Article April 8, 1911 Issue

"Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" is not...

E. M. Ramsay

Aberdeen (Scot.) Journal

"Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" is not in any sense a new Bible ; it is simply a new interpretation of the one and only Bible ; and there are no people who read the Scriptures more regularly or who accept the gospel teachings more whole-heartedly than do Mrs. Eddy's followers. All the Protestant churches agree in accepting the Bible as the source of their doctrines and the foundation of their faith, but they differ in the interpretations they attach to the Bible teaching. It is plain that while these various interpretations may all be false, only one of them can be correct, and the only proof that can be offered of the correctness of any interpretation lies in the effect it produces in the lives of its followers and in their willingness and ability to carry out the commands of the Saviour.

That the teachings of Christian Science have been received with abuse and derision is not surprising, as men have opposed or made merry over every discovery of note that has ever been made ; it is too late in the day, however, to treat Christian Science as a mere theory. Its beneficiaries must be numbered by tens of thousands, and are to be found all over the world. One of the surest signs of the progress which Christian Science is making is the constant stream of literature directed against it. This literature emanates from many quarters and varies in its mode of attack. Some writers inveigh against the theology, but admit the healing. Others declare that it is doing little in the matter of cures, but admit the beauty of its teaching. On one point alone do all the critics agree—they admit their inability to understand the text-book. Thus it comes about that their attacks are directed simply against a Christian Science bogie of their own making.

Those Christians who find the Bible promises fulfilled in their lives, who find their infirmities healed, their steps guided, their aspirations satisfied by the growing sense of God's presence and power, need not ask for any fuller light on the Scriptures, but this is certainly not the experience of the majority of men. Those who are not satisfied with their present understanding of the Bible, those who desire to get a firmer hold on the things of God, may be interested to learn that Christian Science has an explanation of the gospel teaching to offer which enables the faithful student to prove to his own satisfaction the truth of the statements of our Saviour and the reality of the gospel record. Though the healing of disease is not the most important work of Christian Science, it is of great value, as is plain from the stress laid on it by the Master himself—"These signs shall follow them that believe;... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Many a man who had been unable to believe in God has been lifted out of unbelief through experiencing in his own person the healing efficacy of prayer.

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