Article August 19, 1922 Issue

A correspondent, writing in your paper on Christian Science...

Cyril R. Hewson, Committee on Publication for Derbyshire, England,

Derby Daily Telegraph

A correspondent, writing in your paper on Christian Science, accepts God as the creator and ruler of the universe, which Christian Science takes as a fundamental premise. Here, however, comes the point of departure, for Christian Science, basing its premise upon the Scriptural statement that "God is a Spirit," or, to quote from a revised version, "God is Spirit," draws the only logical conclusion,—namely, that His creation must partake of the essential nature of the creator, and must therefore be spiritual instead of material. Matter and material phenomena, therefore, exist only in the mortal mind or the mind of mortals, and become healthy or diseased, harmonious or discordant, according to the beliefs inherent in this mind. The case quoted, where a woman who was paralyzed, but still in possession of her mental faculties, was pricked on the arm by her doctor, yet felt no pain, does not by any means disprove this position. Though in full possession of her other senses, the belief that her body was paralyzed would prevent her feeling any pain in the arm, just as surely as though a drug had been administered. The theory that God creates and uses matter is illogical; and the works of healing performed by Jesus, as well as by his apostles, were in direct violation of the most time-honored laws of matter. Jesus spoke of life as spiritual when he said, "The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Of course, the belief in the substantiality of matter is fast breaking down, even through physical research. Bishop Berkeley, Lord Kelvin, and, in our own day, Sir Oliver Lodge and Earl Balfour all declare that matter is not the substance which it has been considered to be, but merely mental phenomena; and the unreliability of the physical senses is becoming more and more apparent to every thinking person. A man's life, clearly, is governed by his concept of God; and, when instead of accepting all the evidence of the senses, he bases his thinking on the facts of creation as spiritual, the outcome of the one infinite God, good, then his thought, and consequently his living, become more spiritual, more Godlike, and the whole phenomena of his being likewise become more harmonious and healthy. Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits," and asked, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" Christian Science asks only to be judged by its effects upon the lives of its followers, and insists that every statement can be put to practical proof by any sincere and honest seeker.

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