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The Attainment of Freedom
There are certain elements of consciousness which offer sure proofs of man's divine origin, and which give promise of an immortality that is altogether different from a mere prolongation of mortal existence,—lighted at one hour with despair. Among these qualities which defy destruction and survive shipwreck is the unquenchable desire for freedom, a desire which, however mistaken in its seeking, must continue the search until that which alone can satisfy is attained; namely, spiritual freedom. Christian Science reveals the fact that inasmuch as all true freedom is spiritual, all bondage is the result of belief in materiality, and until this is understood, freedom is impossible.
Let us picture a man placed in circumstances which seem to render him wholly independent of the will of others, surrounded by everything which can minister to his comfort and happiness. Is he free, or even independent? Far from it. The greater his material possesions, the greater his dependence upon others and the greater his bondage, until he learns how to emancipate himself, and it often happens that the deprivation of material possessions is the first step toward deliverance. Happy are those who can say to fortune.—
Smile and we smile, the lords of many lands;
Frown and we smile, the lords of our own hands;
For man is man and master of his fate.
How to attain the mastery of ourselves, the freedom within, is the problem of all the ages,—the goal which so many blindly seek, and which all shall at length find through the compelling power of divine Love. The pity of it all is that so many years are wasted in the pursuit of that which could not satisfy were it reached. To be free, to be masters of our fate, we must gain the liberty conferred by spiritual law, the law which annuls belief in materiality, with all its vain promises of power and pleasure, and its lengthening chain of pain and penalty. So long as a material body is held to be the representative of manhood, so long will thought dwell in self-imposed bondage,—sin, sickness, and want being the "keepers of the prison." When, however, the thunders of Truth heard by St. John utter their apocalyptic voices, the unreality of material conditions is revealed; divinely-awakened energies assert the supremacy of Mind, and tell of universal freedom, won through unfaltering loyalty to the demands of spiritual law.
How clearly the Master pointed the way to this freedom, and how unmistakable is the meaning of his words in Christian Science! He said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed," and he proved at every point what freedom means and how it is to be attained. He not only made it clear that there is no freedom in sin, he revealed the way of escape from it. Many who listened to his deathless words were deeply disappointed when he spoke of this way; they even resented the implication that they were in any bondage for which they themselves were responsible; they failed to see that the hated foreign yoke was but the symbol of mental servitude to false beliefs concerning God and man, and that it could only be removed as his yoke was assumed and the divine government of mind and body recognized and obeyed.
While the struggle for freedom must go on until it is realized, and while even a small measure of it is worth more than all else, it can never be reached in its fulness until we subdue every thought which opposes itself to Christ, Truth; thus gained, it can never be lost. Says the poet,—
Freedom's battle, once begun ...
Though baffled oft, is ever won.
Annie M. Knott.

July 22, 1905 issue
View Issue-
Obedience
PROF. JOEL RUFUS MOSLEY.
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The Real and Its Symbol
LEWIS C. STRANG.
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How to Solve Life's Problems
H. L. BROADBRIDGE.
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O Troubled over Many Things
Frederick Lawrence Knowles
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A Heart-to-heart Talk
Nat Baker
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When one considers the remarkable growth of Christian Science...
James D. Sherwood
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Our brother construes the Master's declaration "These...
Richard P. Verrall
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The Lectures
with contributions from C. E. Ware, Professor Fawley, Alice Thrall
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An Amended By-law
Editor
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Signs of the Times
Mary Baker Eddy
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Mrs. Eddy's Requests
Editor with contributions from Mary Baker G. Eddy
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A Serious Mischance
Archibald McLellan
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Fact and Folly
John B. Willis
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The Attainment of Freedom
Annie M. Knott
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Letters to our Leader
with contributions from Bessie M. Houghton, Inez Droke
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After ten year of constant travel, much of it at night,...
James F. Beebee
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At the age of eleven years I was sent to school, most of...
Mary Alexander
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In 1887, a dear friend who seemingly was not at all well,...
Sara E. McCrum
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A few days ago I was visiting some friends in whose...
Ida Morgan Trunkey
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About eighteen years ago I was called to Illinois to help...
Clara A. Seyffert
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Christian Science found me in a most miserable condition...
Beulah G. Hines
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A Song of Courage
MARY J. ELMENDORF.
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From our Exchanges
with contributions from Philip S. Moxom
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Notices
with contributions from Stephen A. Chase