Ernest
Holmes was the founder of Religious Science and the
author of many books about spiritual principles and
practice. The youngest of nine sons born on a small farm
near Lincoln, Maine, he was mainly self-educated,
leaving school at the age of 15 to support himself. His
unquenchable thirst for Truth led him to the
works of
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Phineas Quimby, Emma Curtis
Hopkins, and Thomas Troward, as well as to the Bible and
the sacred texts of other world religions. He sought to
discover the thread of Truth woven through all of the
great spiritual disciplines of the ages.
After
finding success as a public speaker on metaphysics in
California, Holmes was inspired to synthesize his ideas
into a textbook for other seekers on the path.
"The Science of Mind"
(1926) was
his masterpiece. The book spoke to the hearts and minds
of so many people that Holmes found it necessary to
incorporate the Institute of Religious Science and
School of Philosophy in 1927. At this time he also
launched Science of Mind Magazine, a monthly publication
that has brought spiritual teaching to the world ever
since. His organization eventually evolved into the
Church of Religious Science in 1953 and the
United Church
of Religious Science
in 1967.
Ernest
Holmes hosted popular programs on both radio and
television called "This Thing Called Life." He would
begin each broadcast with this statement: "There is a
power for good in the Universe, and you can use it."
This was the essence of his belief. (Mile High Church,
Denver, Colorado)
