Article October 12, 1907 Issue

Our critic refers to Christian Scientists as heretics

V. O. Strickler

New York Observer

Our critic refers to Christian Scientists as heretics. It must be admitted, however, that this word has a somewhat varied meaning. The Standard Dictionary says a heretic is "one who denies commonly accepted views." It would be interesting to know what are the "commonly accepted views" pertaining to religion. There are sixty-five Christian bodies at work in New York City, each worshiping the same God and using the same Bible, and yet they do not agree as to what the Bible teaches. They differ as to doctrines, ordinances, and modes of worship, and in many instances the differences are so great that if one be right the other must be positively wrong. Who has authority or wisdom sufficient to say which of these denominations is teaching the truth and which heresy? Is it not true that one's religion is largely a matter of personal experience, and that sooner or later all persons will or should adopt that line of religious thought which brings to them the largest measure of help, hope, and consolation?

Christian Scientists believe that the teachings of Jesus Christ, when rightly understood and rightly applied, are sufficient, without the aid of anything else whatsoever, both to regenerate the sinner and to heal the sick, and if such belief be heresy, then Christian Scientists are content to be called heretics. The Christian Science Church is the only religious body in the world to-day that is making a deliberate effort to obey Jesus in his double command to both preach the gospel and heal the sick. It maintains that the command to heal is of as high Scriptural authority as the command to preach, and all it asks is to be judged by what it accomplishes instead of by what prejudiced critics may say about it.

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