The evening times., 1899-01-07
SATURDAY, JANUARY :, 1899.
Christian Science.

One
is that from time to time old ideas are
forever cropping up under new names.
Solomon found that out some centuries
ago. when he said that there was nothing
new under the sun. Modern pessimists
are now saving the same thing that Solo
mon said. with a mental reservation read
ing except ourselves But there are Ger
tain elements in human character and GER
tain laws of human existence which are
Interchangeable, and the only thing which
makes them seem new is language. Lam
guage clothes old ideas in novel fashion.
A particularly good example of the work
ings of this law is the thing called Chris
tan Science" Faith cure Of one sort or
another there has always been in the world,
since man came down out of the trees and
began to build fires II has more forms
than the Proteus OF Greek mythology.
There was a nervous disease in the Middle
Ages which was cured by the touch of the
kings hand; the patient believed he was
well, his mind was taken of his own tribu-
lations by the novel sight of royalty. and
he was cured 1t is Just barely possible
bring the patient within sight of the king
had something 10 do with it. People did lot
believe in ventilation in those days. But
2 part of the cure was certainly due TO
faith. There have been case hout num-
Der in which 4 sick person, Lder the in
fuence of some strong emotion-the house
being on fire, or some beloved object being
in danger-has risen up and walked, and
sometimes the cure has been permanent.
The sturdy pioneer, fighting untamed ma
lure and savage Indians, did not believe in
letting his children become subject to ner-
voHs disorders, and when a boy complained
Of being III. or a girl moved languidly
about, the father did not call the doctor
there was no doctor 10 be caHed-he said,
Come, come; you only think something
is the matter with you; get up and so to
work. Now, that was faith cure; but the
pioneer did not know it. Sometimes it
succeeded and sometimes not. 1t is to be
noticed, however, that the pioneer never
applied that treatment to a man with a
broken leg, or to smallpox, or to snakebite
He had the courage of his convictions. but
he also knew where to stop.
The present craze, which goes by the
name Of Christian Science" is precisely
this old notion carried TO an extreme, and
mixed up with as much humbug as il will
hold, and that is great deal. Reduced
10 its lowest terms the creed 10 which one
is asked TO subscribe is just this-that
nothing evil exists; disease is evil, there
fore disease does not exist: but-this is
where the inconsistency Of the whole bust
ness comes in-the healers do not carry
5heir theory one step farther and say
Money is the root of all evil; therefore
money does not exist. II the healer went
around curing people of their diseases for
nothing-carrying a yellow bowl after the
manner of the Hindu monk. and content
with mere food and shelter-it would not
only increase popular belief in his SINGER
ity, but il would immensely increase his
power of healing, according TO his own
theory. His patients would be filled with
faith, and all the rest would be easy But
he seems to require an income, just like
other people; and it is not an imaginary
income, either. 1t must be paid down in
good, green, American bills The Indian
medicine man is precisely on the same
footing. His people think he can heal
diseases by faith; and they make him the
chief parsonage in the tribe. And, like
the medicine man, the Christian Science"
healer is incompatible with high state of
civilization.