Article March 25, 1916 Issue

The letter of a correspondent drawing attention to a booklet...

J. Arnold Haughton

Rochdale (England) Times

The letter of a correspondent drawing attention to a booklet which contains a "warning against Christian Science," matches the booklet in question for inaccuracy of statement about Christian Science. In this booklet Christian Science is said to have "for its corner-stone the doctrine that there is no such thing as sin; no salvation because no need of one." The true statement is, however, that Christian Science insists upon the fact that God did not create sin; and accepting St. John's word, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made," it follows that there is no sin in the sense that it is not part of God's creation. Christian Scientists recognize to the full their need of salvation from sin as a human experience, which is tantamount to salvation from believing in something which God did not create. In other words, they seek to honor and worship God as the only creator by recognizing as real only His creation. In practice, the proof that there is no sin is attained only as one ceases to sin.

The Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, does not deny the judgment, as stated, but shows it to be a mental or spiritual awakening in human consciousness to more of truth, whereby human thoughts and acts are judged more truly according to their value in the line of spiritual progress. Again, there is no authority for the statement that Science and Health denies the existence of the Holy Spirit. A mere perusal of the book would reveal that Spirit is used as a synonym for God. Then the chapter dealing with the atonement fully explains this subject, and also shows that the atonement is not denied in Science and Health, as stated.

Christian Science teaches that God is the infinite Supreme Being, but not a personal being in any human sense. Science and Health recognizes the use of the word personal as applied to God in its higher but more uncommon meaning, and in this sense God is infinite Person. The statement, therefore, that Science and Health denies "that God is a personal being at all," gives a false impression. No reasons are given for the statements that Christian Science is antichristian or that it is blasphemous, and to call its teachings heresy only means that they depart from the opinions of their critic.

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Deity is properly a synonym of God. Divinity, as defined...
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