Books: The Pastor\'s Son
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William W. Walter >> The Pastor\'s Son
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"No, Walter, that would not be a fair illustration."
"All right father, we will now take another example. Say a man should
drop dead on the street from apoplexy; there lies his material body,
his brain occupies its accustomed place, not having been disturbed at
all, yet you would not say that his brain had the ability to think?"
"But the man was dead, life had flown," said Mr. Williams.
"Then it is Life that has in itself the ability to think, for everything
else is there, in its proper place, and what is the life of a man but
his consciousness, his intelligence, his mind. Now we have arrived at
the same point in our reasoning where we were before, that God is Mind,
intelligence, the Life of man, and that brains cannot think. You see,
father, the brain is also matter, the same as the rest of our material
body, that is, dust, or as I explained before, nothing; an illusion,
or false conception."
"Do you mean to say I have no body at all?"
"No, father, what I mean is that man has taken a false view of his
body by thinking it material when in reality it is spiritual, as is
all the rest of the universe; for God, Spirit could not make a material
world, as matter is the opposite of spirit."
The Rev. Mr. Williams leaned his head on his hand and was thinking
deeply. Could Walter's explanation be the truth? He could see when
what we called death occurred the consciousness, intelligence, or what
we called life, seemed to leave the body and thereafter the body was
inanimate, and in time returned to dust. Reasoning from this standpoint,
he could agree that life and intelligence were the same, and that the
intelligence of man was his mind was also plain, but that Mind was
God, was beyond his comprehension, because he had always conceived of
mind and brain as being the same, consequently, that the brain had the
power of thought. Yet Walter's explanation concerning the inability
of the brain, in the corpse, to think, and that it was as material as
the rest of the body was quite convincing that brain, in itself, did
not contain the power of thought. Was the boy right regarding the word
omniscient? If so, it would be very easy to agree with him when he
said that God was the intelligence or mind of man; he, himself, believed
in an all intelligent creator.
Walter all this while had been waiting for his father or mother to
express themselves, as they did not, he said: "If we can agree that
Mind is God, then it is very easy to conceive of man as the image and
likeness of God, and this image would be spiritual and not material."
His father looked up at him but did not speak. His mother said: "How
would that help it, Walter?"
"If we reason from the standpoint that Mind is the creative force or
first cause, and as we know that like produces like, it would be
impossible for the creative force, or Mind, to produce matter, for
matter is the opposite of mind. Now let us see what Mind does
create,--why thoughts or ideas and nothing else, so we see that man
is a thought, or a number of them, or idea emanating from the one Mind
or creative force and the idea or thought must be the image and likeness
of the mind or intelligence that conceived it. This would give us a
spiritual man, who in reality would be the image and likeness of the
real God."
"Walter," said his father, "I cannot stand to hear any more to-night,
I will not say that you are right or wrong, as I must have time to
think, and the more I hear you say, the more in the dark I seem to be,
besides it is getting quite late and it is time we were retiring."
"I hope you are not angry for my presuming to explain the Bible as I
see it, for I believe I am right; in fact, I have had proof sufficient
to convince me that it cannot be otherwise."
"No Walter, I am not angry, but very badly mixed up in my reasoning
because of the peculiar views you entertain concerning God and man.
What proof have you had that you are right?"
"Through these peculiar views as you call them, I am being restored
to health; in fact, I believe every symptom has gone forever, and that
I am entirely well, besides I feel so happy, contented, and free that
I can hardly wait for the day when mother will understand, and be free
from her bondage."
"If understanding will make her free I pray God that He will give her
such understanding, but I cannot see what connection understanding can
possibly have with sickness."
"You know, father, Jesus Christ said, 'Ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free.' The question is, free from what? For
the men He was speaking to answered Him saying: 'We be Abraham's seed
and were never in bondage to any man, how sayest thou then, ye shall
be free?' Jesus Christ answered them, 'Verily, verily I say unto you,
whosoever commiteth sin, is the servant of sin.' At another time as
related in Matthew 9:5, Jesus Christ intimated that sin and sickness
were one and the same. He said to the _sick_ man, 'Son, be of good
cheer, thy _sins_ are forgiven thee,' and certain of the scribes said,
'This man blasphemeth.' Jesus Christ, knowing what they were thinking
and saying, said, 'Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts, for whither
is easier to say, thy sins are forgiven thee or to say, arise and walk.'
If we can now agree that sin and sickness are the same, we could say
with Jesus Christ, 'Verily, verily I say unto you, whosoever commiteth
(sickness) sin, is the servant of sickness,' for we certainly are the
slaves of any sickness that we claim to have, and give it the power to
rule us with a rod of iron, and in doing so, we sin against the first
commandment, 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me,' as we are making
a God or power of our sickness. And if we take medicine, we are giving
the medicine power to heal, or making a God of it, and in doing so we
break the same commandment. Now, father, good-night, and I hope by a
careful perusal of the Bible on this subject you will be able to agree
with me. Good-night, mother."
"Good-night, Walter," said both his father and mother, as he turned
to leave the room.
As soon as he was gone Mrs. Williams turned to the pastor and said:
"To-night you must surely agree with me that the boy is inspired."
The pastor looked up at her and said, "That is the only way I can
account for the wonderful things he says. I must admit he has gone far
beyond me, in his understanding of the Bible. I intend to put in the
next few days in verifying his explanations."
"James, do you think the boy can be right in regard to sickness and
sin being the same?"
"There is hardly any other conclusion to arrive at, if we believe the
words of Jesus Christ. Now let us go to bed, as it is quite late."
CHAPTER IX
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL
Bright and early the next morning Walter was up and reading in "Science
and Health." After reading some little time, he heard his mother calling
him to breakfast. He laid his book down and said: "This is the most
wonderful book I ever read; no matter how many times I read it over,
it seems like a new book, and sometimes I wonder if I had not skipped
some of it when I read it before, as there are many things I see in
it now that I did not see before. I suppose it is because I did not
understand it all the first time."
Shortly after breakfast, his mother asked Walter to do an errand for
her down town. On the way he began to wonder if Christian Scientists
had a church or meeting-place, he also wished he knew of some one who
was a Scientist, as he desired very much to ask some questions,
particularly in regard to his mother's illness.
On his return from town, he was compelled to wait several moments at
a railroad crossing near the depot, and as he stepped inside his eye
caught sight of a little bracket nailed to the wall. In the bracket
was a book, and on the cover in large print were the words, "Christian
Science Journal." Walter hastily walked over to the wall, took the
book, and began to examine it. He saw it was published monthly in
Boston. Opening the book, he saw the first part was reading matter,
and as he turned page after page, he came to where he saw, "List of
organized churches of Christ, Scientist." Immediately he began looking
if there was a church in his town. He noticed that the names of the
towns and cities were arranged alphabetically. After searching for a
moment he said, "Yes, here it is, 'Mapelton, Vermont. First church of
Christ, Scientist, First Reader, John J. Sivad; Services 10:45 A. M.,
Sunday School 12 M., Wednesday 7:45 P. M., Number 52 Squirrel Ave.,
on Island. Reading-room same address, 2 to 4 P. M.' Why, that is only
five or six blocks from my home; I wish I could go to their service.
I may some day. They seem to have a great many churches; there are
eight in Chicago alone; three in Cleveland, Ohio; three in Kansas City;
three in London, England; six in New York City; two in New Orleans,
La.; three in Portland; one in Paris, France; one in Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia. "Why, they seem to be in every city in the world."
He continued to read and turned the pages until he came to a page where
he saw printed, "Addresses of Christian Science Practitioners." "I
wonder what they mean by practitioner; it must mean those who practice
Christian Science, but I should think every Christian Scientist would
practice what he knows. I wonder if there are any in Mapelton; let me
see, they are all classified in states and cities; yes, there is
Mapelton. There are three of them here.
"Mrs. F. S. White, C. S., 281 N. Grant St.
"Mrs. M. J. Sivad, C. S., 742 Upland Court.
"Mrs. L. S. Poor, C. S., 45 Napoleon Ave.
"I wonder if all practitioners are women; no, here is Mr. Sherman
Bradford; here is another man; Oh, yes, there are a good many men, but
there are more women than men. I know Mrs. White; her husband used to
keep a shoe store, and Mrs. M. J. Sivad is that lovely lady who lives
in a beautiful large mansion in Upland Court, the finest street in
town; her husband is a retired merchant. And Mrs. L. S. Poor is that
tall, stately looking lady that passes by our house so often. I must
have a talk with them some time. Now I must hurry home or mother will
think something has happened."
Arriving home, he told his mother he had stopped at the depot, and
that this was the reason of his delay.
Walter was now so well and strong that his parents did not worry much
about him, but Walter and his father were quite alarmed at Mrs.
William's condition, for she had been failing rapidly for the last
month and was so weak that it was almost impossible for her to do her
accustomed work. Walter and his father did all they could to help her
and made her work as light as possible.
It was several days later when his mother felt so ill that she could
not get up at all, and so Walter decided to go to one of the
practitioners for advice, which he did that same afternoon.
He told the practitioner of his illness and of his finding "Science
and Health" and that the reading and study of the book had cured him;
also that his mother was sick, that he was a minister's son, and his
father was very much opposed to Christian Science. He also told her
of their Bible lessons and of the confusion of his father.
The practitioner told him that the word practitioner was used instead
of doctor or healer and that this was her profession, healing the sick,
and that she would be pleased to help him all she could, but that she
had no right to treat his mother without her consent.
Walter assured her that it would be impossible to get either his father
or mother's consent, for they refused to have him treated at one time
when a friend had suggested it.
The practitioner then said, "Well, Mr. Williams, your work is before
you. Truth has found you, and Truth will show you a way out of your
seeming trouble. Trust God and never doubt His wisdom, for God, Good,
works in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; you must hold in
thought that everything will come to pass as you wish it, and if you
can persuade your father to have a talk with me, let me know, and I
will be pleased to come."
Thanking the practitioner for her advice, Walter left the house and
started home. He was not fully satisfied with his visit; many of the
questions he had asked the practitioner remained unanswered, as he
supposed, for the practitioner always referred him to "Science and
Health." In answer to one of his most important questions, she said,
"'Science and Health,' page so and so, says thus--"and then she would
quote something from the book, but he could see no connection between
his question and the quotation. When he arrived home he decided to
tell his father all and try to persuade him to have his mother treated
by a Christian Science practitioner.
CHAPTER X
HUMANITY'S MISTAKE
The same evening Walter went into the library to see his father, and
found him seated at his desk with his Bible open before him. As Walter
seated himself near the desk, his father looked up and asked, "What
is it, Walter?"
"I came to have a little talk with you, father."
"I am glad you did, as there are several questions I wanted to ask
you, one of which is in regard to that saying of Jesus Christ--'ye
shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free'-you explained
before but I did not catch your meaning."
"Let us use an illustration to show what is meant by that saying. For
instance, supposing we had been taught from childhood that two times
two are five, and every person on earth believed this to be right, we
would all go through life making this mistake. There would be constant
trouble all over the mathematical world because of it, and when we
tried to rectify this trouble we would use this same mistake in trying
to arrive at a true answer. At times we would deceive ourselves and
believe we were right, only to find later on that we were in deeper
trouble. And when we had children of our own, we would still teach
them the same as we were taught that two times two are five, and the
longer the world stood, the greater would become this mistake, as no
one knew the truth that two times two were only four; yet all this
time the principle of mathematics existed and was correct, but man
knew it not. Now father, imagine how great and widespread this mistake
would become in several thousands of years, and how hard it would be
to convince the people of their mistake, especially the professor of
mathematics who had devoted a lifetime to proving that this mistake
was the truth. You can readily see it would be much easier for the
child who had never learned or believed in the mistake to grasp this
truth than the professor who believed that the mistake was correct.
Supposing that while these conditions existed some one should discover
the truth, that two times two are four, and would bring it before the
world; would not the learned professor ridicule the idea and say two
times two have been five since the beginning of the world, and for any
one to say different is nonsense? Could you induce him to investigate?
No; why? Because he thinks he knows all about it, and that it would
be a waste of time to investigate what he supposes is nonsense. So it
is with man. For thousands of years he has been taught that he has a
material body and that this body is intelligent, and knows when it has
a toe that aches or a stomach that is out of order, or an arm that it
can not move, etc., throughout all the ills that flesh is heir to. And
when man gets in trouble through this mistaken teaching, we try to
correct the trouble by making the same mistake again; for it was through
the belief that man has a material body and that matter is intelligent
that all this trouble came about, and now we try to correct the trouble
by using more matter in the guise of medicine.
"If we had insisted on the professor of mathematics who was using the
mistake of two times two are five in his work, to give us a correct
answer every time, he would be compelled to say that it was an
impossibility. If you were to ask why, he would say, because the
principle of mathematics isn't correct; he could not say otherwise,
as he did not know that the mistake had been made in teaching him that
two times two are five. So it is with man, when he gets so deeply in
trouble that he cannot see any way out he lays his trouble to God and
blames his perfect Principle, when the truth is that the mistake is
not with the Principle, but with his own false belief, brought about
by his being taught a mistake."
Walter stopped and looked at his father, but he said nothing, so he
continued, "And when man goes to the professor of Christianity, the
minister, and asks why all this trouble and sickness has come upon
him, the answer is the same as the professor of mathematics made, by
saying it must be the will of God--thereby intimating that God was the
author of his troubles; in other words, that the Principle of man must
be wrong. Instead of showing him that God, who is all good, could not
make evil, and consequently, he must be suffering through a false
belief brought about by being taught a mistake. Now let us suppose
that some one should discover that man was spiritual and had a spiritual
body, that the entire universe was spiritual and matter did not exist
only as a false belief; that God made everything good, consequently
there could be no evil, and that evil existed only in belief. If the
one who discovered this truth should try to convince the professor of
Christianity, the minister, that God made only the good and the evil
did not exist, the professor would say, thou blasphemest, God made
everything--if he should advance the thought that man was wholly
spiritual, the professor would ridicule him, and say you must be
mistaken, my body is material. I can feel it, and every man's body has
been so since the beginning of the world. If the discoverer insisted
that everything was spiritual in reality, these learned professors
would say the discoverer was insane, and then try to pass laws
prohibiting the teaching of this truth. In olden times they did somewhat
differently; the learned professors of that day crucified the
demonstrator of this truth. It was Jesus Christ, and His students were
called His disciples; later when they went forth to preach the Gospel,
'good spell,' (or truth), and heal the sick, they were called apostles.
The rediscoverer of this Truth at the present time is Mary Baker G.
Eddy, and her students are called Christian Scientists; and later,
when they go forth to preach the Gospel or Truth, and heal the sick,
they are called Christian Science Practitioners, and he who condemns
her teachings condemns the Truth, the same as the scribes and pharisees
condemned the teachings of Jesus Christ; and it is the understanding
of this Truth that sets us free, as Jesus Christ said it would."
For several minutes the pastor did nothing but lean back in his chair
and stare at his son; then he said, "Walter do you mean to tell me
that you received all this information pertaining to the Bible from
a Christian Scientist?"
"No, father, what I know of the Bible and the explanations I have been
able to make regarding the sayings of Jesus Christ, together with what
I have said about the real meaning of creation as narrated in Genesis,
I have learned by careful study of the Christian Science text book,
'Science and Health,' with key to the scriptures, by Mary Baker G.
Eddy, and by comparing the writings in this book with the Bible, I
have become fully convinced that Christian Science, as explained in
'Science and Health' is the same Truth that Jesus Christ taught His
disciples. Jesus Christ said, 'These signs shall follow them that
believe, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover,'
etc. Christian Science practitioners are doing this, and the signs
spoken of by Jesus Christ follow their work. As yet I have only learned
a few of the simplest things pertaining to this science, but this
little helped me much."
"But, Walter, how do we know that it is not the work of the evil one?
or a trick of the devil to lead you astray? I am very much afraid that
you did wrong in not asking me about this teaching before you filled
your mind so full of it."
"Father, you surely must agree that the things I have explained to you
regarding the Bible are true, or at least nearer right than the way
you were taught; and if you will only study 'Science and Health' you
will soon agree with me."
"Walter, I have had enough of this; you have heard me express my views
regarding this heretical idea; now I must insist that you stop reading
such nonsense at once, I will admit that some of your statements seemed
very plausible, but there is no proof that they are true."
"Father, I must speak more on this subject even though you accuse me
of disobedience. I have ample proof that Christian Science is true,
and that the signs do follow their teachings. One proof is that it was
through the understanding I gained by the study of 'Science and Health'
that I am well to-day."
"Oh, pshaw, the idea that reading a book could have healed you of
consumption! I credited you with more intelligence than that."
"It was not the reading of the book that healed me, it was the
understanding of the truth this book contains that showed me the way
out of my troubles; for if I had not found and studied this book I
would probably not be with you now."
"Did you say you found this book?"
"Yes, Thanksgiving day, between the church and our home. At first I
was afraid to read it, and probably would not have read it if it had
not been for an incident that happened on our last trip to the South."
"What incident was that? I don't believe I heard anything about it."
"One day as mother and I were walking along the street, a lady
approached us, and among other things made the remark that she read
'Science and Health' every day, and the reading of the book had healed
her of some severe disease. This lady did not look like a bad person,
so I thought if the book had healed her, it might me, and the truth
it contains has done so."
"You have certainly gained a great deal in health since Thanksgiving
day, but may not this be the work of the devil to lead you astray?"
"Father do you think it a good thing that I am well?"
"What a question, why certainly I do."
"Did you ever hear of the devil doing a good thing?"
The pastor looked surprised, but answered, "No."
"Then why do you say that maybe my getting well is the work of the
devil?" The pastor could not find a ready answer, after a moment he
said, "As I said before, I don't want anything to do with Christian
Science, be it good or bad, and it will please me if you will never
mention it to me again."
"Oh, father, I must speak of it to you for--"
"Silence! I will hear no more of it."
"But father, listen to--"
"Walter, I forbid you to speak to me on the subject again."
"Father, I must speak!"
"Do you dare disobey me?"
"Yes! for my mother's life depends upon my speaking. Let me speak this
once on this subject, and I will agree never to mention Christian
Science to you again unless you wish it."
The pastor's anger had been rising, but when Walter said his mother's
life depended on his speaking, every particle of color left his face,
and the anger vanished at once. He looked at Walter and saw he was
dreadfully in earnest, so he said, "Speak this once, I will hear you."
"Father it was through the reading of 'Science and Health' that I was
healed of the dread disease that is even now threatening the life of
my mother; and as soon as I was convinced of the truth of this teaching
I called upon a practitioner, asking her for advice regarding my
mother's illness and asked her to give mother treatment. I did this
without your consent, as I knew how prejudiced you both were regarding
this subject, but the practitioner kindly told me she would not treat
mother without her consent. And I knew mother would never consent to
take treatment if you were opposed to it, so I felt I must gain your
consent first. The practitioner would be pleased to come and talk with
you on this subject at any time."
"No doubt of it, but I will have nothing to do with Christian Science."
"Oh, father, don't say that; you must be even more prejudiced than I
thought."
"Yes, I am prejudiced, against all such nonsense."
"Father, will nothing change your views?" said Walter rather coldly.
"No, nothing."
"Then father, forever hereafter, I will ascribe the death of my mother
to your unreasoning prejudice against Christian Science, for the medical
profession cannot cure her, but Christian Science can." As Walter
finished speaking, he arose from his chair and left the room; he
immediately proceeded to his own bed-chamber, as he felt he must be
alone, for he was terribly hurt by his father's prejudice against
something which he admitted he had never investigated.
Walter had always supposed that his father was very broad-minded, but
in this instance he thought him very narrow, condemning something he
knew nothing about, in fact could not be induced to investigate or
try, even though his dearly beloved wife's life might be saved by a
trial.
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