Article January 24, 1914 Issue

The Northwestern Weekly Review seems to have become a...

Charles K. Skinner—Detroit, Mich.

The Northwestern Weekly Review

The Northwestern Weekly Review seems to have become a clearing-house for exchange of opinions, and its courtesy should be thoroughly appreciated. If each writer is sincere from his own point of view, and willing to concede the same position to his neighbor, much good may result. The articles by A. K. Sweet and J. H. Dempster are kindly in their reference to Christian Science and its followers, and had the writers pursued their quest to an understanding of the Principle and practise involved, instead of being satisfied with a superficial examination of the teaching, I am quite sure neither would have made the statements he did.

The first of these gentlemen tells us that Christian Science is far from being "philosophic or scientific," and this is where we differ. It would not be considered fair to judge the rules of mathematics by the badly worked out problem of a student, or the science of electricity by the work of one who had not sufficient understanding of the laws involved to gain the success which would have crowned close adherence to established rules. The same test should govern the critic or investigator of Christian Science. The fact that one may have followed out experiments along a material method of healing to the point of even calling it a science, gives him no right to claim that a mental or spiritual system is not a science.

Science according to the best dictionary authorities, is defined as "knowledge gained and verified by exact observation and right thinking." The subject is divided into several classes, one of which is "absolute science," defined as "definite knowledge of things as they actually exist," and another is "active science," or "systematic knowledge put to practical use." To both of these classes Christian Science claims close relations. It starts with the assumption that God is the only real intelligence or source of knowledge, and whatever intelligence is expressed through humanity is from that divine source. The works of Christ Jesus were founded on this fact. Every one of his healing works was based on the fundamental truth that man was created in the image and likeness of God. He understood that if God is the omnipotent, perfect One, then His spiritual child or reflection, man, is always perfect, and can never be otherwise than perfect.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

The Northwestern Weekly Review seems to have become a...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access