Article December 17, 1910 Issue

The passing of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy brings to a close...

Chicago Post

The passing of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy brings to a close a life story that is one of the most wonderful that this country of unlimited possibilities has to show. Out of nothing that is physical, no great fortune, no industrial invention, no inherited opportunity, Mrs. Eddy built up a great career. It is the greater because its greatness was not for herself but for the church which she founded. She took from the Bible one of the fundamental commands which modern Christianity had overlooked, the solemn injunction to "heal the sick." This, with an inspiration that burned steady and serene for long years, she put into a faith and a creed that has brought happiness and health and the active religious spirit to thousands upon thousands of her fellow-beings.

This accomplishment cannot be denied her, even by those to whom Christian Science is most distasteful. Its proof lies first in the growth and solid strength of the Church of Christ, Scientist, and secondly in the character and bearing of the members of that church. The stately church buildings in this city and its suburbs, and the constant additions to their number, give concrete evidence of this marvelous development. But more significant than the church buildings, more meaningful than the numerical strength of the church, is the character of its congregations. Without humbug or sentimentalism, any outsider can and must admit that Christian Science people are good people. They not only believe in their church and attend its meetings with a passionate faithfulness that other churches envy, but they also carry their faith with them into their daily lives. By its very nature they have to. For if Christian Science means anything to any man or woman, it must mean everything.

It is this inherent strength in the fundamental idea of Mrs. Eddy's church that will hold it together even after her hand has been removed from its direction. The faith will still live. Only by a full realization of this fact can the outside world gain any comprehension of the calm exaltation of spirit with which Christian Scientists will receive the tidings that the earthly career of their Leader has closed. Only in this way can it understand dimly their fine and vivid belief that "there is no death" in the old pagan sense of that solemn word.

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Mrs. Eddy has been one of the world's greatest benefactors
December 17, 1910
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