Article August 1, 1953 Issue

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE VERSUS SUPERSTITION

ETHEL KELLER OWEN

When the Apostle Paul visited the ancient city of Athens, Greece, on one of his missionary journeys, he found the religion of the people there to be superstitious, devoid of spiritual qualities which characterized the Christian faith he himself had embraced some years prior to this particular occasion.

In his memorable address on Mars Hill, Paul expressed deep concern for the spiritual welfare of the Athenians, summing up his observations in these fearless words (Acts 17:22, 23): "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." And then, seeking to uplift the thought of the throng gathered about him, he presented an entirely new and instructive concept of God, of His creation, His power, His allness, His nearness, convincing some of his hearers of the soundness of his doctrine.

Nearly nineteen centuries after the close of Paul's brilliant missionary career another brave Christian, Mary Baker Eddy, discerned the element of superstition in the religious teachings of her time and, like Paul, devoted her life to the deliverance of mankind from the emptiness of misguided worship.

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