Article August 19, 1911 Issue

I have read the Bishop of Chichester's criticism of Christian Science

H. Farmer Hall

Eastbourne (Eng.) Gazette

I have read the Bishop of Chichester's criticism of Christian Science. The criticism is remarkable, in that the bishop commences by acknowledging the need of a greater realization of joy in his own religion, continues by repeating statements from people who have found more joy in Christian Science than in their former views of Christianity, and concludes by saying that Christian Science is neither Christian nor scientific!

However one may respect the opinion of an individual, one is not prepared to accept a dogmatic assertion on any subject unless he has some proper standard by which to test its truth. The question, therefore, that confronts us is, What really constitutes a Christian? It is readily acknowledged that true Christianity is founded on the teachings of Jesus the Christ, and those teachings and practices that most closely follow his have undoubtedly the strongest claim to the name Christian. The difficulty, however, which has arisen in the minds of many seekers after Truth is to discriminate between the various sects of the Christian church, each one of which claims to have a particularly clear and correct interpretation of the Master's teachings.

Fortunately for us all, the Master himself left a key to the situation, which, when applied, greatly assists in arriving at correct conclusions. In the eleventh chapter of Matthew we have an incident narrated in which the disciples of John approached Jesus, asking whether he were the Christ or no. In replying to this question it will be noticed that Jesus did not make any claims on the basis of what he taught, but he rather asked John to base his judgment on the healings performed, which were the direct result of his teachings. This, therefore, was the test which Jesus applied to himself, the fruits of his gospel thus specified: "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them"—these must decide in the mind of John whether Jesus' claim to being the Christ was convincing.

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