Article September 12, 1908 Issue

The purpose of this article is not to criticize the methods...

W. F. W. Wilding, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.,

Busy Man's Magazine

The purpose of this article is not to criticize the methods of the medical profession; it is rather to show that the age in which we live demands a more intellectual and spiritual medicine, and that Christian Science is meeting this demand. Christianity, when understood as Jesus practised it, heals the sick and casts out evil; and Christian Science, the Science of Christianity, is attended with these "signs following." It is generally supposed by those who do not understand Christian Science, that because Luke was a material physician, and joined Paul in the healing work, he went on practising the drugging system, but Christian Science proves the mistake of such a conclusion. There is nothing in the Bible, nor out of it, to indicate that Paul and Luke worked from opposite standpoints. In order to become a true follower of the Saviour. Luke must have practised metaphysics—the standard his Master set before him.

It should be known that the practice of medicine sprang from idolatry, and although its practice has evolved much that is useful in certain directions, it still bases its healing power upon matter. The only instance in which matter is in any way mentioned in connection with Jesus' healing is in the case of the blind man at the pool of Siloam, and surely no one to-day really believes that the healing power resided in the clay. Is not the explanation given by Mrs. Eddy a more likely one, viz., that Jesus' act exemplified his contempt for matter as a healing agent? Christian Science has no quarrel with prevailing systems of material healing. Righteousness, right thinking, will aid the advocates of empirical systems, but if they are ever to be scientific they must be based upon one fixed Principle. Christian Science as taught by Mrs. Eddy, its Discoverer and Founder, declares that God—Spirit, Mind—is the true healing power, as the Bible teaches, and that Spirit acts independently of matter. It reverently affirms that this is the only real power, and that it can do all and more than faith in any other belief of power.

After I was convinced of the truth of Christian Science, I gave up the practice of medicine. I had spent nineteen years in its study, and thirteen years in its practice. Such a step, taken by one who loved his work and profession, could only be justified by very powerful motives. My reason for accepting Christian Science is best explained by some of my experiences during the last six years. I first heard of Christian Science early in 1900, when I was well established as a general medical practitioner in a populous colliery district in Lancashire, England. My father had been suffering for many years from an internal trouble, culminating in a serious attack of hemorrhage, and while contemplating an operation, he was persuaded to try Christian Science first, with the result that the operation was never required. He was completely healed in a few days' treatment. The report of this healing raised such a bitter feeling of resentment in me that I think I should have been more pleased if the cure had failed, for I then deemed Christian Science to be quackery.

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