Article May 29, 1920 Issue

False Pride

ALEXANDER F. PRIMROSE

Sooner or later the earnest student of Christian Science comes up against what on careful and honest examination is seen to be a false sense of pride or fear of being laughed at. It is a question which every one has to face, and the forms in which it appears are without number. Christian Science is very welcome when it brings relief from sickness, dispels unhappiness, and removes religious doubts. It is, however, rather a different matter when it comes to giving up something which still seems desirable or which he thinks he will be laughed at for doing. This at any rate was the experience of one student.

After leaving school he had much the same experiences which a young fellow usually goes through. He took part in various sports, he joined the army, and, as was expected of him, he joined the church in which he had been brought up. He was, however, haunted by ill health and was rebellious at some of the theological doctrines of his church, such as that of predestination. Then he heard of Christian Science, and all this was changed. His chief desire then became to leave no stone unturned in order to learn more of this wonderful truth. He began attending the local Christian Science church and commenced studying the Lesson-Sermons regularly. But one Sunday morning something happened. While listening to the church notices being read by the First Reader, the thought came to him that, being just about nineteen, he could still attend the Christian Science Sunday school until he was twenty.

This thought he indignantly dismissed. Had he not finished with school and all that kind of thing? Had he not left home and gone out into the world? And how could one who had started on a professional career and was a soldier, possibly think of going into a Sunday school? Such were some of the arguments which seemed to justify his attitude. Then the thought came to him, Had not Mrs. Eddy some very sound reason for permitting pupils to be received in the Sunday school classes up to the age of twenty years? But he argued, "I have never been in a Sunday school in my life and I do not see why I should go into one now." Still he was not happy and he could not get rid of the thought that he ought to go into the Sunday school.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

False Pride

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access