Studying man in the abstract then, through the dogmas of ancient and modern creeds, we see he has been declared, even by them, limitless. He has access to infinite power - if the Infinite favor him as the Infinite may, he himself becomes a God. These dogmas within themselves led up to this conclusion, yet the clergy fell short of pursuing them to this point. Emerson dared follow the logical premises to the inference to be drawn from them and boldly declared that "the simplest person, who, in his integrity, worships God, becomes God;" and that that one "believes he cannot escape from his good - that the Highest dwells within him."

If, therefore, the dogmas of ancient as well as modern religions found man all powerful and limitless if God were with him, they reflect the human longing. In many of them, we may see the reflection of the age, its crudities and errors; but, back of all, is the human longing to blend itself with an energy uncomprehended, yet believed to exist and to encompass all.

Modern science has taught us that light and sound are, to the brain, simply different intensities of motion; and this may lead to discoveries of forces within man that could not have been conceived of till this revelation was made. One set of vibrations is carried through the medium of the ear to the brain and interpreted sound; another impresses itself upon the optic nerve and is distinguished as color or form. Methods to awaken atrophied parts of the body have been learned, because of our clearer conception of all that is embraced in that single word, motion. The measuring of the vibration of force from planet to planet, through the medium of reflected light, has widened man's conception of the universe. As he learns more of it, his own horizon of knowledge broadens - his own conception of his place in the universe. The great strides man has made during the past fifty years have lifted him upward, toward the Infinite, so that he may now receive, through vibrations, more of that unmeasured, undefined, yet all-pervading power. To avail ourselves of the wisdom of others, we must, at least, have unfolded mentally so as to appreciate the wisdom they possess. To obtain the power from the Infinite which we desire, we must be developed consciously so as to be able to receive and hold the vital, magnetic vibrations that are flashed from infinite energy through the ethers to intelligence.

Although man may have had erroneous conceptions of God and the relationship existing between him and the source of power; still, as he has evolved and learned to think and reason independent of creeds or dogmas or majorities, the possibility of a personality directing infinite force is passing from consciousness. Can human intelligence conceive of a personality combined with omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence? Man has evolved into a greater man, and he has extended his relationship with Being - he has learned, in some degree, how to appropriate or avail himself of some of its energy - he has commenced to walk with God. Still he cannot claim familiarity, for his comprehension has as yet embraced only the little his unfoldment permits him to grasp. He has barely started to cultivate acquaintance with God, or Energy.

The evolution of man is now advancing him to a plane above where the mists of ignorant superstitions can rise. The old dogmas presented paths that apparently started one right, but led to tangled morasses. New paths appeared which seemed to help to extricate, but pursued, led to shades of density and darkness. Emerging from these, led by flashes from infinite light, man has continued in his upward march. A new century has dawned; and now, standing on a plane over which bright sunlight spreads, he sees something of the vastness of meaning and grandeur in a human life. Within that life is the germ of infinite possibilities. He is now not oppressed with the fear of an omnipotent force restraining him as he journeys onward in pursuit of knowledge. He is free, and within himself a new power has taken lodgment. This may be termed a mental growth, but it is more - it is an ascent through evolution to a higher manhood. If one has reached this plane and looks backward, he will discover that the long struggle man has made to acquire knowledge was largely a battle with ignorance. Now he can understand why dogmas of error existed and restrained. In reasoning from cause to effect, the teachers could only follow lines within the range of their own horizon of knowledge. No one - no philosophy is to be censured or criticized. Church dogmas held high the dangers of mental plunges beyond their own sounded depths; and fear was transformed into an entity that stood guard over man's intellectual advancement. These dogmas claimed to tell where the priceless jewels man was seeking for were to be found - they suggested ways to reach them; and then, in substance, de clared man should love the Infinite just as fondly whether his prayers were granted or not.

Late in the century past a new sect appeared under the appellation, Christian Scientists. Some of their statements were quite astounding to modern methods of thinking. The fundamental pillars of their philosophy were: There is no matter, and disease is a delusion of sense. They grew and multiplied, and now claim about two millions of converts in this country. Among these are prominent lawyers, judges, business men, soldiers, orators and poets. They claim wonderful cures have been brought about through the simple agency of affirmation and denial. In theory, they claim by these means to draw power from infinite energy, or to attune the vibrative force enveloping one to that great harmony. The mental scientists, on the other hand, believe in the potency of affirmations, but reject denials in toto. They are not yet as firmly organized a body as the Christian Scientists, as they have no recognized head or synod. Perhaps this is well for it gives each individual freedom. Both the Christian and the mental scientists have eliminated the personal God from their written or unwritten creeds; and both are now teaching the limitlessness of man. Their prayers are the affirmations of health, power, wealth, joy, thus enveloping their selfhoods with an attractive atmosphere which can receive the vibrations from infinite force. This they claim brings to one the realization of desire.