christian Science testimony meeting. Our dear Mother has permitted the holding of these meetings that even those whose "ears have waxed gross" might understand what wonderful things are being done by the demonstrators of Christian Science, not only along the lines of physical healing, but in the healing of sin as well, and the application of the great Principle to business propositions that are confronting us all daily.

Sweet words! Short though they be yet a child may learn to lisp them and feel their influence, but the human mind can never grasp their full significance until it sees the nothingness of itself, and conceives of God allness No human being, however, is so gross that he will not recognize, to some extent, the kind deed, the loving thought, the helping hand, and patient forbearance, which are all manifestations of the one and only God. Was it not really our false concept of God man, and the universe which held, as it were, our hands with chains from reaching out to help some weary one and feed the hungry and heal the sick? But a blessed Light has dawned in this age, through our Leader, and when man truly desires this God, which is Love, it is attainable here and now—"A God that knoweth no evil, and sendeth no evil upon man.

This maxim is generally supposed to express the power of some physical or material force over a weaker element, in many instances of evil over good. Within the last month, however, I have had a glimpse of what the world will be when the might of divine Principle, Truth, and Love, rules and governs the affections of man—when He whose right it is shall reign.

In order to send you an account of the growth of Christian Science on the desert, in Mojave, California, I must record a wonderful demonstration of the power of Truth in meeting and destroying material laws. Christian Science could scarcely have had a severer test, not alone for the claims of disease it was called upon to heal, but because of the circumstances and conditions surrounding the case.

My Dear Brother: —The Stars and Stripes I have come to love long ago, because in spirit I am an American, though born a South African. My love for your wonderful land of liberty has actuated and increased my interest in all things American, and for the greatest of all these I am devoutly thankful, and as I write my heart is thrilled with gratitude.

To a person absorbed in the battledore and shuttlecock game of material existence, with his affairs enveloped chiefly in a hustle, hullabaloo, and devil-take-the-hind-most atmosphere, the word "spirit," or "spirituality," seems shrouded in impenetrable mystery and superstition. It certainly seemed thus once to the writer, and I well remember in my early business days, before learning a little of the grand lessons of Science, how I looked askance at this word, and many times I declared that if it required any particular spirituality to understand Christian Science, and become a Scientist, it was not for me, supposing that the quality of spirituality was possessed by only a certain few.