Article July 11, 1914 Issue

Referring to a sermon quoted in a recent issue, it would...

Frank Bell—Carbondale, Pa.

The Evening Leader

Referring to a sermon quoted in a recent issue, it would seem that one who starts out to discredit Christian Science from the standpoint that nothing based on falsehood can last, would be most careful to avoid basing his own conclusions on anything other than the truth. No one will deny, as our friend says, that a lie will never save the world, and it ought to be self-evident that misrepresentation will never stop the growth of the Christian Science movement.

To assert that the teaching of Christian Science as to sin and suffering may be summed up in the statement, "There is no such thing," is to misrepresent Christian Science. It will require only a brief perusal of Mrs. Eddy's writings to ascertain how clearly she recognized that the human or mortal mind entertains evil beliefs which, if not destroyed, are liable to find expression in sinful word or act. She declares, however, that men are capable of rising above the enslaving claims of a wicked mind, and offers specific and practical information as to how to achieve this very desirable result. That to which Mrs. Eddy refers as being free from sin is neither more nor less than is meant by the statement, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin," which our friend will find in the Bible. On page 32 of "No and Yes" Mrs. Eddy writes, "Frequently when I touch this subject [Is there any such thing as sin?] my meaning is ignorantly or maliciously misconstrued." Yet there is no excuse for this, since she also says, "A sinner ... may say, as a subterfuge, that evil is unreal, but to know it, he must demonstrate his statement.To assume that there are no claims of evil and yet to indulge them, is a moral offense. ... Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, but which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is undenied and nurtured. Under such circumstances, to say that there is no evil, is an evil in itself" (Science and Health, p. 447).

Christian Science has no "theory" as to suffering; it leaves theorizing to those who have time for such diversion. Christian Science substitutes practice for theory, and its practice demonstrates that suffering ought to be and can be destroyed through a right apprehension of its cause and the application of scientific methods. Instead of ignoring bodily ills, Christian Science traces them to their source and there deals with them in the only permanently effective manner.

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