Article October 2, 1915 Issue

To say that the Eskimos of the frozen north developed...

S. T. Downs

Indianapolis (Ind.) Times

To say that the Eskimos of the frozen north developed the out-of-door cultivation of roses could not be more absurd than the statement to the effect that Christian Science is based on the teachings of Plato, as made by a speaker at the Y. M. C. A. meeting.

Platonism teaches no well defined idea about Deity, and whether Plato regarded God as a personal being it is impossible to determine, while on page 587 of the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy defines God as: "The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal;Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." Among many other idealistic claims made about matter, Plato taught that matter is eternal and infinite principle, and the critic's own statement that "matter is divine" seems to parallel the teachings of Plato. The antithesis of Platonism is found in the Christian Science definition of matter as "the opposite of Truth; the opposite of Spirit; the opposite of God; that of which immortal Mind takes no cognizance; that which mortal mind sees, feels, hears, tastes, and smells only in belief" (Science and Health, p. 591).

The speaker's statement that Christian Science is not new, even though not intended as complimentary, is exactly correct, because Mrs. Eddy learned Christian Science from the Word of God, and it explains the works of the prophets, the Master, and the apostles through the spiritualization of the Bible. Christian Science is, in other words, the Science of divine Mind which instructs human consciousness out of its belief in matter, as demonstrated in the life and works of our Wayshower, Christ Jesus. There could be nothing new in the truth about God and man's relation to Him.

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