Article December 15, 1906 Issue

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

ELMER GREY

A high dignitary in one of our orthodox churches, a broad-minded, generous-hearted gentleman, remarked the other day that he had read carefully "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, had pondered over it, and had reached the conviction that Mrs. Eddy had grasped and therein expounded a profound truth. With a genial smile he added, "I am not afraid of Christian Science, however, and I will tell you why. Because I believe in God, and (so far as the other denominations are concerned) I believe that God will take care of the matter. I am not afraid of any sincere searchers after truth, for I know that the truth is amply able to take care of itself." If all Christian people were as sensible, how much better it would be. This is what Christian Scientists believe—that God will take care of the matter. They do not expect that because Christian Science is a revelation of Truth, all other Christian denominations will at once declare themselves unqualifiedly for it, but they do believe that the time is sure to come when the truth of Christian Science will be recognized by all.

The Christian Science Church has, from its inception, been growing with astonishing rapidity; and in the course of this remarkable growth it has gathered into its fold many of the former attendants of other churches. These other churches should not, however, look upon Christian Science as an antagonist; on the contrary, they should extend to it their hand, as to a friend. For just as the Saviour came "not to destroy but to fulfil," so has Christian Science come not to destroy any of the good in other denominations, but, among other things, to restore one of the most vital and primarily essential features of original Christianity; namely, the healing of the sick by the word of Truth. Christian Science comes to enforce the idea that in addition to the possession of the virtue of goodness, the children of God should reflect in their bodies the health, the strength, and the abounding happiness of an all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving creator.

This same clergyman was equally frank in his criticism of Christian Science. His objections seemed to be based chiefly upon the literary construction of the Christian Science text-book. Naturally enough, at his first reading, the use of some words, which all Christian Scientists recognize as a part of the "new tongue," had not pleased him. On this point Mrs. Eddy has said, in explaining the necessity for their use, "Apart from the usual opposition to everything new, the one great obstacle to the reception of that spirituality, through which the understanding of Mind-science comes, is the inadequacy of material terms for metaphysical statements, and the consequent difficulty of so expressing metaphysical ideas as to make them comprehensible by any reader who has not personally demonstrated Christian Science, as brought forth in my discovery. Job says, 'The ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.' The great difficulty is to give the right impression, when translating material terms back into the original spiritual tongue" (Science and Health, p. 114).

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