Article November 16, 1918 Issue

The series of articles against Christian Science which began...

Judge Clifford P. Smith

Jamaica (British West Indies) Times

The series of articles against Christian Science which began in the February number of The Diocesan Gazette are discreditable to the author, to the editor, and to whoever shares responsibility for them. They are neither fair nor truthful. They are calculated not to inform but to misinform, and to impose their enmity on persons who without having read them would approach Christian Science with open minds. The articles in question began with a note which addressed them to, or announced them as intended for, "unfortunate Christians who find themselves coming under the fascination which Christian Science appears to exercise over certain types of mind." The words here quoted are crafty; in effect, they say to persons becoming interested in Christian Science that it appeals only to queer people, and that it holds them by some subtle or inexplicable influence. The truth is that Christian Science appeals to intelligent people of all classes, and it satisfies them by the teaching and results of what is absolutely good. This fact has been attested by innumerable observers.

For instance, the Rev. Cyril Hepher, Canon of Winchester, as reported in the London Church Times of March 1, 1918, said: "Christian Science now has its disciples all over the country and in every class. To an age emerging from the materialism of the nineteenth century Christian Science brings the kindling conviction of the supremacy of Spirit over matter." Here Canon Hepher touches a vital fact; namely, that Christian Science appeals to people of all classes in the degree of their spirituality. It appeals to all people in proportion to their ability to recognize and to appreciate spiritual truth. Even a pamphlet issued against Christian Science by the Roman Catholic church bears unwilling witness that the "fold of Christian Science" is made up of "intelligent and sincere human endeavor," including "persons of acknowledged intellectual power and culture, men of eminence in the legal and educational professions, and men who are the avowed exponents of the very science which Christian Science tends to supplant." In short, Christian Scientists are people of all classes; they are notably intelligent, and they adhere to their religion because it is at once spiritual and practical.

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The series of articles against Christian Science which began...

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