Books: The Pastor\'s Son
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William W. Walter >> The Pastor\'s Son
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"Then He must be the intelligence of man, or his mind, otherwise God
would not be _all_ intelligence." The pastor sat perfectly still,
fully absorbed with his own thoughts. Mrs. White waited a few moments,
then continued: "What I have said in regard to applying the rule is
in full accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ wherein He
demonstrated the necessity of us working out our own salvation."
"Mrs. White, you say that God is the intelligence of man, or his mind."
"Yes, for God is _all_ intelligence."
"You also say that God is good only."
"Yes, God is _all_ Good."
"Then according to this theory that God is all intelligence, you must
admit that He is also the bad or evil intelligence found in some men,
and if this be true, you could hardly claim that He is all good, for
one statement would contradict the other," slowly said the pastor.
"You have made a mistake in your reasoning, Mr. Williams. A bad
intelligence is not intelligence, but a lack of intelligence, or
non-intelligence; in other words, ignorance, and ignorance has no place
in the realm of intelligence, for ignorance is evil, and intelligence
is good," said the practitioner. "Your explanation sounds very
reasonable, but I am not yet willing to agree with you; it may be
because I do not fully understand," answered the pastor.
"I do not think it possible for man to fully comprehend any science
in a few moments, and this science is the science of sciences."
"Am I to understand that evil and ignorance have no place in the
universe; in other words, are not real?" asked the pastor.
"Yes, the good alone is real. It is only through ignorance of the truth
that evil seems real, or has place or power."
"But we see evil all about us," said the pastor.
"This seems so, but it is only a misapprehension of the truth, for
evil is not real, has no entity or principle, God (Good) never made
it," said the practitioner.
"But if it is not real, and God did not make it, where did it come
from?" asked the pastor.
Mrs. White's face broadened into a smile, and then she said, "Mr.
Williams, I think I will tell you a little story that I wrote to one
of my patients who was suffering from a claim of indigestion. She
insisted that evil was real, and offered up the evidence of her
indigestion as proof thereof. This little story came to me as I was
thinking of her case. It may enlighten you on the origin of evil as
it did her. Now for the story."
CHAPTER XIII
THE UNREALITY OF EVIL
"Once upon a time long, long ago, there was a great and good king, who
lived in a country where everything was good. He had thousands of
subjects under him, and these subjects were all good. This was because
the king was good and the people strove to be like him. But one day
one of his people imagined she saw an evil thing or devil, and became
greatly alarmed thereat. She hurried home and told her husband what
she had seen, and he believed her story about this evil, or devil (that
never had any existence, only in the imagination of this woman). And
because of her great fear of it this woman kept thinking of this evil
constantly, until at last it seemed very real to her, and after a time
she imagined this evil, or devil, had entered her body and was stopping
her stomach from digesting its food. She also told this to her husband,
and he became afraid of this myth, and told his friends that an evil,
or devil, had entered the body of his wife. His friends began to talk
about this evil, or devil, wondering what it might be. At length, after
discussing it for some time, they decided they didn't know what this
evil was, but that it ought to be given a name, so called it
indigestion, because it had stopped the woman's stomach from digesting
her food. In this way this imaginary thing became real enough to have
a name. After the people had given this evil, or devil, a name, they
all began to make suggestions of how best to get rid of him. One
suggested that a plate be made hot and applied to the stomach. This,
he thought, would make it so uncomfortable for the devil that he would
leave. Another suggested that the woman take a strong dose of peppermint
and burn the devil; another suggested that they manipulate the stomach,
i. e., pull and haul and pound it, hoping in this way to kill him;
another said, let us attach an electric battery and shock the devil.
Another said he believed that devils had an aversion for blue lights,
and thought that if they would let a blue light shine on him, he would
leave. Another said, give the woman a bath of mud, let her be covered
all over with soft mud, and this will smother the devil. Still another
suggested that the woman be sent away from home to another climate,
he thinking the devil might not like the change, and so leave the
woman. Hundreds of other suggestions were offered and tried, but none
of them succeeded in driving this devil out of the woman. And now, after
several thousands of years, the people are still offering advice to
this woman, but with no better success. The simple reason why all these
things did not succeed in driving out this evil, or devil, is that in
reality there wasn't any devil to drive out, as it was only an imaginary
thing and had no existence, only as an illusion in the mind of the
woman. About 2,000 years ago, there lived a man who was intelligent
enough to understand what the trouble was. He said that there were not
any evils, or devils, and that God, or the Creative Principle, was
_good only_, and that evil was a lie, or delusion, and proved His
words by His works. This enraged the wise men of His time very much,
for they had been teaching the people that evil was real, and that in
many instances God put evil upon His children to make them good. These
wise men were sore afraid that the people would believe what this good
man was teaching and denounce their teaching. So they conspired together
and had Him crucified, and still continued their teaching that evil
was as real as good. About forty years ago, a woman, intelligent and
good, became conscious of the unreality of evil, and after a careful
study of the life of this man who was crucified, she discovered that
all this good man had said and taught regarding the unreality of evil,
was the truth. She wrote a book explaining this great fact, and said,
'If the people would study this book, they could prove for themselves
that there weren't any evils, or devils.' As in the time of the good
man that was crucified, so in her time, the wise men were teaching the
people that evil was real, and as the teachings of this woman were
contrary to their teachings, they became enraged; and if it had been
customary to crucify people in her time, she would have been crucified.
Since that book was written, many thousands of people who imagined
they had evils or were possessed with devils, have, by reading and
studying this book, discovered that all of the evils, or devils of the
past and present were imaginary, and seemed real, because we feared
them. This book also teaches that the _only_ way to get rid of
these imaginations, or false beliefs, is to use our God-given
intelligence and reason rightly, and then we would discover the
nothingness of these evils, or devils, and our fear of them would
depart, likewise the evils, or devils, no matter under whatever name
they might be masquerading, as it was only our ignorance of the true
facts, coupled with our fear, that made them seem real. So with this
woman, who imagined she saw an evil, or devil; if she had not feared
it, she would have investigated and consequently have discovered its
unreality."
As Mrs. White finished her story, she looked at Walter, and by the way
he nodded his head she was sure he had grasped the truth of her story.
Then, glancing at the pastor, she said, "Mr. Williams, does that answer
your question, as to the unreality and origin of evil?"
"Mrs. White," said the pastor nervously, "That story answers my
questions so fully that I haven't any foundation to stand on, and as
I have been preaching the reality of evil these many years I am at a
loss to know what to say or do."
"Do not worry or get excited, Mr. Williams, Every person is more or
less confused as his old idols and gods are destroyed, but fear not,
for out of this destruction will rise an intelligent temple with God,
Good, the ruler thereof."
"But I am at a loss what to do. I have discovered the fact that I was
mistaught in regard to the reality of evil, and now I fear that all
the rest of my teachings may be at fault and I cannot conscientiously
preach what is false, as God knows I would not wilfully mislead my
fellow-man. I am afraid I will be compelled to give up my position at
once, and feel I am not fitted to do anything else." He then glanced
at the practitioner and said, "Mrs. White, can you offer me any advice?"
"Yes, first of all, remember that there is room in God's kingdom for
all His children. Second, remember that your real source of supply is
not your church, but God; trust in Him fully, and your every need will
be supplied. Third, I would advise you not to give up your position
on the spur of the moment; take time to consider, study 'Science and
Health,' and see if it is what you want. If it is, you can then send
in your resignation. If not, no one need be the wiser that you have
been studying the book."
"But I cannot conscientiously preach one thing and believe another."
"Then, Mr. Williams, I would suggest that you ask for a vacation for
six months, as I understand from what your son told me, that it has
been a long time since you have taken one, and by the time six months
have passed you will know what is best for you to do.
"Mrs. White, I would be pleased to take your advice, but I haven't
enough money to carry me for six months without a salary."
"God is your supply, trust Him fully," said Mrs. White.
"Father, have no fear, God is all good, all love, and I know He will
not see us want, if we will only trust Him."
"Walter, my son, I will take your advice and trust it all to God."
Then, after a moment, he looked at Mrs. White and said, "Now, Mrs.
White, let us talk of my dear wife's illness; I suppose Walter told
you she has been suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs for many
years. Do you think she can be healed?"
"Mr. Williams, do you think an all-powerful God could heal her? For
it is not myself that does the healing, but God."
"Yes, I know that God can heal her if He will."
"Have you ever asked Him to?"
"Many hundreds of times have I asked, prayed, begged, and beseeched
Him."
"What did you expect to accomplish by your begging and beseeching?"
"I do not understand what you mean, Mrs. White."
"Did you think you could influence a good and just God by your begging
and beseeching, to be more than good and just?"
"Oh, I did not wish to influence God," said the pastor.
"Then what did you expect to accomplish by begging and beseeching?"
As the pastor did not answer, Mrs. White continued:
"A good and just God could not be less than good and just, and if this
be true, what could we expect to accomplish by begging and beseeching?
Mr. Williams, the reason your prayers have not been answered, is that
you don't know how to pray aright, besides you have been praying to
a false god, an idol of your own making."
The pastor's back stiffened up perceptibly, as he said rather cooly,
"Mrs. White, don't you think your accusations are a little unjust? You
must remember I am an ordained minister."
"Mr. Williams, don't think I am alluding only to you; almost the whole
human race has made the same mistake. I am free to confess that I did
not know how to pray aright until after I had studied 'Science and
Health.' If you will allow me, I will try to prove my assertions."
"Please proceed."
"Mr. Williams, when you pray, do you or do you not have a mental picture
of your god in mind?"
"Yes, most generally I do." "Will you please describe this mental
picture?" asked Mrs. White.
"When I close my eyes in prayer, I usually see the spirit of God as
though He was appearing through the clouds," said the pastor.
"Does this spirit of God, as you call it, have a human face?"
"Yes, Mrs. White, a face that is radiant with goodness and love."
"Mr. Williams, don't you see that this is a god of your own making,
an imaginary creature of your own mind?"
"I don't quite understand," said the pastor, somewhat confused.
"When you close your eyes to pray, you imagine you see the face of a
man, appearing through the clouds. You know this is not real, but the
face appears only in your imagination, and when your congregation close
their eyes, they each have an imaginary picture of some kind before
them, or else a void, and if you were to compare notes, you would find
no two persons to have the same picture or idol. Are there so many
gods as that? If not, which one of the congregation has the right one?
The fact is, most people pray to a god of their own making, a man-made
god, a thing that does not exist, except in their own imagination, and
then wonder why their prayers are not answered. Have I proven my
assertion, Mr. Williams?"
"Yes, Mrs. White, you have, but you have also robbed me of my God, and
now I am entirely at a loss."
"Better no god at all than a false one," said Mrs. White.
"That may be true, Mrs. White, but you do not wish to intimate that
there is no God?"
"Most assuredly not, have I not told you that God heals the sick, that
God is Good, that God is Mind? If I have robbed you of your false god,
I have done a good work, for then you are ready to seek the true God.
I recommend that you carefully study 'Science and Health.' In it I
found who and what the true God is. If you will read this book, in
connection with the Bible, you will find that it will unlock the
mysteries of the Bible, and you will come into possession of that peace
that passeth all understanding." "I shall certainly do as you suggest,
Mrs. White; for I have determined to find the true God."
"Now, Mr. Williams, do you wish me to give your wife treatment?"
"Yes, I have determined to give Christian Science a fair trial."
"As it is getting rather late, I will not see your wife to-night, but
will treat her absently as soon as I get home. I would also suggest
that you acquaint her with the fact that I will see her tomorrow
evening."
"But I have not asked her whether she is willing to take science
treatment," said the pastor.
"Father, that has all been arranged, as I have asked her; all that
mother wanted was your sanction. Otherwise she would not take the
treatment, and I had acquainted Mrs. White with the facts before she
came."
"I am pleased to hear that your mother is willing to try these
treatments, as we have tried everything else, and now this is our last
and only hope."
"When it should have been your first; yet that is the way of mortals,
they try everything else first and God last, nevertheless God is ever
ready to help man when man turns to Him, no matter what has gone
before," said the practitioner.
"Mrs. White, your words give me great hope, yet my wife's case seems
hopeless."
"Mr. Williams, why should you think it strange that a good, and loving,
and all-powerful Father should be ever ready to help His children?"
"I know not, unless it is because He did not answer my prayers, and
this may have weakened my faith," meekly said the pastor.
"But you did not pray to an all-good, loving, and all-powerful God,
or you would surely have been answered; you were praying to a false
god, even one of your own making."
"Yes, I know now that there was something wrong, and I supposed it was
because God did not wish to help; but you have shown me that the fault
was not with God, but with myself."
"Well, Mr. Williams, I am glad that the light of understanding is
coming to your consciousness, and now I must be going. I have no special
directions to give you regarding your wife except that I don't want
you or Walter to tell a single person that your wife is receiving
Christian Science treatment, and you may rest assured that I shall not
tell any one."
The pastor was very much relieved to hear Mrs. White say she would
tell no one, and supposing she did not wish to jeopardize his position
as minister, he said, "I thank you very much, Mrs. White, for being
so solicitous of my position."
Mrs. White's answer rather surprised him. She said: "When I told you
to tell no one, I did not have you or your position in thought, I was
simply thinking of the welfare of your wife. Now good-night, and you
may expect me at the same hour to-morrow evening."
The pastor and his son bade her a hearty goodnight, then returned to
the library. As soon as they arrived there the pastor turned to his
son and said, "Walter, what other reason could Mrs. White have in
bidding us say nothing of the treatments, excepting my position?"
"Father, I do not fully understand why this is done, but I have heard
that they request this in all cases. I think it is for the same reason
that Jesus Christ told them He healed, to go and tell no man."
The pastor looked at his son and said, "It may be for the same reason,
although both are a mystery to me, at any rate this disproves the
assertion the Rev. Jones made in regard to these lady practitioners
being pleased to tell their business to everybody. Why, any one could
be healed by Christian Science and no one be the wiser. I wonder if
this does not account for the mysterious recovery of Mr. Anderson. You
remember the paper stated that he was given up by the physicians, and
that he could not live more than twenty-four to thirty-six hours; then
to the surprise of everybody he began to mend rapidly, and in six
week's time no one would think that he ever had a sick day in his life.
And ever since he has been attending to his business, and every time
I meet him he seems running over with happiness, joy, and good health."
"Father, wasn't he supposed to be suffering from a very severe case
of Blight's disease?"
"Yes, he had a consultation of three of our best physicians, and they
pronounced it Bright's disease."
"If it really was Christian Science that healed him, I am sure it will
heal mother."
"Yes, son, I think so too, I believe I will ask Mr. Anderson what healed
him, for if it was Christian Science, it will give me more confidence."
"Now please bring me this science book you found, as I would like to
see it."
"I will get it at once, father," said the delighted boy, for he felt
sure that if his father ever started to read it, he would never leave
it until he had discovered the great truth the book contained.
In a few moments he was back and handed the book to his father, who
said, "Walter, I wish you would call in to see your mother and acquaint
her with what has been done; then you had better retire, as I may spend
some time with this book."
"All right, father. Good-night."
"Good-night, Walter," said the pastor, as he assumed an easy position
in his large armchair.
Walter went to his mother's room and, finding her awake, told her all
about the visit of the practitioner, and also some of the things she
had said, and that she was coming to see her the next evening. He then
bade her a cheerful good-night and retired to his own room, a very
happy and well satisfied boy.
His father continued his reading until long after midnight, and as he
closed the book he said aloud, "It truly is a wonderful book, but I
cannot agree with all that it contains, although this may be because
I do not fully understand." He then wended his way to his wife's
bedchamber, and looking in, found her sleeping peacefully; then he
murmured: "I must trust God fully, for no one else can help her."
CHAPTER XIV
THE DREAM
The next evening at the appointed hour Mrs. White made her appearance,
and after a few casual remarks, requested to be taken to Mrs. Williams.
The pastor introduced her to his wife.
The practitioner, after explaining her purpose in calling, kindly
requested the pastor to leave the room as she wished to be alone with
her patient.
As soon as the pastor had left the room, Mrs. White turned to her
patient and said in a voice full of affection and love: "Be not afraid,
Mrs. Williams, God is an ever-present help in time of trouble, therefore
I bid you hope."
Some of the languid and discouraged look that had been on Mrs.
Williams's face seemed to fade away as she said, "You bid me hope,
when all the rest of the world and my physicians have told me my case
is hopeless? Surely you do not believe I can be healed."
"Mrs. Williams, I not only believe, but I know you can be healed, for
nothing is impossible to God, and from now on He is your physician.
Do not think it is I that is going to heal you, but our heavenly Father.
'He doeth the work.'"
"If I could only believe," said the sick woman, with eyes full of
tears.
"Mrs. Williams, you can at least say the same as the man in the Bible
said when Jesus asked him if he believed He could heal him; he said:
'Oh, God, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.' And this is what I am
going to do, I am going to help thine unbelief, that is, cast it out,
and let Truth reign in your consciousness. To accomplish this you must
be obedient; if you have any prejudice, cast it aside. The word
prejudice means to prejudge, and very few people are wise enough to
prejudge even the most simple things of life, and those who do, are
wrong more times than they are right."
"What you say is true, and I don't want to be prejudiced about anything,
but there has been so much said against Christian Science and it has
been ridiculed so severely that I find it hard to have any faith in
it, yet I am very willing to give it a trial."
"Mrs. Williams, what would you think of a judge or a jury that would
convict a person solely on the evidence of witnesses who were opposed
to the person on trial, and probably all of the testimony was of this
type: ('I heard Mr. Smith say he heard the prisoner had done it')? in
other words mere gossip; would you consider this justice? Yet that is
just the kind of trial that all prejudiced people give Christian
Science. If Christian Scientists point to the great mass of evidence
in favor of this science, this evidence is ridiculed and denied, no
matter how honest the person may be who gave the testimony."
"Your contention is true, Mrs. White, I did prejudge or sentence
Christian Science on the testimony of its enemies."
"I am glad to hear you admit this, as it shows me that one obstacle
to your recovery has been removed, and you will now give Christian
Science an impartial hearing and a fair trial. And now before I give
you a silent treatment, I wish to set your thoughts aright about God.
You may have said that it is God's will that you are suffering, or
that He had put this thing upon you as a punishment, either for
something you, or some one else, had done. This is a terrible thing
to do, to accuse your Maker, a God who is all good, all love, of such
a contemptible act as this. No, Mrs. Williams, rest assured God never
did such a thing. Let us see what the Bible says on this question. In
the first place, it says God made everything good; do you believe
that?"
The sick woman nodded her head.
"Next, it says, 'And God saw everything He had made and pronounced it
_very good_'; it further states that God made everything that was
made; do you believe this also?"
"Yes."
"You have heard it said that Christian Science claims that sin, disease,
and death are not real, haven't you?" asked the practitioner.
"Yes."
"Now let us see if their claims are true. You agreed that God made
everything that was made and that it was good. Now then, can you in
any possible way show me wherein this claim of sickness of yours is
good? if not, then God did not make it, it cannot be real, and it does
not exist."
"But, Mrs. White, I have suffered with it for years, and it certainly
is real to me," said Mrs. Williams.
"Let me show you how real it is, and what is necessary to make it
unreal to you. Suppose I lie down on that couch over there," she said,
pointing to a couch at the further side of the room. "As I fall asleep,
the things in the room gradually fade from my sight and consciousness,
that is, they become unreal to me, in fact they have no existence for
me for the time being, yet they are all there. After a little I begin
to dream that I am getting ready to take a trip to Europe. I pack my
trunk, telephone for the expressman to take it to the depot, I dress
myself in my traveling suit, get into my carriage, and am driven to
the depot. On the way down I see some of my friends. I bow to them,
and as I get out of the carriage at the depot I find my husband and
sister there, to bid me God speed on my journey. I realize that my
husband came from his place of business, and my sister from a distant
part of the city. We enter the depot chatting gaily. My husband goes
to inquire about the train. He comes back and tells us it is ready,
and we walk down a pair of stairs and out into the train shed. As we
approach the train, my husband gets out my ticket, shows it to the
porter, and he says, 'Second car to the rear.' As we reach the place
indicated, my husband shows the ticket to another porter who is standing
there. He examines it and says with a wave of his hand, 'Right in this
car.' We enter, and find the number of my berth. My husband puts my
traveling bag under the seat, and we all sit there talking for some
time. We then hear the conductor's warning, 'All aboard.' My husband
and sister both kiss me and hurriedly leave the car. A moment later
I see them on the platform. I hear the bell on the engine ring, I feel
the car move, and wave a last farewell to those on the platform as
they pass from my sight. A little later I am out in the country. Then
we dash through a village without stopping, and at length we arrive
at New York. I take a carriage to be driven to the dock. On the way
there the horse becomes frightened, runs away, tips the carriage over,
throws me under a rapidly moving street car, which runs over both my
feet. The ambulance is called. I am taken to the hospital. The pain
is almost unbearable. The physician examines my injuries and says he
will be compelled to amputate both my feet. This seems so terrible to
me that the shock wakes me up. For a few moments after I awake, I still
feel the pain and lie there trembling with fright, for the dream has
been so real. Yet in reality I never left the couch, and everything
in the room is there just as I left it when I went to sleep. It was
all an illusion, and the only thing necessary to prove it to me was
something or somebody to awaken me. So it is with man. God made him
perfect and everything good, and all man needs to prove it to himself
is to be awakened, that is, made acquainted with the true facts
pertaining to life. This means man must understand the science of
being; then his delusion regarding sin, disease, and death will be no
more real than my trip to Europe with its accompanying pain and
disasters."
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