The Pastor's Son

Besides, he was gaining very rapidly in strength and flesh to the great joy of his parents. His mother had some time ago noticed that he did not take his medicine, and spoke to him about it. He

eality of sickness, as it would be very foolish to take medicine to cure me of something which in reality did not exist." Both his father an

e off taking it for a short time, and if I do not continu

be gaining. They watched him closely, but he continued to improve so steadily and rapidly, that taking m

ry thoughtful mood. The boy knew what was the cause of it, and several times had tried to engage his father in conversation regarding creation or some other part of the Bibl

everal occasions he had made up his mind to ask him some questions, but he disliked to let the boy know of his own inability to understand the Bible. He wondered if his wife was right in regard to the boy's being inspir

will, I am going to continue those Bible lessons this evening. What Walter said brought me into

e and son by saying, "If it is agreeable to you bot

as Mrs. Williams had finished her

ter, have you changed your mind in regard to which of t

since our last lesson, and I am now fully satisfied and convinced that the v

wo months, and have come to the same conclusion regarding creation. Yet in no way

conclusion that everything

ld be the creator of all this evil, sickness, sin, and death, with all the other dire calamities we are subjected to. And since I have thought and studied on this question, I cannot conceive of our Heavenly Father being the cause of all our troubles, who are His children, any more than I

hrow some light on that su

d with that explanation. Maybe the boy was inspired and he was doing wrong in not hearing what he had to say. Anyway, his getting well without the use of doctors or drugs was littl

tend that his enthusiasm should cause him to say too much this time and thereby make the same mistake he had

t has that to do with

ody believe

r they did not

thinking so

ou well know, Walter, the

rding the earth, it did not change the earth any

garding our bodies has not in reality changed them, any more than the thought that the earth was flat changed the earth. It seemed flat to those who believed it flat,

arth, because we know that it always was round,

piritual. Nevertheless the earth was round before it was proven so, and so with the body being spiritual. The proof of its spirituality does not change it any, as it will always remain as God made it, regardless of what man t

ferent. You could hardly want me to believe something I could not see or

e and Health" said on this subject, so he

think

ow morning you would see in the distance where the heav

not, for I

could he account for his intelligence? What was he to hear next, should he ask any more questions? Yes, he would ask him something more ab

and not material, for if his body had been material he could not have walked on the w

Jesus Christ was

ding in St. John-'now are we the sons of God.' St. Paul als

his son. Where would this thing end? He must try and confine the boy to one thing at a time,

o matter what, and believe what you think, then so it is with you, and it seems true to you. For instance, take a person that is d

e who is demented, but

ssor was walking to the college (and he was feeling as well as usual), the first person he met was one of the students who greeted him warmly with a hearty 'good morning' and then added, 'What is the matter, professor, are you sick?' The professor said, 'No, I am feeling as well as usual; why do you ask?' The student then told him he looked very pale, and that he thought he must surely be sick. The professor then assured the student that he was feeling well and started toward the college. The next stude

ht our bodies were spiritual and believed what we thought, then our bodies would be sp

ot make you sick, or well, in reality; it only seems to do it to our mistaken mortal sense of thi

may think or believe about this body, it does not change the

ness, and as He is Spirit we must be like Him or spiritual,

said his mother, "but this material b

ial senses; and as these five senses can only testify regarding material things because of

m not to believe the testimony of my f

ve spoken of before, but will give you a different illustration that shows up t

rtain

ou see

t you are alive. No, I shall say we can not see

r, we cannot see life it

N

e touc

N

e smel

N

e tast

N

ty." The pastor and his wife were very much surprised at Walter's ability to explain these things, and hi

nderstand

you made it

ay that the opposite of a

daring to answer; at length

the opposite o

, Wa

u agree with me, father?" He always addressed his father, for his mot

quite an extent; but, I shall have to think it all

terial or dead body, remains. Do our five material senses testify anything regarding this unreality or dead body? Yes, all five of them, for we can see this unreality with the eye. If we move this unreality, we hear it move with the ear. If we reach forth our hand we can touch it. After decomposition sets in, we can smell it; and if we would put a piece of it i

on the question we are discussing," said the pastor. "On the contrary,

mean, Walter, so your moth

belief in a material body and eventually in the death, or unreality, of this material body, the returning of the fleshly body to its origi

u get that definitio

the name given to designate something that exists only in our imagination, a false sense of the real, an illusion, and this 'Lord God' the suppositional creator of material things, is the false or material sense of God entertained by us

anation of the dust man is very reasonable, but I don't see where

e first verse of chapter 3 of Genesis, which reads, 'Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of every t

ow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.' We ca

ugh for one time. But his father was leaning slightly forward and had been drinking in every word the boy was saying, as he was fully

e opinion, so did not

t to make of their silence and the knowing look which passed b

ter, do you know what is meant b

'; this may not be correct, but it at least makes it plain to me. And when we remember that Adam and Eve were allowed to eat of all the trees excepting this tree of knowledge of good and evil, it seems to me that they were forbidden to believe that both good and evil were real, in other words, to believe that both spirit and matter existed; for as soon as th

mean by spi

then it would be proper to say, 'God is all science, and science is perfect intelligence,' for the scientific reality concerning anything, is the perfect intelligence per

sh to intimate tha

the brain c

e the brain thinks, we certainly do

to think. Supposing we take it out and lay it on a platter, does it t

he ability in itself to think, it could

would not be a f

t from apoplexy; there lies his material body, his brain occupies its accustomed place, not

ad, life had flown,

igence, 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

o say I have n

it material when in reality it is spiritual, as is all the rest of the universe; f

gree 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

hey did not, he said: "If we can agree that Mind is God, then it is very easy to conceive o

did not speak. His mother said:

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 f

ou are right or wrong, as I must have time to think, and the more I hear you say, the more

le as I see it, for I believe I am right; in fact, I have had

asoning because of the peculiar views you entertain concerni

very symptom has gone forever, and that I am entirely well, besides I feel so happy, contented, and

will give her such understanding, but I cannot see what

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 s

oth his father and mother, a

Mrs. Williams turned

ely agree with me that

onderful things he says. I must admit he has gone far beyond me, in his understandi

can be right in regard to sic

ve at, if we believe the words of Jesus Chris