Editorial November 28, 1903 Issue

"A Broad-minded Man."

Recently The Pittsburg Dispatch devoted considerable space to a discussion, pro and con, of the merits of Christian Science, and while the discussion was interesting as revealing the various opinions of the clergymen, physicians, and lawyers who were interviewed by the reporters, it failed to present anything new in the way of argument against the practice of Christian Science in the healing of sickness and sin.

In such discussions there will always be found some person whose expressions are but the index to a spirit of intolerance of all views not in line with his own, and this symposium did not, in that regard, depart from the general rule. On the other hand, there is usually some one who rises above all selfish considerations, and who takes his stand for personal rights, one who hews to the line of individual liberty, no matter where the chips may fall. To this latter class must be assigned Rev. S. Edward Young, a Presbyterian clergyman who contributed to this symposium. The Dispatch introduced Mr. Young to its readers as "a broad-minded man," and this estimate seems fully justified by his words which were in part as follows:—

"That multitudes of intelligent, conscientious people, willing to suffer for their convictions, have adopted Christian Science, is beyond dispute. I personally know a number of such. Does not the history of religion suggest that there is something of real value in a movement that has gathered a following so large and so respectable?

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