Article August 8, 1914 Issue

Under the caption, "Mental Healing as Commercial Asset,"...

John L. Rendall

The Dubuque (Iowa) Times-Journal

Under the caption, "Mental Healing as Commercial Asset," a recent issue contains an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association, written in a semifacetious way, which, while to some extent recognizing the value of Christian Science teachings, also perhaps inadvertently presents a view-point which is directly contrary to the legitimate functions of mental healing as understood in Christian Science.

The statement is made that a certain accident insurance company of New York employs as an adjuster in Chicago a devotee of Christian Science. He is said to be a very valuable official on account of his ability to make the people insured in his company regard their injuries from a "Christian Science point of view." With your permission, I will here state that the "Christian Science point of view" is that of absolute honesty and justice. Mrs. Eddy states in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," the text-book of Christian Science (p. 448), "It is Christian Science to do right, and nothing short of right-doing has any claim to the name." This attitude is fundamental to Christian Science teachings. Therefore any other attitude is altogether inconsistent with this religion. The attitude of a Christian Scientist who might be an adjuster for an insurance company, would be to deal justly and in accordance with facts with the company and with their clients, for to be just, one must be just to all concerned. The inference that there is some sort of mental hocus-pocus which may be used by a Christian Scientist to deceive people as to actual facts, is altogether a misapprehension. The intimation that Christian Science might be used indiscriminately on "battle-fields," etc., does nothing more than betray ignorance of the exact teachings of this demonstrable religion.

As a specific example of what Christian Science is doing to correct human thought, I will cite the case of Robert Waddell, of Mitchell, Iowa, who, according to despatches from Washington which appeared in the newspapers of April 15, 1905, gave up a pension which he had enjoyed for years because of the fact that he had been healed in Christian Science. In the despatch mentioned, it is stated, "It is learned that by far the largest number of pension resigners are men who claim to have been healed of their physical disabilities by Christian Science."

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