Article June 21, 1924 Issue

One glaring misstatement of the critic seems really inexcusable

William Charles Brookes, Committee on Publication for Midlothian, Scotland,—Edinburgh

Protestant Advocate

One glaring misstatement of the critic seems really inexcusable. He says the 1909 edition of Mrs. Eddy's book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" "has been carefully revised by the gang that now runs the business and omits many of the idiotic passages of the earlier editions." This statement has not one shred of truth in it. As a matter of fact, Science and Health from the first edition to the last is the work of Mrs. Eddy, and not a word of it has been altered since it was last revised by her. Sibyl Wilbur, in her "Life of Mary Baker Eddy," says that Mrs. Eddy was the "author of every word of the first edition" of Science and Health, "and every word, phrase, paragraph and chapter of the very last edition." The major portion of the article under review consists of some forty quotations from Science and Health torn from their contexts and consequently without meaning for readers knowing nothing of Christian Science. It is impossible to enter into an explanation of the topics dealt with in these quotations within the compass of a letter, but your readers can investigate the matter for themselves by borrowing a copy of Science and Health from any public library.

So far from its being true that Christian Science "regularly attacks the Bible," the first tenet of Christian Science, as set forth on page 497 of Science and Health, is: "As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life." Christian Science is Christian because it upholds the teachings of Christ Jesus in their entirety; it is Science because it is knowledge built upon demonstration. This critic affirms that Christian Science "denies the Personality of God; the Triune Personality; the Atonement; the real death of Christ; the Personality of the Holy Ghost." In Science and Health (p. 331) we read: "Life, Truth, and Love constitute the triune Person called God,—that is, the triply divine Principle, Love." And on page 497 the fourth tenet of Christian Science is given thus: "We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death." As to the "real death of Christ," Jesus himself provided the explanation in his words at the bedside of the daughter of Jairus, "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn."

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