Article January 3, 1970 Issue

From the Directors

A Statement on Pacifism

The Christian Science Board of Directors

The Church of Christ, Scientist, is deeply committed to the establishment of peace on earth and to unceasing search for pacific methods of settling national differences. It is not a pacifist church, however, as the term is applied to such religious bodies as the Quakers and the Mennonites. It does not enjoin on its members either support of or opposition to military action as an instrument of national policy.

This does not mean that it is indifferent to the moral issues of war and peace. Its Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany (p. 278), "War is in itself an evil, barbarous, devilish." But she indicates in related passages that it may sometimes be the lesser of two evils and that armaments may be necessary for the prevention of war and the preservation of peace.

Christian Scientists are expected to fulfill the duties of responsible citizenship either through accepting military service in combatant or noncombatant status, or through choosing the alternative civilian service provided for those whose conscience will not allow them to serve under arms. The church includes within its membership both professional military personnel and committed pacifists. While differing in their views of temporary means and necessities, all Christian Scientists are committed to the increasing establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth through prayer, spiritualization of thought, Christianization of motive, and elimination of those elements of the carnal mind which cause and constitute war. The healing of the nations is no less imperative a demand than the healing of individuals.

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