Article August 22, 1914 Issue

Your article in the Free Press of recent date would create...

C. H. Spear

The Burlington (Iowa) Free Press and Times

Your article in the Free Press of recent date would create the impression that to "just imagine that things are all right and they will be all right" is Christian Science teaching. As this is false, and voices one of the stock misconceptions of Christian Science teaching, I know you will in justice give space to correct it. C. S. not only stands for Christian Science, but also for common sense.

On page 354 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says: "The opponents of divine Science must be charitable, if they would be Christian. If the letter of Christian Science appears inconsistent, they should gain the spiritual meaning of Christian Science, and then the ambiguity will vanish. The charge of inconsistency in Christianly scientific methods of dealing with sin and disease is met by something practical,—namely, the proof of the utility of these methods." Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Before a vast audience in New York recently, Jacob S. Shield, member of the board of lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., explained Christian Scientists' attitude in times of depression as follows:—

"What is true of the human body is also true of the body politic. A panic produces a rigid state in the arteries of trade, in the manufacturing and commercial centers, so that nothing seems to move without extreme pressure. The dictionaries define panic as 'extreme or sudden causeless, unreasonable fright.' To cure such a condition, confidence must be restored. It was the great cry during the panic of 1907 that everything would be righted if only the fear of the people would relax. If all people were Christian Scientists, there would be no more panics, because they have confidence in the protecting and sustaining care of their heavenly Father, and thus lose the sense of anxiety in regard to their supply. They believe in the verity of the statement of our Master, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.'"

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