Article December 31, 1910 Issue

JUSTICE VERSUS INJUSTICE

LLOYD B. COATE.

In the Christian Science text-book we read: "Justice is the moral signification of law. Injustice declares the absence of law" (Science and Health, p. 391). This declaration of truth is applicable to every condition of human need. It is a reiteration of the golden rule given by Christ Jesus: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." This rule is the only basis of solution for the great question between capital and labor.

The moral signification of law demands justice on the part of the employer to the employee, and vice versa. This law is just as binding upon the housewife as upon the corporation employing thousands of men, for the law of justice is the law of right. It is a divine statute which forbids us to oppress "the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right." The Mosaic law says: "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates." The Manual of The Mother Church is a monitor of justice, admonishing its followers to be just to God, just to our divine Exemplar, Christ Jesus; just to our cause and our beloved Leader; just between man and man; just in church associations; just with student and patient. This law of justice is embodied in one of the church tenets: "We solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure" (Ibid., p. 497).

Our Leader refers to the justice of compensation when she says (Sentinel, Jan. 1, 1910), "Christian Science practitioners should make their charges for treatment equal to those of reputable physicians in their respective localities." The Church Manual forbids any injustice in charges; forbids a practitioner to sue a patient for his services, and asserts "he shall reasonably reduce his price in chronic cases of recovery, and in cases where he has not effected a cure." It defines a loyal Christian Scientist as "a humanitarian; he is benevolent, forgiving, long-suffering, and seeks to overcome evil with good" (Art. VIII., Sect. 22). Mrs. Eddy healed the poor without price and instructed some of them in Christian Science, thus setting an example for her followers. Yet, had there not been a sense of justice toward her by some of the beneficiaries of Christian Science, the cause she founded could not have reached its present growth. Mrs. Eddy has inaugurated every step of advancement in furthering the cause of Christian Science, and without just remuneration for her services she would not have been able to establish the stately operations of Christian Science as it is known to the world today.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

JUSTICE VERSUS INJUSTICE

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access