Article December 27, 1924 Issue

Christian Scientists do not initiate or invite controversy,...

Theodore Burkhart, Committee on Publication for the State of Oregon,—Salem

Capital Journal,

Christian Scientists do not initiate or invite controversy, nor have we any quarrel with others who hold different opinions, but when misleading or incorrect statements are made about Christian Science or Mrs. Eddy, we feel that they should not go unchallenged or uncorrected. Your correspondent, whose letter you published recently, refers to the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," as a "filched" book of which Mrs. Eddy was not the originator. I am sure he would not have made such a statement had he ever sought information from a reliable source and acquainted himself with the facts. This falsehood about Mary Baker Eddy and her authorship of Science and Health has long ago been thoroughly run down and the facts sifted, and even the most skeptical have had to acknowledge the truth.

For instance, Dr. Lyman P. Powell, an Episcopal clergyman, formerly president of Hobart College, in preparing to write a pamphlet attacking Christian Science, examined into this question, and in the "Cambridge History of American Literature" he states his conclusions in the following language: "Christian Science as it is to-day is really its Founder's creation. ... As a whole, the system described in Science and Health is hers [Mrs. Eddy's], and nothing that can ever happen will make it less than hers." This same question of who originated Science and Health was also conclusively proved in open court, and Mrs. Eddy's rights as author established by court decree.

In dwelling at some length upon the importance of relying for our "religious guidance" upon the Word of God as given to us in the Scriptures, your correspondent implies that Christian Science does not do that. In Christian Science, we have six important religious tenets. The first of these reads as follows: "As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life" (Science and Health, p. 497). So, while we may differ with your correspondent in regard to the correct and scientific interpretation of the Scriptures and the spiritual import of some of their teachings, we can agree with him that the Bible is a "sufficient guide to eternal Life."

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