The clergyman whose remarks on Christian Science have...

Peter B. Biggins

Coronation (Alberta, Canada) Review

The clergyman whose remarks on Christian Science have been published in the Review tells us that his discourse was delivered in response to several inquiries concerning Christian Science. It is to be expected that a clergyman should be receiving inquiries of this sort; but it is rather unfortunate that he should give to sincere seekers for truth, information that is inaccurate, mistaken, and untrue.

He asks why Mrs. Eddy gave to Mr. Frye "her money and property, including her personal jewels and a hundred thousand dollar house on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston." The answer is simple. She did not. Mrs. Eddy left the bulk of her estate to The Mother Church in Boston. Mr. Frye received a bequest under her will. He was given the privilege of selecting some keepsakes or mementos up to the value of five hundred dollars. He was also given the privilege of occupying two furnished rooms in Mrs. Eddy's house at 385 Commonwealth Avenue, which is occupied by the First Reader of The Mother Church. Mrs. Eddy, as the active Leader of a world-wide religious movement, required many assistants to aid her in her work, and Mr. Frye was one of them. He was not a "liveried lackey," but a trusted helper.

Mrs. Eddy never was a spiritualistic medium, as the critic says. She was throughout her career consistently opposed to the teachings of spiritualism. She has devoted an entire chapter in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" to this subject, and therein makes clear that spiritualism is the polar opposite of Christian Science.

The clergyman misrepresents the teaching of Christian Science in regard to sin. It would be difficult to find, outside of the pages of the Bible, a sterner denunciation of sin in all its forms, than is to be found throughout Science and Health. The critic's assumption that murder, adultery, theft, and blasphemy are overlooked or justified in Christian Science, is erroneous. The effect of Christian Science is seen in the reformation of criminals, the cementing of home ties, the healing of all phases of sin as well as disease. Christian Science promotes chastity and purity. This again results in clearer thinking, broader vision, and good will toward men. Christian Science does not, as the critic says, deny mental development, but insures it in the most effectual manner.

Christian Science encourages reliance on the unseen realities of being, on those thinks which, as Paul tells us, are eternal. It therefore lessens one's dependence on material things,—on those things which are evident to the material senses. This does not mean, however, that Christian Science puts the bodily senses out of commission, as the critic mistakenly asserts. Christian Science does not do away with nor destroy useful human functions or faculties, but promotes their healthy action. Many people who have come to Christian Science with impaired sight and hearing, have had these faculties restored through Christian Science.

The critic errs when he hints that according to Christian Science doctors and nurses are "a lot of scoundrels." As Christian Scientist we respect the better class of physicians, while we do not agree with their system of healing. Mrs. Eddy's tribute to the work of Florence Nightingale, on page 385 of Science and Health, clearly indicates the respect she entertained for all worthy humanitarian efforts.

The critic says of Mrs. Eddy, "I can see no evidence in any of her works about the worship of God." If by this he means the details of the public religious services of The Christian Science church, he will find these outlined in the Manual of The Mother Church. Apparently he means this, since the worship of God in consecrated daily living is the one perpetual theme resounding throughout Science and Health and all of Mrs. Eddy's other writings. It is this kind of worship which, according to Christian Science, is of prime importance. "It is sad," Mrs. Eddy has written on page 40 of Science and Health, "that the phrase divine service has come so generally to mean public worship instead of daily deeds." In fact, Christian Science in its teaching and practice conforms to the standard presented by Christ Jesus in the fourth chapter of John's gospel, in these words: "The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him."

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