Article December 12, 1914 Issue

The comments on Christian Science by a writer in a recent...

Ezra W. Palmer—Grand Junction, Col.

The Critic

The comments on Christian Science by a writer in a recent issue are interesting and show a friendly spirit. He, however, falls into an error common to all who accept the materialistic conception of the universe. He believes that the way to remedy existing evils is to change things materially, and then, to use the critic's language, "there will be a chance to pray the things spiritual into existence."

This critic has overlooked the fact that mankind has for centuries attempted to destroy or escape from the effects of evil in just this manner, but have been unsuccessful. Jesus Christ, the greatest of all reformers, the one who showed the way to mankind's full and complete emancipation, used an entirely different method. He laid no stress on mortal strivings or mortal efforts. He knew that mortals could not heal themselves of the wounds caused by belief in sin and death. He saw that freedom could be gained only as man grasped the omniscience and omnipotence of Spirit, which quelled evil and lifted man into his spiritual estate, beyond the power of greed, hate, poverty, sin, and death.

The great Teacher, therefore, in his Sermon on the Mount, admonished his followers, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." It is this insistence of Christian Science on the all-sufficiency of Spirit to meet human needs that distinguishes it from all systems of human thought. A Christian Scientist knows that God supplies all his needs here and now, and he furthermore knows, for all time, that from this same divine source the supply is always equal to the demand. Mrs. Eddy says, "Christ, Truth, gives mortals temporary food and clothing until the material, transformed with the ideal, disappears, and man is clothed and fed spiritually" (Science and Health, p. 442).

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