Article December 25, 1915 Issue

A clipping containing a question asked by a correspondent,...

Judge Clifford P. Smith—Chicago, III.

Northwestern Christian Advocate,

A clipping containing a question asked by a correspondent, as printed in the Advocate, has been sent me for a reply. I am entirely willing to answer it. His question was: Why reject medicines, if they are prescribed in a scientific manner? In other words, Is Christian Science scientific? My reply is: Christian Scientists do not favor the use of medicine as a remedy for disease, because Christ Jesus did not do so, and because, to quote from Mrs. Eddy, "his acts were the demonstration of Science" (Science and Health, p. 273). In other words, our concept of Science is based on the teaching and example of Christ Jesus.

Your question, printed as heading to the letter of the correspondent, was evidently as much a comment as a question. I assume that you will not be unwilling to have it answered accordingly. Question: Do Christian Scientists think the Lord made a mistake when he put herbs in the world? Answer: No, they do not think the Lord ever made a mistake. The former concept of God as the giver of herbs for medicine does not fit the medical practice of today. For the corresponding position nowadays, He would need to be regarded as the provider of germs to kill germs, and the sender of disease to mitigate disease. The twentieth-century physician is not an herb doctor. Instead of administering a dose of herbs, he inoculates his patients with the germs of a disease, with the hope that this expedient may prevent a worse disorder. Neither of these views of Deity, however, can be brought into Christian theology without amending the New Testament.

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