Editorial April 30, 1904 Issue

An Oft-repeated Inquiry

As of old "There be many that say, Who will show us any good?" The Psalmist follows this query with the prayer, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us," and he adds, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased."

To the inquiry, "Who will show us any good?" Christian Science comes to declare without any reservation that it can and does show the way to the realization of all good by its revelation of divine Principle. Among religious people there should be no hesitation in admitting that the realm of Spirit is the kingdom of God, since God is Spirit. The Bible teaches that this kingdom is not to be found in material conditions, but in "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," and it would certainly be inconsistent for any Christian to challenge the statement that these conditions may be realized in large measure here and now. This was clearly the Master's teaching, and therefore those who can aid others in attaining and retaining these blessings should be helped, not hindered, by all who profess to be followers Christ Jesus.

It is true that some of the critics of Christian Science question its teaching on philosophical, not on religious grounds, but so far they have offered nothing in substitution for that which they assail, nor do they "show us any good" by means of which deliverance from disease—the, to them, undeniable misery of mortal experience—may be found."A correction was made in the May 14, 1904 Sentinel: "In the Sentinel  of April 30, the first sentence in the third paragraph of the article on page 552, 'An Oft-repeated Inquiry, should read, 'It is true that some of the critics of Christian Science question its teaching on philosophical, not on religious grounds, but so far they have offered nothing in substitution for that which they assail, nor do they 'show us any good' by means of which deliverance from disease—the, to them, undeniable misery of mortal experience—may be found.'"  When they are ready to show us a better way than that revealed by Christian Science, we shall assuredly listen. Until they do, how vain are the arguments of those who do not know what it means to us to "live, and move, and have our being" in God, as this is understood in the light of Christian Science. There is surely no mission so noble as that of rousing the spiritual energies of our fellow-men and thereby showing them the way to Life and peace. Granting this, what can be more ignoble than to obstruct with philosophical arguments the ascending path of those who are seeking a way of escape from hopeless woe, especially when philosophy makes no claim to heal either sin or sickness.