The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-11-27
III.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE HUMBUGs.
FIRST MEETING OF THE CANTER-
BURY ANT1-HUMBUG SOCIETY.
CONTINUED }

FIRST MEETING OF THE CANTER-
BURY ANT1-HUMBUG SOCIETY.
Continued
Well ! must say. and I guess about
everybody else I'm the room thought the
same. that that old coiored man had
moro downright philosophy underearth
his black cranum. than anybody In the
community had ever thought he pos
sessed
Some or the men folks tried to reason
with Mr.. Rhody so as to change his mind
about some things. but all they could sit
out OF the old man was:
II likes 10 git on dc ole Methodist train,
sah dats loaded down with faith and
real substance. sab. but | done stop an
waste no time on de kind OF gospel train
OATS burdened wild too much imagination.
No sab. No. sah!'
After they'd talked long enough. I got
up and says / had one more argument
that l wanted TO present TO the mcetin,'
which was this:
Now. the first Christian Science
Healer that I ever heard talk, tried to
convince me that there wasn't any
power in mandrake or paregoric. and this
man appeared to be dreadfuly wise and
toring business I'm the city OF New Bed
aord. suppose he started in there be-
r.ause he thought about all Of them In
that locality were in tho whaling busi-
ness, and would be more easily humbug-
ged than most folks who stay at home
and look into these things more. Well,
no matter: at any rate. he said IL was
only Imagination that gave medicine the
power that was claimed for It as a heal
ing medium.
federation spoke up when the doctor
was a trying to convince me OF his argu-
ment. and he says, says he. Mr.. Doc
tor. rather reckon II you will take four
or Ave tablespoonfuls OF Atwood's Bit
ters tSnight, or half dozen OF Or.
Schen,ks thunderauon pills you'll
change your mind on that point before
: SUM ise.' Says he. I reckon that them
biters will perform their duty. Chris-
tim Science or any other science TO the
. contrary Notwithstanding"
well. the doctor went on TO say that
II didn't make any difference what Toll
Grafton thought or any one thought. the
fact on ii was. 1t was nothing but imag-
nation. and then l spoke up and says:
How is II when you give medicine to
little child: now when a baby has got
cold or a fever the mother will give
II a. little aoonite or sweet spirits OF
nitre; that alays the fever. Now, I
would like to know what does IL, mag
nation or the medicineT
We'll. IL that doctor didn't declare
right of that II was nothing but imag-
ination;' that II had the same in..uence
upon the child through my mind as It
would upon my own body II had taken
the nitre myself. wholly Imagination in
both cases.
"wen, that struck me as pretty broad
and nonsensicaL but I kept on a talkin.'
Then I says, Now there Is old Rabbi
out in the barn, our horse that We have
driven for the last twenty years. Well.
occasionally he Is sick. and federation he
takes out the same kind Of medicine for
fever what we folks I'm the house take.
and the horse gifts better. How about
the mind influencing that case?
We'll. the doctor coughed and hem
med and hawed and scratched his head,
and when he opened his mouth he didn't
even use horse sense. for he said IL was
same as with the child. II was the mind
influence upon the disease that the horse
was suffering from and might Just as
well have thrown the aconite out the
back window.
Now, l don't know that that is what
Mrs. Eddy claims, nor other folks claim,
but know that il r. vN--that doctor
claimed and set himself 80 "a full
Htuk-u tuTiSlldl C'ltHllS' uthlN pusl-
ness at the same old stand every day In
the year for n more or less fair amount
OF remuneration.
Now. Ive no doubt there may bo some
good In Christian Science, but when | say
some I am mo-. magnifying that word
nor multiplying II very much. What We
want In this world is the truth. and
there isn't anything else that will stand
ss great while and carry ON ,1n a successful y,
Christian Science that is honest and beau
tiful will stand and endure forever. and I
am not on this earth To raise my hand
against II. and IL I did 'twouldn't do any
good, hut 7 calculate that there ism
more than one-tenth OF II that Is honest,
and the other nine-tenths needs sitting
down upon just as hard as we can sit.
and we want TO keep sitting after VIC
have got there.
while I want Ia have charity for the
defenders of the Christian Science notion,
yet ] don't suppose am To be blamed
for being a little Imaginative and doubt
ful. when such men as Mr.. Frederick w
Peabody. a prominent a member OF I'm, tn,
the 'one-tenth that is honest in this belief
comes from = system Of mind healing
based upon mental suggestion and moth
ing more and mind healing so called was
known and applied long before 1868. the
year when Mrs Eddy says she discovered
g. Upon a thesis which nobody denies.
that the mind influences the body. and
that certain diseases or forms OF diseases
may be adyantageously treated without
drugs. Mrs. Eddy has reared monstrous
superstructure of inpOsturc and hlas-
phemy As o. mere form ~ duackery IL
IL bad enough: ds basis OF religious be-
lief 81 is an appalling mockaIy.'
~ say now that after such opinions
az these. nobody can blame myself nor
anybody else FOR doing considerable
a .asHeHst-ef-ttaliet thinking in nguring out
the foolishness OF such religion all on
our own account, which I have done to
my satisfaction, and federation says
Amen to ~.
"The most remarkable business folly
that I know OF attached 20 Christlsn Sci
ence is the claim that the mumbers OF
the denomination derive their great
wealth good health and good cheer. and
othcr marvellous things. as n direct rcve'
lation from God. You would think "a
hear them talk. some " them. that the
Almighty was depending upon them 20
report to Him the material and spiritual
condition OF things uyun this earth, so
that He might know what 10 do about
them. We'll I don't try 10 dodge'any.
thirK thst cones straight toward me. but