CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26078, 15 February 1946, Page 9

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

LECTURE BY VISITING AMERICAN A lecture entitled .“Christian Science: The Way of Life ” was given in the Concert Chamber last night by Mr Peter B. Biggins, of Seattle, Washington, the address being under the auspices of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Dunedin. Mr Biggins is a member of the Board of Lectureship of the Mother Church, the First Church, of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. “In considering the true way to live.” said Mr Biggins. “we are led to give attention to the true way to think. The wise man, who was king in Jerusalem many centuries ago, said, ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.’ Attention to your thinking, for that determines your living,” exhorted the speaker, who quoted the words of Jesus, speaking of the Christ: “ I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Our Master presented the true way of life, the right way to live. “It is necessary first to learn the truth about life, then to live the truth we are learning,” continued Mr Biggins. “ What is the truth about life? ■lt is that life which reflects life, God, is spiritual; for life is Spirit, and that man is the image and likeness of Spirit, the true expression of life. How can we live this truth, when we seem to be in the midst of so much that is material? First, by seeing clearly what the ideal is; secondly, by cherishing it; and, thirdly, by putting it into effect so far as we can at each stage of growth. This can be done at once by everyone without interfering with any normal human activity or duty, but with great benefit in every way.” Underlying all the mistakes, the ills, and the woes of the human family was a wrong sense of life, the belief that life was material, said the speaker. Supporting all the right and worthy achievements of upward-striving men and women was the conviction that life was Spirit. As this more spiritual sense of existence was gained through Christian science, a newly-found light, a freshly-discovered joy, a realisation that all human problems could be solved by this means was experienced. “ You have the right to declare and realise that you, in reality, now live in God, in Spirit, and that you are capable of enjoying the perfect health, happiness and freedom which belong to you as the child of your FatherMother God,” declared the speaker. “As you declare these, facts under - standingly, you will enjoy the fruits in your experience in the measure of the persistence of your declaration and the clearness of your realisation. While the material sense of things leads to inevitable disappointment, the spiritual sense will lead to the fulfilment of your highest legitimate hopes. "In what sense did Jesus present the true way to live? ” Mr Biggins asked his listeners. If His words, as contained in the New Testament, were read, it would be found that they were very simple, yet more profound than the depths of human philosophy. In conclusion, the speaker said: “Love God and neighbour, forgiving without limit. Judge not unrighteously. Get rid of fear. Be awake to evil in all its phases, and conquer it. Trust God’s unerring guidance, utilised