Article May 30, 1908 Issue

Our critic takes exception to any reference to Jesus as a...

Alfred Farlow

Boston Times

Our critic takes exception to any reference to Jesus as a scientific man, and yet no doubt he would admit that the man Christ Jesus knew more than any other personage that the world has ever known, and certainly what he knew was scientific, since any definite or specific knowledge is science. There is no authority for restricting the term science to material things. There is something to know about the spiritual, and it is entitled to the name science. Moreover, the science which Jesus knew was Christian. It certainly was not non-Christian, and he demonstrated what he knew of the truth. For this reason we fail to see why our critic should object to the statement that Jesus was a demonstrator of Christian Science.

Our critic declares that Mrs. Eddy attempts to explain a portion of the Scriptures and that "the rest of the Bible she has passed over." We trust that our readers will not infer from this that Mrs. Eddy does not accept the whole of the Bible. While she does not attempt an exegesis of the entire Bible in her text-book, it is gratifying to know that she accepts the whole of the Scriptures. In fact, she found Christian Science in the Bible and has based her entire teaching upon it. Mrs. Eddy, like our critic, has her peculiar interpretation of Scriptural meanings, and she points to the good results of her teaching as an evidence of their correctness.

Our critic's reference to certain persons who, notwithstanding their faith in Christian Science, have died, reminds me of the unkindly childings of Jesus' enemies, who pointed to him as he hung on the cross, saying, "He saved others; himself he cannot save." Our critic writes from the standpoint of one who believes that a dependence upon material remedies will accomplish greater good than a depedence upon Christian Science; in other words, that medicine is a better remedy than Christian Science. This being true, we are at a loss to know why he does not point the finger of ridicule at those who have died under medical treatment. Many a poor M.D. has failed to save his own life through material remedies, but that does not make him a subject of ridicule. Many a pupil of mathematics has failed in the solution of a difficult problem, but that is not chargeable to mathematics, but to the pupil's want of understanding and ability to apply it. Christian Scientists frankly admit and the Christian Science text-book teaches that the whole of Christian Science is not demonstrated at this age; that mortals must grow spiritually and attain a clearer understanding of Truth before they can accomplish all that Christian Science promises. . . .

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