The Portland daily press., 1899-05-27
Mrs. Eddy and the So
ciety She Formed.
What Scientists Say to the As
sertion They Do Injury.

| Inc 1OIioWlHS sthteiueup reSoEuihs s
Christian Science and Its attitude toward
the action of the New York Board OF
Heath is the result of interviews by Her
| aid reporters with Christian Scientists.
Their names are not given because they
carefully avoid controversy.
From the point of view of the Christian
Scientist the science OF healing is part
| of his religion; therefore. any attack on
or abr,dgement of this science of healing
| becomes obnoxious in double sense; first
| as an abridgement of his constitutional
| right to worship as he pleases, and, SEQ
ond. because 1t attacks that dearest AMI
tepderest thing to man-bis religious be-
| lief.
He regards sickness as sin, or the con.
sequence of sin, and he believes in obtain
| ing deliveranoe in the same way that ne
secures deliyerance from sin-by prayer.
II all this be a delusion, then 1t Is de.
lusion which is constantly obtaining new
believers and growing with rapidity
| which cannot fail to impress even the
most casual observer. Moreover, the be-
levers in this religion are not those who
would be selected as the victims of IL char
| latan. They constitute, as class, not
only wealth, but intelligence. 1t is esti-
mated that in this city alone there are
| Is, COO members, while the number Of
those who are investigating the truths
indicated in their text book would proba-
bly, number as many more.
In 1891, the Mother Church, magnifi-
cent structure located at the corner OF
\ Norway and Falmouth streets, was erect
| ed at a cost of about $500 600. Since that
time three branch churches have been
started, one in Cambridge, one in Rox-
| bury and one in Chelsea. The attend
ance at these three churches has been
drawn in the main from the Mother
| Church, yet so rapid is the growth OF the
Mother Church that IL Is crowded at
every service. It holds about 1900 persons
and there are few churches In Boston
that can show such uniformly large at
tendance.
One point in this connection Is worthy
of remark. The Christian Scientists do
not build their churches until they have
raised the money to pay for them. They
give no mortgages. and they depend for
thsir building funds upon the free-wili
offerings of themselves and such of their
friends as choose to contribute. Church
fairs and all such devices for raising
money for religious purposes they esohew.
The Mother Church in this city is the
''hub" about which the $50 other socie-
ties of this religion revolye throughout
the world. Boston Is generally consid'
cred the birthplace of this religion, but
it would be more exact to give Lynn that
credit. 1t was in Lynn in 1866 that Mrs.
Eddy conceived the idea which has at
,ained such remarkable fruition.
She had been treated by many physi-
cians and pronounced chronic sufferer.
She prayed and read her Bible. She
formed new conception Of what the
Bible really meant, and, applying that
conception to herself, she proceeded to
disprovs the opinion of the doctors by
getting we'll. The results of her prayer
and meditation she embodied in book
entitled "Scienoe and Health with Key
to the Scriptures" which she published.
1t is estimated that nearly 100000 copies
of this book have been distributed.
This is the Christian Science textbook.
1t is read in the churches every Sunday
in connection with the Bible. Those who
look casually into this book assert that
they cannot understand a page of it-that
it is a mass of unIneaning words. Those
who study it and believe in it declare
that it Is as clear as Revelation.
Mrs Eddy now resides at Pleasant
View, Concord, N. II. From her home
she conducts correspondence with
friends aud pupils in all parts of the
world. Various reports have been oircu-
lated about her during the past few years,
the one most prominently repeated being
to the effect that, although she claimed
to be we'll in health, and able to keep so
because of her application of the princi
pies of Christian Science, she was really
almost totally paralyzed These stories
lind their completest denials in two
facts-frst. her daily appearance driving
through the streets of Concord, and, sec-
ond, the prodigio us amount of work daily
done by her.
Her religion proclaims no revolution
airy doctrines, unless the part of 1t relat-
ing to healing the sick may be so consid.
cred. She proclaims the divinity of God
and the inspiration of the Bible. 10 the
latter she has applied special interpre-
tation. So far AS the principle of healing
Is concerned, she says that far from hav-
ing discovered something new, she Is
simply applying principle which dates