Christianity Books

INTRODUCTION To kindle in all minds a common sentiment of regard for the spiritual idea emanating from the infinite, is a most needful work; but this must be done gradually, for Truth is as "the still, small voice," which comes to our recognition only as our natures are changed by its silent influence. Small streams are noisy and rush precipitately; and babbling brooks fill the rivers till they... more...

CHAPTER I THE NEW ERA—SOME LEADING WITNESSES"The epoch ends, the world is still,The age has talked and worked its fill; The famous men of war have fought,The famous speculators thought. See on the cumbered plain,Clearing a stage,Scattering the past about,Comes the New Age.Bards make new poems;Thinkers, new schools;Statesmen, new systems;Critics, new rules." MATTHEW ARNOLD. India is a land of... more...

(AUGUST, 1919) The Essays in this volume were written at various times before and during the Great War. In reading them through for republication, I have to ask myself whether my opinions on social science and on the state of religion, the two subjects which are mainly dealt with in this collection, have been modified by the greatest calamity which has ever befallen the civilised world, or by the issue... more...

LECTURE I. THE NEED OF UNDERSTANDING THE FALSE RELIGIONS It is said that the very latest among the sciences is the Science of Religion. Without pausing to inquire how far it admits of scientific treatment, certain reasons which may be urged for the study of the existing religions of the world will be considered in this lecture. It must be admitted in the outset that those who have been the pioneers in... more...

THE FIRST LESSON. THE COMING OF THE MASTER. Strange rumors reached the ears of the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding country. It was reported that a new prophet had appeared in the valley of the lower Jordan, and in the wilderness of Northern Judea, preaching startling doctrines. His teachings resembled those of the prophets of old, and his cry of "Repent! Repent ye! for the Kingdom of Heaven... more...

PULPIT AND PRESS By Rev. Mary Baker Eddy First Pastor of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass. Delivered January 6, 1895 Text: They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shall make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.—Psalms xxxvi. 8. A new year is a nursling, a babe of time, a prophecy and promise clad in white raiment, kissed—and encumbered with... more...

INTRODUCTORY Bootstrap-lifting Bootstrap-lifting? says the reader. It is a vision I have seen: upon a vast plain, men and women are gathered in dense throngs, crouched in uncomfortable and distressing positions, their fingers hooked in the straps of their boots. They are engaged in lifting themselves; tugging and straining until they grow red in the face, exhausted. The perspiration streams from their... more...

TENETS of The Mother Church The First Church of Christ, Scientist To be signed by those uniting with The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass. 1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life. 2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in... more...

ANCESTRAL SHADOWS My ancestors, according to the flesh, were from both Scotland and England, my great-grandfather, on my father's side, being John McNeil of Edinburgh. His wife, my great-grandmother, was Marion Moor, and her family is said to have been in some way related to Hannah More, the pious and popular English authoress of a century ago. I remember reading, in my childhood, certain... more...

THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION. (From the North American Review.) "I express myself," says Bishop Butler, "with caution, lest I should be mistaken to vilify reason, which is, indeed, the only faculty which we have to judge concerning anything, even revelation itself; or be misunderstood to assert that a supposed revelation cannot be proved false from internal characters." "The faculty of... more...