St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-07-29
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.

Every honest, intelligent person de-
sires to know the truth, bat many seem
to lack the faculty of discrimination
between truth and error; hence, the
advice of Paul to Timothy, to keep
that which was committed to his trust,
avoiding profane and vain babblings,
and OppOsitiOns of science falsely so
called.
Then, again, the semblance of cOun-
terfeit to the genuine is SO similar in
many respects, that much care must be
taken in detecting the true from the
false.
The Apostle John, cautions his
brethren to believe not every spirit,
but to try the spirits, or, prove them,
whether they are of God: because
many false prophets or teachers are
gone out into the world. 1t should be
our constant aim to prove all things
and hold fast that which is good so,
i'll the spirit of candOr, we would en-
deavOr to examine the claims, briefly,
of Christian Scientists, as set forth in
their own declaration of principles.
For the benefit of those who may
not be acquainted with this new de-
parture from evangelical teaching, we
would remark that Mrs. Mary Baker
Glover Eddy, the acknowledged leader
and spiritual head of this sect, togeth
er with her late husband, DIR. Asa q.
Eddy, were the first to formulate and
advance publicly those principles as
taught in their writings and school of
the prophets, in the Boston Metaphysi-
cal college, of which Mrs. Eddy is
president. We will now give a brief
summary of theology, as taught by
Christ scientists, or Christian scien-
fists, leaving the reader to draw his
own conclusions.
In the language of Christian science,
Good is Infinite mind, substance, spirit,
intelligence, soul, truth, love, princi-
pie, goodness. He is not personal
being, if by this epithet it is meant
that He lives in any one place or in
several places. There is but one sub
stance, viz: mind. God is Infinite
mind. All else is the idea, expression,
or reflection, of Infinite mind or spirit,
which from all eternity created every
thing, never to perish. Matter is only
a belief. In itself it is nothing. Him
self spirit, God can create only that
which is spiritual.
Out of the erroneous belief in matter,
proceed sin, sickness, and death, which
are distortions of ideas, which came
from God perfect, and must in reality
remain so forever. Men and women
are healed morally and physically, by
waking from their material delusiOns,
or dreams. So long as they are be-
levers i'm matter, and its so called life
and laws, men must be subject thereto;
but when they awake they will be in
Gods likeness as the Psalmist says.
Ps IL: I5."
The practical side of Christian sci
ence is when men learn how to treat
matter and conquer all its beliefs
then they can deal with it so effectual-
ly that their daily victories will be
such as the world calls miracles but
these events will be miraculous only to
those whose spiritual eyes are unOpen-
ed. According to Christian science,
there is no life in matter: no more in |
Il butterfly, than in a pebble no more
in an oyster, than IN its shell no
more in IL human being, than in a
cane held in the hand, or spectacles,
worn on the nose. In thus assum
ing the right of mind to rise SUI
perior to sin, sickness and death, and
planting itself practically in this spirit |
ual soil, Christian science claims to be |
in accord with Christianity; hence its
term, Christian.
1t also claims to be in accord with |
science, because science teaches that
every thing is in harmony with divine
law from which there can be no de-
parture. Listen again to the words of
one of the followers of Mrs. Eddy
"TimOthy learned Christianity of Paul, |
who had himself been taught, not by |
Christ in the flesh, but by the Apostles
and the spirit; yet Paul could work
more miracles than all the rest"
In like manner, Christian scientists
have learned, not directly of Jesus, but
of one who has leaned on the breast of
Infinite Mind, and as Jesus taught his
disciples, and they in tnrn taught
his disciples, and they in turn taught
others, so can Mrs. Eddy teach pupils,
to-day, the divine art of healing with
out doses, lancets, hygiene. or manip-
ulatiOn, and that the proficiency of
Christian scientists will only be limit
ed by their spiritual insensibility.
We notice wide difference between
the teaching of Paul and that of this
modern Apostle of the healing art.
While one exalts self, the other eXalts
Christ. One claims to have the heal
ing lpOwer, without Christ, the other
says, | can do all things through Christ
who strengthened me. Phil. 4; IL.
As representatives of separate classes,
one assumes divine prerOgatives, the
other looks to it's living Head, who
says,-All power is given unto me in
heaven, and in earth. Matt. %: Is.
Listen to the language of Christian
"If in a few hours | can re-
store to health and strength one who is
at deaths door, why should | not be-
lieve that men and women with
stronger understanding of the life
principle, can raise themselves, and
others from the dead"
1t is well for Christian science to
place the if, in this connection, for
while satan is very skilful in counter
feiting the work of God, as in the
days of Israers bondage in Egypt,
when the magicians came with their
services before the King and initiated,
by their deceptive arts, those miracles
by the power of God; a point
was reached, that could not be passed,
in the production of life.
In the performance of the lesser
Christ told His diciples, this
kind gOeth not out but by prayer, and
but Mrs. Eddy says, "La-
Dor is true prayer"
In her book entitled, Science and
Health, page 464, she says, "The dan
ger from audible prayer, is that it may
lead us into temptation, by causing us
to become involuntary hypOcrites in
desires which are not real.
Prayer is miscellaneous, if it leads
into false belief of divine forgiveness, 1
as no sin can be forgiven, only as it is
destroyed, hence sin is already de-