Editorial November 7, 1903 Issue

A very prominent minister has recently said, "To be a...

A very prominent minister has recently said, "To be a Christian is: first, to accept Christ as a personal Saviour; second, to imitate him as a personal example; third, to assimilate his spirit into one's own life."

In reading this statement, one is impressed first of all with its indefiniteness. The pronouns him and his, as here used, refer to Christ, while the sense of the passage demands that they refer to Christ Jesus, and in this respect the statement well illustrates the current and abounding confusion in the use of these sacred names.

Christian Scientists accept the meaning of the word Christian which was evidently intended to be conveyed by this definition. They declare with all believers, that to be Christlike one must imitate the conduct or daily doing, of Christ Jesus, and that not in part, but fully. Remembering that his daily doing included the overcoming of sickness and sin, and that he repeatedly enjoined his disciples that they were to continue his healing works, Christian Scientists feel warranted in claiming that those who are endeavoring to fulfil this command, together with all others of the Master, have a peculiar and most legitimage right to the assumption of this name. It seems to them further that for one who is professedly following Christ Jesus, to question the present practicability of the effort to fulfil any one of his specific commands, is to indulge an inconsistency which is unfortunate and which must ultimately appear to all.

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