Article December 4, 1909 Issue

In a recent issue of Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger there appeared...

Translated from an article by F. L.

Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger

In a recent issue of Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger there appeared an article by the Rev. Ernst Klein, bearing the title "Something about Faith-cure," in which he takes a few sentences from the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, out of their context in an arbitrary manner.

We quote verbally from this text-book (p. 341): "The strictures on this volume would condemn to oblivion the truth, which is raising up thousands from helplessness to strength and elevating them from a theoretical to a practical Christianity. These criticisms are generally based on detached sentences or clauses separated from their context. Even the Scriptures, which grow in beauty and consistency from one grand root, appear contradictory when subjected to such usage." In another place (p. 354) Mrs. Eddy says: "The opponents of divine Science must be charitable, if they would be Christian. If the letter of Christian Science appears inconsistent, they should gain the spiritual meaning of Christian Science, and then the ambiguity will vanish." Mrs. Eddy also lays down the following rule for her students (p. 444): "Students are advised by the author to be charitable and kind, not only toward differing forms of religion and medicine, but to those who hold these differing opinions."

Christian Scientists can at least expect from their opponents that they should judge "righteous judgment." What, for instance, would be thought of a man who attempted to criticize the strictly scientific explanations of Kant before a public of non-philosophers, and in such a way as to quote a few disconnected sentences, without giving at the same time the explanation how Kant intended these statements to be understood, and without giving his argument? It surely would be easy then to call Kant's philosophy very paradoxical. The denial of matter, by the way, is nothing new to the student of Kant's philosophy or of modern philosophy in general; but the Rev. Mr. Klein tries to ridicule that part of the teachings of Christian Science.

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