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."