Article February 5, 1916 Issue

It is acknowledged that scientific facts are provable, demonstrable,...

M. S. Bruen

The Dundalk (Ireland) Herald

It is acknowledged that scientific facts are provable, demonstrable, and that the relative truth contained in physical science is variable. It must also be acknowledged that divine Science, or Christian Science, must be absolute truth, for it embraces the knowledge of God, who "changeth not." The Bible declares that God is Truth, infinite, and All. Textbooks of physical sciences all have their own technical phraseology which the student must master, as he could not understand the book unless he knew the sense in which the words were used. Critics of Christian Science often, indeed generally, make the mistake of neglecting to accept the meaning of the terms in which it is expressed, before studying Mrs. Eddy's works. This was one of the mistakes into which an earlier critic fell, in his sermonette which began this correspondence. He certainly never would have objected to Christian Science if he had understood the meaning of it, and all the criticism is wasted which he leveled at what he thought was Christian Science. The present critic followed in the wake of the earlier one, but the criticism which he expected to be most crushing also fell quite wide of the mark. In his own phrase, be criticized "what Christian Science is not."

It would be very difficult to give a reason for objecting to the definition of death as "mortal error." It is undoubtedly "mortal," and as the opposite of Life, God, it is opposed to Truth. This subject may seem to be hard to understand until the first steps are taken in understanding what life is. Writing in "Unity of Good" on the question, "Is there no death?" Mrs. Eddy says (p. 43) : "The achievement of this ultimatum of Science, complete triumph over death, requires time and immense spiritual growth. I have by no means spoken of myself, I cannot speak of myself as 'sufficient for these things.' " It has been abundantly proved, however, that sin and sickness, which constitute the pathway to death, are healed by Christian Science. While its students are multiplying and growing, living and proving its truth, the expectation is not extravagant that the day is coming when it will also be proved that "there shall be no more death." We cannot forget that Jesus said, "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."

Experience has shown that every advance in knowledge is called unreasonable until it is understood. A few centuries ago Galileo was held to be very unreasonable and unholy because he said the earth moved and the sun remained still. Had not every man, woman, and child seen the sun sink into the west? Did not the earth feel steady under the feet? The inventor of the locomotive was called a fool for saying that he could run a carriage without horses faster than a stagecoach. This was on the plane of relative truth. When St. Paul said he was sent "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me," Festus said, "Thou art beside thyself;" but he said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness."

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