Article September 14, 1899 Issue

Voice of the Press

Many of the papers over the country, little and big, have recently had much to say of Christian Science. This subject has been forced on the attention of the public on account of its wonderful growth and on account of the efforts that are being made to suppress it. We know of no subject where the press has displayed such dense ignorance as in this. Even our own worthy contemporary recently stated that Christian Science practitioners ought to be arrested for murder. To be murderers they must have killed some one with deliberate, malicious aforethought. It is true that men and women die under Christian Science treatment, but there is no pretence that there is any intention to kill, any more than if they had been under the care of a physician. No person is forced to take Christian Science treatment, any more than he is compelled to go to a certain physician. There is manifestly no intent to do anything but to help the sufferer, and it is absolutely silly to call it murder, no matter what mistake he who seeks to help it may be laboring under.

There has been nothing in recent years in this or any other country that has had the wonderful success that Christian Science has had. It numbers among its adherents some of the greatest intellects of the country,—physicians, lawyers, judges, ministers, teachers, men and women in the highest positions of honor and trust and of the greatest attainments. Any doctrine or philosophy which has such a vast number of devoted and intelligent followers, proves itself worthy of intelligent investigation rather than ignorant condemnation. While we are not a Christian Scientist, we have given the subject much careful study, and are ready to state that if the teachings of Christian Science were accepted and practised, evil, sin, and selfishness would find no place in the hearts of men, and their lives would be tuned to perfect harmony with that of the Master.

The notion that Christian Scientists teach that, no matter what your ailment may be, if you believe you are well, you are well, or will be, is very prevalent. They do not teach anything of the kind. They say that "God is All-in-all," that He is omnipotent, that He is able to cleanse us not only from evil and sin but from sickness and error. They claim that God is all Truth and Power and Love, and that sin, evil, sickness, and error are not a part of Him, did not emanate from Him, but are opposed to Him. They say that if we can only come to the complete understanding of God and Truth, can lay hold of God and His Love, that all that is opposed to Him and His attributes must, of necessity, disappear from our lives. They hold that the life which is lived in perfect harmony with Christ's can have nothing in it out of harmony with him. We are not giving these as our beliefs or doctrines, but are simply stating in brief what we understand to be the teachings of Christian Science. Surely the doctrine that sine and sickness have no real place in men's lives, cannot be altogether productive of evil. We have a great many friends and acquaintances who accept these peculiar doctrines, and we must say that for real, practical Christianity, for happiness and contentment, for all that goes to make up a real, true life, we have never known their peers.

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