Article August 29, 1970 Issue

Christian Science versus Escapism

JOYCE D. WETHE

"Stop the world, I want to get off!" These words from a recent play might well convey the sentiment of many faced with the frustrations of the modern world. Overwhelmed by the seeming magnitude of problems, some have sought relief in alcohol or drugs or philosophies of nihilism. Such tendencies are a warning that solutions must be found. Even when the problems of the day seem not to touch one personally, one cannot help feeling the need of genuine peace in a world beset by tragedy, war, and strife.

Christian Science comes as an answer to the many perplexing problems of this time. But because it denies the reality of evil or error, Christian Science, too, is thought by some to be a form of escapism. Actually, just the opposite is true. Christian Science does offer a means of escape from problems, but it accomplishes this not by ignoring or running from these problems but by facing them and solving them.

If one wished to escape from a problem in mathematics, the answer would lie not in throwing one's calculations in the wastebasket or leaving the room but in understanding the principle involved, in grasping the rules of mathematics and applying them to the problem until the solution is reached. In just this way Christian Science deals with the problems of today. It teaches that there is a Principle of life, which is God, divine Love, and that the laws expressing this Principle can be applied to our daily experience. This fact is comforting. It assures us that there is no problem that does not have an answer, and that this answer is available to us in the degree that we understand God.

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