Christian unity "from a different angle of vision"

with contributions from Gerald Walton Paul

Last spring a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, published a lengthy feature on the teachings and practice of Christian Science. Excerpts from the article, written by a United Church minister, appeared in the Sentinel's "Second Thought" column on November 5, 1990.

As might be expected, Christian Scientists appreciated the article's informative depth and fair-mindedness. The Sentinel Editors felt that it pointed, also, to an enlightened sense of ecumenism, of mutual support and appreciation among Christians, a willingness to look more deeply at the substance, rather than popular stereotypes, of others' faith.

The openness of the article brought to mind Mary Baker Eddy's enduring gratitude for the spirituality, common sense, and humanity of the clergy of other faiths. Despite searing criticism that the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science endured from some ministers, this seemed only to deepen her appreciation for the Christian fortitude and broadmindedness of other clergymen. Of several Protestant ministers she had known, Mrs. Eddy wrote in her Message to The Mother Church for 1901: "Full of charity and good works, busy about their Master's business, they had no time or desire to defame their fellow-men. ... Their convictions were honest, and they lived them; and the sermons their lives preached caused me to love their doctrines."

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