Article May 20, 1916 Issue

In reply to a letter in The Shetland Times, I would like to...

E. M. Ramsay—Lerwick, Shetland Isles

The Shetland Times,

In reply to a letter in The Shetland Times, I would like to state that the students of Christian Science have no wish to disturb those who are fully satisfied with their present understanding of the Scriptures, and who find the teachings of the church to which they belong satisfying alike to their heart and their reason. To such we would say as Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, ... for we be brethren." We are at-one with the other Protestant churches in our desire to adhere to the teaching of the Bible, at-one with the law our effort to rise above sin and live in accordance with the law of God, although we differ from them as to the means by which this may be accomplished.

The message of Christian Science is to the increasing number who are dissatisfied, to whom religion as they have been taught it seems vague, impractical; who are hungering for more light and longing for a "closer walk with God." To these Christian Science offers the full gospel. We use these words advisedly, for we maintain that there is no other Christian church which is founded on the recognition that Christ "is the savior of the body," as St. Paul says. Let any unprejudiced seeker after Truth study the gospel narrative with an open mind and he cannot fail to be impressed with two facts,—first, the large amount of time during the three short years of his public ministry which our Lord devoted to healing the sick; and second, his reiterated command to his followers to do the same, culminating in the remarkable statement recorded in the sixteenth chapter of St. Mark's gospel, which remains as a test of the true believer throughout the ages: "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; ... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Indeed in this connection I would draw attention to the reply which our Saviour made to his disciples when they asked him why they had failed to heal a case: "Because of your unbelief;" and he added, "This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." These words are most significant. Faith in the ordinarily accepted sense of the word the disciples certainly possessed; what was required was a deeper spiritual understanding, which they could attain by closer communion with God and by separating themselves more completely from things material. Is this injunction less binding on the Christian of today?

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