Article August 1, 1914 Issue

Your paper of recent date reports the Rev. Mr. ——'s...

Willis D. McKinstry—in <i>Iola</i> (Kan.) <i>Register</i>

Your paper of recent date reports the Rev. Mr.——?'s sermon delivered on Peace Sunday, at which time he attacked Christian Science as an enemy of our nation, stating that it "denies the personality of God, declares there is no sin, and makes prayer mere auto-suggestion." The above statement of our critic, when examined in the true light or understanding of the teachings of Christian Science, will be found without a semblance of truth.

If one would know the truth about a given subject, he should seek information from the text-book dealing with the question at hand. Now, let us see what Christian Science does teach about the personality of God. On page 116 of its text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes: "As the words person and personal are commonly and ignorantly employed, they often lead, when applied to Deity, to confused and erroneous conceptions of divinity and its distinction from humanity. If the term personality, as applied to God, means infinite personality, then God is infinite Person,—in the sense of infinite personality, but not in the lower sense." It is evident that God cannot be circumscribed limited being. Infinity alone can express His true being. Christian Science, instead of denying the personality of God, gives an enlarged conception of Him as infinite, unlimited Spirit, whose personality fills the universe, for God can never be more or less than all.

Now as to sin. Christian Science does not deny that there is a belief in sin, but recognizes the phenomena of evil as the operation of the carnal mind, and not the creation of God; hence that its claim is unreal, and subject to extinction through an understanding of God's ever-operative law of Truth, which destroys error. Dealing with the question of sin, the text-book of Christian Science says on page 29: "Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their course;" also on page 447: "To put down the claim of sin, you must detect it, remove the mask, point out the illusion, and thus get the victory over sin and so prove its unreality." This is sufficient proof that our critic's statement is without foundation.

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