Editorial April 11, 1908 Issue

A RISING TIDE

John B. Willis

For many years Christian Science and its representatives have been very much talked about by other Christian believers, and not a little that has been said of both has been so gratuitously distorted that it would have been far better for the reputation of Christian people as a whole if the exhibition had not been opened to the public. One can but be saddened by the fact that into the pure and noble stream of advancing Christian thought, so splendidly pictured by the Messianic prophets as pouring its healing waters through the centuries, there should have been injected these uncanny products of prejudice.

One end, however, has been subserved by the bitter religious antagonism which Christian Science has been called upon to meet, namely, it has certainly proved the inherent vitality and worth of a teaching which, in the face of such a tide of mental resistance and misrepresentation, could move steadily on to great and lasting achivements for good. To-day there is a noticeable turn in this tide of misjudgment, and Christian Scientists have occasion to rejoice in the ever-increasing acceptance, by both Christian and non-Christian writers, of their distinctive teaching that all who affirm their loyalty to Christ Jesus, and who accept as true the Gospel narrative of his works of healing, together with his commands respecting their continuance, thereby place themselves under obligation to do these works, in proof of the consistency and effectiveness of their faith.

The growing thought in this line was well voiced recently by a Congregational clergyman, when he said, "If you accept the literal interpretation of the Gospel record, I do not well see how you can avoid the conclusion that Jesus healed all manner of diseases, and I do not see how you can get away from his statement that his followers were to do more wonderful works than he had done. Let us be plain, . . . that church . . . which affirms that all the miracles [of Jesus] must be taken as historically true, cannot possibly avoid the conclusion that Christian Science is doing, in this modern day, exactly the same work that was done by the followers of Jesus in the days of the early church."

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