Introductions to Lectures

Williamstown, Massachusetts (Society of Williams College).

Lecturer: W. Stuart Booth; introduced by James Robert Baylis, who said:—

Everyone here is, I think, familiar to some extent with the life and teachings of Christ Jesus, the Founder of that widespread religion known to-day as Christianity; and I am sure everyone knows something of the miracles wrought by this man in the healing of the sick and in the raising of the dead in many cities and villages of Palestine almost two thousand years ago. Christianity as a religion of healing lasted about three hundred years as the disciples of the great Master continued his healing work; and Christianity has existed down through the centuries to the present. In the religion of Jesus, the healing of the sick and the raising of the dead, through his knowledge of the omnipotence of God, played a primary part; but how has this part been practiced during the centuries since the advent of the Christian era? Up to the time of the discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy, about sixty-five years ago, the world lacked the concrete proofs which Jesus had presented of God's protecting power. This was due to the loss of the faith which Jesus had had in God's power, for he himself had promised to him who believed on him, "The works that I do shall he do also." By healing herself of a supposedly incurable disease, Mrs. Eddy reëstablished the true relationship between God and man. By the understanding which she thus gained of the works of Jesus, she was enabled to heal the sick even as he had done, and in this way was able to restore that faith in God's illimitable power to her followers, multitudes of whom can now challenge mankind with the words of James, "Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."

Austin, Texas (First Church).

Lecturer: Dr. John M. Tutt; introduced by Earl E. Simms, who said:—

The busy world is rapidly awakening to the ever-presence of omnipotent God, and the fact that God's promises given us in the Bible and His loving care are as available to-day as they were nineteen centuries ago when Jesus, our Saviour and Example, performed his wonderful healings of sickness and sin on the shores of Galilee and the hills of Judea.

Christian Science, the religion to be explained this evening, is based on the fundamental truth of creation, namely, that man's birthright is, this very instant, all that is good, pure, lovely, harmonious, and blessed. All of the health, life, love, joy, and happiness that there is, is ours now, if we but understandingly claim our own.

I can speak without hesitancy of the accomplishments of Christian Science and of its efficacy in healing sin and disease through the operation of God's law. I have been healed of the tobacco habit, social drinking, the use of profanity, and many other faults of character. I have been healed of extreme nervousness and instantaneously of colds and other discordant bodily conditions. There is still much to be accomplished in the destruction of error, and I am most grateful that the continued study and application of the truth as taught in Christian Science is bringing about my entire freedom.

My friends, we Christian Scientists say to you in the words of Scripture: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.... This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

Durban, Natal, South Africa (First Church).

Lecturer: William Wallace Porter; introduced by George Henry Brumell, who said:—

Christian Science is the truth, the demonstrable truth about God and man, and as we put into practice its teachings we find that it brings to us freedom from our burdens and gives us health of body, courage, and peace of mind. For the last twenty years I have relied implicitly on Christian Science for health, happiness, and protection. It has stood by me in dangers on land and sea, and has never failed me, even when there seemed to be no way of escape. It has healed me of the tobacco and liquor habits, and, while stationed in the jungle of Burma, I was healed of an attack of cholera, and again of sunstroke, through the application of this glorious truth. Christian Science does heal. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, has written (p. 361), "As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being."

Wallace, Idaho (Society).

Lecturer: Paul Stark Seeley; introduced by Mrs. Edna D. Inskip, who said:—

On page 342 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy says: "The hour has struck when proof and demonstration, instead of opinion and dogma, are summoned to the support of Christianity, 'making wise the simple.'" It was a proof, the healing of a friend of tuberculosis through Christian Science treatment, which led me to investigate its teachings over twenty years ago. I read the textbook rather more from curiosity than any physical need. However, I was healed through my reading of hay fever and the necessity for glasses, which I had worn several years. Christian Scientists to-day are rejoicing in these proofs of their teachings. As one of our hymns expresses it:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Third Church).

Lecturer: Richard J. Davis; introduced by William G. Arnott, who said:—

In the last chapter of Mark's Gospel we read Christ Jesus' final instructions to his disciples, in which he said, "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; ... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." When I took up Christian Science some years ago I was in a position to prove that Christian Science does show forth the signs that Jesus required of his followers. My wife and I were both considered incurable by medical doctors and surgeons, she with cancer and I with lung trouble. We were both permanently healed by Christian Science treatment and the study of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. I was also healed of the tobacco habit in one treatment.