Article January 30, 1915 Issue

My attention has been called to a booklet which has been...

John L. Rendall

The Hopkinton (Iowa) Leader

My attention has been called to a booklet which has been circulated in your vicinity by an evangelist, and which presents a perverted and distorted interpretation of the teachings of Christian Science. I am also informed that this critic has taken occasion to preach against what he conceives Christian Science to be.

It is difficult for one who knows what Christian Science really teaches, to understand the reason for all this misdirected energy. It would seem to the casual observer that the same amount of effort expended in right directions would accomplish very much by way of good, whereas the sort of thing indulged in by the critic serves only to emphasize his ignorance of Christian Science, the study of which is at present engaging the respectful attention of hundreds of thousands of Christian people in this and other countries. The discussion of purely theological differences of opinion is vain and fruitless. There are more than one hundred and fifty denominations of the Christian religion, each based upon a real or fancied fundamental difference of belief. It stands to reason that the only power that can possibly overcome these differences of opinion, is the power of Truth, which is infinite and eternal, admitting of no variations.

In this connection, Mrs. Eddy states in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 138): "Jesus established in the Christian era the precedent for all Christianity, theology, and healing. Christians are under as direct orders now, as they were then, to be Christlike, to possess the Christ-spirit, to follow the Christ-example, and to heal the sick as well as the sinning." And again on the same page: "Our Master said to every follower: 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature! . . . Heal the sick! . . . Love thy neighbor as thyself!' It was this theology of Jesus which healed the sick and the sinning. It is his theology in this book and the spiritual meaning of this theology, which heals the sick and causes the wicked to 'forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.' It was our Master's theology which the impious sought to destroy."

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