The Lectures
Johannesburg, South Africa
William D. McCrackan, M.A., delivered a lecture on Christian Science in the Orpheum Theater. He was introduced by William P. Grimmer, solicitor, who said in part:—
Christian Scientists believe that by the light of the Christian Science text-book they have been enabled to find that for which all the world is seeking, namely, the way to the peace which passes understanding. This "pearl of great price" they desire to pass on to others.
These lectures are free gifts from the Christian Science people to their fellow men, and their purpose is the same as that of the reading-rooms. Mr. McCrackan has traveled nine thousand miles from his home in New York city to offer to you something of what he has learned in Christian Science, and I know you will give him a courteous hearing.
Correspondence.
Dawson, Yukon, Canada
A large and appreciative audience gathered at Arctic Brotherhood Hall to hear Clarence C. Eaton lecture on Christian Science. The Hon. F. T. Congdon, K.C., introduced the speaker of the evening, and said in part:—
Some men at early stages of their lives run on mental sandbars, and remain there until the inevitable results of stagnation, decay and death, ensue. Others, in the lead for a time, grow lazy and content, and if ever aroused, find they must run to catch again the ever-moving procession. "Be abreast of the times" is a good motto in regard to matters of thought, and we cannot live up to it and be ignorant of the movement designated Christian Science. In one sense of those words, the sense of systematized Christian knowledge, most of us would like to be qualified for membership. Then the value attached to simple faith appeals to us strongly. The movement has been beneficial even to those who have no knowledge or faith in it, for it is a revulsion from materialism, and a recognition of the profound importance of the spiritual.
Dawson News.
Greensburg, Pa.
Virgil O. Strickler, who lectured on Christian Science, was introduced by J.C. Bolger, who said in part:—
The question, "What is truth?" may be said to be as old as humanity itself. Sages, philosophers, and ecclesiastics in all ages of the world have endeavored to answer the question, and the result of these efforts has been a vast accumulation of theories and hypotheses whose practical worth has been determined by the nearness of their approach to the teachings of him who said, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." Jesus of Nazareth not only preached and taught, but he also proved by his life and works that he knew the truth about God and man. This knowledge, he declared, was possible to all who would follow in the way he marked out. But to show that this knowledge was more than a mere intellectual apprehension of his teachings, he said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." Thus Jesus laid down a rule which must forever remain the test of the genuineness of all religious profession. According to this rule true religion must be made practical in the overcoming of sickness and sin.
Christian Science is a religion which, if the tree may be known by its fruit, can justly lay claim to being the truth concerning God and man, for it enables those who understand it to do the things designated as the "signs" that should "follow them that believe." Hundreds of thousands of people can testify that they have been healed of sin and sickness through Christian Science. This truth is universal, and its benefits are attainable by all. These lectures are given for the purpose of proclaiming this good news to the world. The local Christian Scientists have provided this lecture, not to proselyte, not to gain a following, but, to use the words of St. Paul, that they might be "helpers of your joy."
Correspondence.
Hollywood, Cal.
Seldom has such interest been shown in a subject as when several hundred people were unable to gain admittance to Wilcox Hall, the occasion being a lecture on Christian Science by Bickness Young. Asa T. Patterson of Hollywood introduced the speaker in the following words:—
We have met here this evening for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the teachings of Christian Science, the religion that heals the sick as well as the sinful, as demonstrated by the Master nineteen centuries ago, and as testified to by thousands of those who have experienced the healing power of this great truth in the present age, many of them after having first exhausted every other available remedy. So-called incurable diseases have been healed in Christian Science after long periods of the best medical treatment have failed. We learn from the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," that the same power which heals sin, heals sickness. When Truth heals the sick, it casts out evils; and when Truth casts out the evil called disease, it heals the sick.
East Hollywood Inquirer.
St. Louis, Mo.
John Ashcroft, assistant committee on publication for Missouri, in introducing Clarence W. Chadwick, who lectured on Christian Science at First Church of Christ, Scientist, spoke as follows:—
In the closing years of the first century of the Christian era, when the pure Christianity taught by Jesus and his immediate students had already been adulterated by those who were "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men," there was given to one whose spirituality made him a fit channel for its transmission, that wonderful vision of the future which has come down to us as "the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass." Bridging the dark chasm of the intervening years, this revelation portrays a time when, in the language of the one who recorded it, "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." It was to be a characteristic of this period that the gospel preached by the sea of Galilee and at Bethany should have found its fulfilment; that men should indeed realize that the Christ is with them always.
Unfortunately for humanity, this revelation came to be regarded as referring to some future existence; and as a result of this error the long night of materialism descended upon mankind. It remained for the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy, to detect this misapprehension and undertake its correction, and to this end she established the various activities of the Christian Science movement. Our church services and reading-rooms, our lectures and literature, are all designed and devoted to this healing work,—the healing of mankind's misapprehension of their relation to God; and by no means the least important of these healing and enlightening agencies is the board of lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass.—Correspondence.
Elizabeth, N. J.
The introductory remarks of William Ranson, first reader, at the lecture on Christian Science given by Bliss Knapp in Proctor's East Jersey street theater, were in part as follows:—
Forty-seven years ago a New England woman announced the discovery of the laws governing divine healing as taught and exemplified by Jesus of Nazareth, and gave it to the world nine years later in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," the commentary or text-book used by Christian Scientists in their study of the Bible. Christian Science is restating today the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as shown in the healing of the sick and the bringing into the daily experience of thousands of men, women, and children the uplifting and hallowing effects of primitive Christianity.
Correspondence.
