Article November 18, 1916 Issue

There is no disposition to evade the responsibility which...

Carl E. Herring

Fairbury (Neb.) Journal

There is no disposition to evade the responsibility which rests upon Christian Science to prove by its fruits its fitness to live, but it is fair to note that since the early Christian church it is the only religion that has submitted itself to such a test. The teachings of Jesus and his works of healing went hand in hand, and while modern religions obey his commands to preach, they seem utterly to ignore the fact that the command to heal the sick is always found in conjunction with the command to preach the gospel. This does not admit of any dispute. It is simply a fact, and therefore but three courses are open: first, to ignore the command to heal ; second, to admit our inability to obey; third, to do the healing work commanded. Curiously the second alternative, aside from some sporadic efforts of healing abandoned as failures, has not been adopted by religious organizations, but they have remained content with the first, and have either denied that Christian Science healed, or, admitting that it healed, have in a vague way regarded affliction as sent by God, with which to interfere, by any effective method other than material means, was to thwart the will of God and thereby to lessen the chances of heaven.

Christian Science, of course, will stand or fall on the third alternative as stated above. That it has gone a long way during the fifty years of its existence in establishing in the world's thought the correctness of its teachings, the most casual observer will admit. True, however, certain conditions tend to retard a fair exposition of the truth of Christian Science. The demonstrations of its utility are looked for here and now, while the results of other religions are projected beyond the veil called death, thereby permitting speculation to ripen the gospel seed and bear its perfect fruit without a failure, for there is no way to dispute it. But no matter how perfect the philosophy of Christian Science may be, it still has to cope with human frailty in its execution. Unlike the speculative method, its failures are recorded where they can be noted, and it would sometimes seem as though there are watchers waiting to record failures.

Moreover, Christian Science in common with all other religions has to face a condition of which the Master spoke when he said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." He also said: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." It does not follow from this that a failure here and there should condemn Christian Science, any more than the failure of the schoolboy to work his problem in arithmetic destroys the basic law of mathematics. The real question is, Are the demonstrations in Christian Science such as to warrant the conclusion that a correct Principle has been found worthy of our best efforts to work out and develop for the amelioration of the sins and diseases of humanity?

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