Editorial April 7, 1917 Issue

[Reprinted from the Sentinel of Sept. 19, 1903, by request]

Unauthorized Literature

Archibald McLellan

Since the publication of the article, "The Integrity of Christian Science Literature," in our issue of Aug. 15 [see page 623 of this present issue], we have been given an opportunity to inspect three papers of the kind referred to. One purports to be notes taken in a class, another is said to be a copy of a letter to a student, and the third is a formula. The alleged notes are utterly repudiated by the teacher, the letter was found to be equally spurious, and the formula is, of course, in direct violation of the by-laws of The Mother Church. All three of the papers are faulty and misleading, and, if considered as attempts to elucidate Christian Science, must prove harmful to young students and inquirers who give heed to them; and yet we regret to say that inquiries which have been received since the publication of the article referred to indicate that in some instances there is a desire to cling to these papers which are "doubtful as to authorship or clearness of statement."

We feel under the necessity of again warning our readers against this class of unauthorized and faulty literature and against the subtle and specious manner in which it is circulated, for it is usually put forth as the production of some well known Christian Scientist, and in some instances the papers even purport to be copies of letters written by Mrs. Eddy.

That these papers are passed from hand to hand without sufficient inquiry as to whether their reputed authors stand sponsor for them, is an evidence of carelessness; but an even greater danger would seem to be that more or less change is inevitably made every time the papers are copied, and what may have been a correct presentation of Christian Science in the original is likely to become a doubtful or absolutely incorrect statement in the copy.

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