Article January 30, 1909 Issue

The sense of the average man or woman is almost entirely...

Thomas A. Barnes

Seattle (Wash.) Times

The sense of the average man or woman is almost entirely focused on their material sense experience. It is only occasionally that some inspiration, coming usually from outside, lifts them for a brief period to the plane of spiritual consciousness which is the natural and true home of the soul. This spiritual consciousness is not merely the cause of love, joy, and peace, it actually is itself the essence and substance of all these qualities. ... All this, of course, has been vaguely known in the past, and was beyond question the source of Christ's power to heal, because be understood the truth and its application. Almost all religious movements have contained some glimmerings of this truth; but the peculiar merit of Christian Science is that it has brought to the modern world, and has developed, a certain form of teaching which has enabled its votaries in great measure to transcend the mortal mind and to focus the consciousness on that level where fear, anxiety, and regret and all their attendant troubles have no existence. It has, in short, brought this teaching into practical application and has healed both the bodies and souls of many thousands of men and women.

The secret of Christian Science is the secret of the silent strength of the inner spiritual life. The Cause of Christ is not to be served by violent attacks upon alleged heresies of any kind whatsoever. These attacks are merely boomerangs, which ultimately return with damaging effect upon those who launch them. The true kingdom of God is not the kingdom of strife and contention, and that church which is best calculated to uplift the community is not necessarily the one with the most splendid edifice, the largest congregation, the most eloquent preacher, or the most attractive musical service, but the one in which the true spirit of Christ most effectually manifests itself—the spirit of peace and of brotherly love and helpfulness.

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