Article March 30, 1912 Issue

The Courier-Post of recent date reported a discourse of...

John H. Wheeler

Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post

The Courier-Post of recent date reported a discourse of an evangelist, in which he takes the Christian Science doctrine severely to task for its teachings concerning sin. We regret that the reverend gentleman is so entirely mistaken in his estimate of the mission of Christian Science and the moral and spiritual force of this teaching to reform the lives of those who are weary and heavy laden with a sinful sense of existence.

It is true their religious convictions may seem to differ materially from those of the critic, yet Christian Scientists view with great concern the problems of sin confronting humanity, seemingly a serious hindrance to their march toward spiritual manhood and womanhood. We know full well that all the law and gospel must be fulfilled to attain this blessed state. The following "daily prayer," as set forth in The Mother Church Manual (p. 41) for the guidance of its members, verifies this and stands forth as the polar star in the profession of our faith: "'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!"

The capacity to understand Truth aright, unerringly marks the true Christian, and no professor of Christianity who has not gained this spiritual understanding is safe in his or her warfare against evil, the sole enemy of Christ. The strong claim of Christian Science upon the affections and faith of humanity is its revelation of the nature and actual mental cause of all the ills which the flesh is heir to, together with the specific teaching concerning the mental resistance and warfare to be waged against sin's power to tempt one to indulge its falsehoods. The most forceful statement of our Lord and Master in his sermon on the mount was: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." The pure in heart, then, are those who are mentally pure and above the temptation to sin. They understand the divine nature and spiritual law of cause and effect, and cannot be deceived by a false, sinful suggestion concerning any event in human experience. Christian Science unerringly proves that one and all may enjoy this freedom, just to the extent that they grasp this truth; even as the schoolboy understands that two times two does not make three, but always four; so he is never deceived by a false suggestion about this simple expression of a mathematical truth.

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