Article September 1, 1917 Issue

Our critic states: "The Bible says, 'It is appointed unto...

Lloyd B. Coate

Kenton (Ohio) Democrat

Our critic states: "The Bible says, 'It is appointed unto men once to die' ; but Mrs. Eddy says, 'There is no death.'" (Science and Health, p. 331.) If this man understood Mrs. Eddy's writings he would know her statement refers to God's perfect, spiritual idea, even His own image and likeness, and not to mortal man. Those who ridicule the teaching of eternal life oppose the teaching of Jesus the Christ, for he was the greatest teacher and demonstrator of eternal life the world has ever known. Christian Scientists are striving to follow in his footsteps. The healing of hundreds of thousands of people of all manner of sickness and sin through Christian Science is proof that Christian Scientists are in a measure grasping the truth taught by Christ Jesus. Mrs. Eddy never boasted that she would not pass through "the valley of the shadow of death." She urged Christians to have faith in God. On page 43 of "Unity of Good" she says that it will require "time and immense spiritual growth" to triumph over death in the way Jesus taught and commanded.

The old hackneyed statement that Christian Science is neither Christian nor scientific avails nothing, for Christian Scientists are daily proving that it is Christian because it is Christlike, and that it is Science because its teachings are based upon demonstrable truth and are in full accord with the definitions of science given by lexicographers.

Our critic refers to a statement by Mrs. Eddy that "man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death" (Science and Health, p. 475), while the Bible says, "Christ died for our sins." The man referred to by Mrs. Eddy in this sentence is God's image and likeness, and not a sinful mortal. For a full explanation of Jesus and the Christ we would refer your readers to pages 332 to 334 of Science and Health. In speaking of "the Son's duality," Mrs. Eddy writes on page 334 : "This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and material, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest in flesh, continued until the Master's ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Our critic states: "The Bible says, 'It is appointed unto...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access