Article April 7, 1917 Issue

There are two conditions of thought demanded by the Bible...

Arthur E. Jennings

Stanley and Consett (England) Chronicle

There are two conditions of thought demanded by the Bible which one must fulfil before he can understand Christian Science. First, he must become as a little child,—"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." Second, he must become receptive in thought,—"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

After reading carefully what our critic has said, the position is this: He supports the beliefs of matter and the material method of healing. Christian Science supports the spiritual and the spiritual method of healing; therefore no accusation can stand against Christian Science. All his objections are traceable to his theological beliefs.

Christian Science is based upon the Scriptural teaching that God is Spirit; also that God made all that was made. The first chapter of Genesis plainly declares that what God made was "very good," from which follow the statements that our critic questions: "Life, God, omnipotent good, deny death, evil, sin, disease.—Disease, sin, evil, death, deny good, omnipotent God, Life" (Science and Health, p. 113). To deny evil is divine wisdom. Jesus said, "Resist the devil [and the word devil in the original means all evil,—sin, sickness, and death], and he will flee from you." We are told, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." An evil is certainly an enemy. If good does not deny evil, why do the Scriptures say, "The Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil"? The first step in destroying error is to deny it in thought. The word deny means to refuse to admit, and to declare to be untrue.

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