Article November 5, 1927 Issue

In his sermon, "Christian Science Jews—the Hasidim,"...

Ralph B. Textor, Committee on Publication for the State of Ohio,—Columbus

Ohio State Journal

In his sermon, "Christian Science Jews—the Hasidim," as reported in your recent issue, a rabbi made an attempt to show that the truths and fundamentals of Christian Science, the teachings of its Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, were not really her discovery but were voiced two centuries before and found expression in a Judaic sect in Europe called the Hasidim. Let us test the validity of this assumption by comparing some of the basic teachings of Hasidim with those of Christian Science. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1904 edition) gives religious pantheism as one of the two fundamental conceptions of Hasidim; and it quotes Pesht, the founder of that sect, as saying, "Man must always bear in mind that God is omnipresent and is always with him, that he is, so to speak, the most subtle matter everywhere diffused." Pantheism is defined by Webster as "the doctrine that the universe, taken or conceived of as a whole, is God; the doctrine that there is no God but the combined forces and laws which are manifested in the existing universe." How far this doctrine differs from Christian Science may be seen from Mrs. Eddy's remarks in her book "Christian Science versus Pantheism." She writes (p. 2), "At this period of enlightenment, a declaration from the pulpit that Christian Science is pantheism is anomalous to those who know whereof they speak—who know that Christian Science is Science, and therefore is neither hypothetical nor dogmatical, but demonstrable, and looms above the mists of pantheism higher than Mt. Ararat above the deluge."

The Jewish Encyclopedia gives, as the second theoretical conception upon which Hasidim is founded, the idea of communion between God and man, which, it states, "consists in the belief that between the world of deity and the world of humanity there is an unbroken intercourse;" also, that "it is true not only that the deity influences the acts of man, but also that man exerts an influence on the will and the mood of deity," and that "from this conception is derived... communion with God for the purpose of uniting with the source of life and of influencing it." Contrast with this the following by Mrs. Eddy in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 1): "The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,—a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love," and (ibid., p. 3): "He who is immutably right will do right without being reminded of His province. The wisdom of man is not sufficient to warrant him in advising God." As for the use of the term "Christian Science Jews," as reported, it should be stated that the Church of Christ, Scientist, does not enroll as members the members of other churches until their allegiance to these churches is dissolved. Christian Science does not approve of any divided loyalty.

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In his sermon, "Christian Science Jews—the Hasidim,"...

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