Article November 17, 1906 Issue

The question is being asked again in the State of Ohio,...

Medical Talk

The question is being asked again in the State of Ohio, Shall the Christian Scientists be allowed to practise healing among themselves, according to their religious notions, and shall they be allowed to collect a fee for the same?

It seems strange indeed that such questions could be asked in a truly civilized community. The first thing that springs up in the mind of any person who is actuated by any degree of fairness and justice is, Why not let the people alone? They constitute a dignified and sincere religious denomination. They have risen in spite of the taunts and misrepresentations of their enemies. All the churches of Christendom, all the teachers and professors of all colleges, have ridiculed them, have derided them, have called them everything but decent men and women. And yet, in spite of all this, they have steadily grown. Their churches are to be found in every large city, and their believers to be found in every community. . . .

We dare not disturb these people we call Christian Scientists, for the pronunciation of their faith sounds strangely like that primitive Christianity which survived in spite of legal enactments, in spite of personal assaults, in spite of the jeers and contempt of the scholars. We dare not touch these people, lest haply we shall find ourselves fighting against God himself.

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