Article October 1, 1910 Issue

The statement is made that by becoming Christian Scientists...

Frank C. Barrett

Bangor (Me.) News.

The statement is made that by becoming Christian Scientists we have "deserted the church of Jesus Christ." While Christian Scientists do not profess to be better than other Christians, they do know and prove by their lives that they are better morally, spiritually, and physically than they used to be. Their religion has made them so. Christian Science is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and in so far as Christian Scientists practise the teachings of Christian Science, they cannot depart from the church of Jesus Christ. Christian Science teaches absolute faith in God in every hour, in sickness and in health. It is because they have proved by their faith that the words and works of Jesus are true,—that his teachings are applicable in this age in every trial,—that Christian Scientists give more "time and thought" to Jesus' teachings than they used to do before they learned of Christian Science.

How can it be said that those who are working to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth have "deserted the church of Jesus Christ," even though their interpretation of the Bible may differ from that of some of the older denominations. Some do not interpret the Scriptures to mean that the "prayer of faith shall heal the sick" physically as well as morally and spiritually; but Christian Scientists do, and by reforming the sinners and healing the sick we believe we are "giving the church of Jesus Christ a fair show in the matter." Indeed in the early church, three hundred years after it was founded, even the dead were raised. From that time on healing by spiritual understanding seems to have been lost sight of, until its reinstatement in Christian Science.

Christian Science does not teach that sin, sickness, and death do not seem real to those who are in bondage, nor does it teach that such things are only imaginary. Jesus said of a woman "which had a spirit of infirmity," that Satan had bound her, "lo, these eighteen years." He declared that Satan is "a liar, and the father of it." The bond of a "liar" is a false claim, untrue, unreal. Jesus took a different view of the woman than did others; he knew the truth about her sufficiently to loose her from her bonds. Truly it would seem that her painful bonds were "mental," inasmuch as by mental means she was restored instantly after eighteen years of suffering. Where did the "pain" (probably rheumatic) go to? It must have been a "thought" or belief which had suddenly become unreal to her, leaving her free. One's belief in an untruth may amount to solid conviction, which will only yield when he is sure of the truth about it. It matters not what the error is; be it sin or sickness, Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

The statement is made that by becoming Christian Scientists...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access