Article February 26, 1910 Issue

I agree with the writer of this article that mental treatment...

Alfred Farlow

Middleton (N. S.) Outlook

I agree with the writer of this article that mental treatment of the sick, as it is ordinarily understood, and which deals exclusively with the carnal will, is not in accord with the practice of Jesus Christ, who said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Christian Science recognizes no power but God, and relies exclusively upon divine power in its ministrations. The teaching of Christian Science concerning the nature of matter is not a fundamental "principle," but a conclusion. The major premise of the Christian Science syllogism is the Scriptural declaration that God is Spirit; the minor premise is this, that God is the only creator, that everything He made is very good, and that man was made in God's own image and likeness. The conclusion is that sin and sickness, being no part of the very good things which God created, have only a mythical existence.

In regard to the constituency of matter, Christian Science also agrees with the Scriptural teaching as given in the Master's words: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." Here we have a plain declaration that Spirit only gives life and existence to its creation, that flesh (matter) is altogether unprofitable. This declaration of the allness of Spirit and the nothingness of matter is as sweeping as any declaration which Mrs. Eddy has made in her text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." However, Christian Science recognizes that sin and sickness have existence in what Solomon calls the errors of life, and calls these evils by the same name that is used by others and recognizes that they must be grappled with and overcome by divine power. No one will admit that a ghost is anything but an apparition, but it is not considered "silly" to explain it away to the untutored who believe it to be a reality. A false charge in court must have attention; witnesses must be heard pro and con before the judge is ready to say, "There is no cause for action;" and this proceeding is looked upon as reasonable. So disease and sin have a hearing at the bar of Truth, and must be disposed of according to Truth's verdict.

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