"Yes, Raymond, I remember the sermon perfectly; but I cannot feel that
to possess humility, even in a superlative degree, would be to possess,
as the Apostle commands, the ’Mind’ of Christ. Carol was thinking out
this subject, in the way he has of thinking about verses in the Bible,
and the thought he gave me seems nearer to it. He could see only love.
The mind that was in Christ was love. Now, Raymond, if we, at this
moment, possessed hearts full of love we could not criticise or condemn
anyone or any sect. We could not hold up creeds or dogmas, and say, ’It
is necessary to believe this or that because it is a canon of the
Church.’ We should just know that we and they had passed from death
unto life when we love the brethren, and all are brethren who look to
the Lord Jesus Christ as an elder brother."
"It seems to me, Emmeline, that even before reading the book you have
imbibed some of its mischievous statements. Remember, it teaches a
religion of negation. According to Christian Science we have no Heavenly
Father, no personal God; nothing but a divine Principle, an eternal
existence, to worship."
"Oh, Raymond, you do make a mistake. How can you infer that if you have
not studied the book?"
"My authority, Emmeline, for the statement, is Dr. Hanson. He wrote a
pamphlet on Christian Science, issued by the Religious Tract Society."
"It seems strange, Raymond, that a man of Dr. Hanson’s eminence should
write, and the Religious Tract Society should publish, a statement so
misleading,--a statement which a boy of Carol’s years could easily
confute. Carol prays to, and speaks of his Heavenly Father in a way
which, I grieve to say, my own children never do. Only a few minutes
before you entered the room, he said that this little book was a gift
not only from his earthly father but from his Heavenly Father, too. So
how can there be no Heavenly Father to a Christian Scientist? It is true
he speaks more frequently of Him as Divine Love; and it seems to me he
has a more comprehensive idea of God than I have myself, for the thought
has often presented itself to me, how can we, as the Scriptures say,
’live, move and have our being’ in Him, if God is a person, according to
our idea of personality? The idea which Carol has given me of God as
infinite Love, filling the universe like light, makes that verse more
intelligible."
"A discussion such as this, Emmeline, cannot be productive of any good.
I will send you that little pamphlet I mentioned."
"Thank you, Raymond. I will read it after I have read _Science and
Health_."
The Rector then changed the conversation, and spoke of the object of his
visit to the Manor that morning.
CHAPTER XXV.--A LITTLE SERVICE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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