Article December 16, 1911 Issue

Christian Science declares God to be Spirit, Soul, Mind,...

Edward W. Dickey

Los Angeles (Cal.) Times

Christian Science declares God to be Spirit, Soul, Mind, Life, Truth, Love; the sole cause of the universe, the only self-existent, all-knowing, all-wise Being. It further declares God to be good—supreme, infinite good without one taint of evil. This is the foundational fact of Christian Science. The correlative fact is that creation is "after his kind." The conclusion is that man and the universe is spiritual and not material. The phenomenon of evil is not then considered in Christian Science a God-ordained reality, but as an abnormality, a thing which, considered from the standpoint of infinite Truth, God, is unreal. This, however, does not mean the overlooking of evil, but the overcoming of it, and Christian Science shows the imperative necessity of overcoming all sin and evil. Logically, if God and His spiritual universe is real, the opposite thereof must be unreal. They can no more be a part of each other than Christ can have concord with Belial or light have communion with darkness.

Christian Science teaches one Christ—the Christ of the Scriptures. It shows the impossibility of there being any other. It teaches the very highest morality and obedience to the law of the land and society. It inculcates sympathy, charity, and love for all mankind. It declares and proves itself to be both Christian and scientific; Christian in that it proclaims the entire gospel of Christ and conserves all the elements of Christ's Christianity, scientific in that it stands for demonstrable truth. The prayer of Christian Science is spiritual and in its very nature remedial. The ministrations of Christian Science are beneficent and elevating, destroying all forms of sin and healing all manner of sickness, organic and functional. There is no insubordination to the divine laws of life inaugurated by the Master and taught in Christian Science, but on the contrary an undeviating adherence thereto. In fine, Christian Science is but the scientific statement of Christianity. The two are indissoluble and cannot be considered separately. For this reason Christian Science cannot be considered as akin to any human teaching or system. Furthermore, it cannot be understood in the light of these teachings, nor explained through means unlike itself, because it is spiritual, entire, and complete.

Our critic says Christian Science is unscientific, and in support of his contention quotes various passages of Scripture. The very nature of Christian Science precludes any one from passing judgment upon it unless he understands its propositions sufficiently to demonstrate them. A person who endeavors to do so from a mere letter-study of the subject is in identically the same position as one who would reject geometric propositions without having first endeavored to demonstrate their truth or falsity. The Master refuted his critics by healing signs, so that the multitude glorified God. Christian Science is today building upon the same platform and refuting the extravagant and unwarranted statements of its critics.

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