Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-05-07
BY Rev. George H. Bennett.


phies. and the coming and going OF
1rany leaders in human thought. The
twentieth century has seen the advent
of a unique system of doctrine-physl
cal, metaphysical, and religious, called
by its founder, Christian Science
1t has heretofore been the method
of scientists and philosophers to OBJ
serve the facts of nature and of his
tory, and formulate laws and princi-
pies in harmony with the facts. Mrs.
Eddy, however, has departed from the
old-time method, and has given the
philosophical world something un-
heard of among the learned-she has
given to the elements of time and eter-
nifty, morals and physics, some new
and unheard-of definitions. Upon these
new definitions of the elements and
factors in the moral and physical
Kingdoms, Mrs. Eddy has formulated
her philosophy. Most of her defni-
tions are widely different from those
of modern scientists and metaphysi-
clans. This fact, however, is immater-
ial to Mrs Eddy. She proceeds to
build her system of philosophy upon
her definitions, just as though they are
true to fact; and then she faunts her
Tnake-believe system of philosophy be-
fore the world, just as though it We're
really true -....
Mrs. Eddy's doctrine of Christian
Science, at best, is but a make-be-
,f oh
herself seriously, she was laboring un-
der the delusion that she had made a
great discovery, and was destined to
found a new system of philosophy, to
revolutionize human thought. Her
definitions, and her reasonings, and
her conclusions all remind us of chill
dren at play. Children at play will
assume such names as Queen Victoria,
General Grant, Madam Patti and An
drew Carnegie. They will assume
their playhouse is a palace on the
Hudson and their clothes are royal
robes, bedecked with jewels. They
will assume ther soap boxes and
broom handles are automobiles and
steam yachts; and their crackers and
cheese are the luxuries of the million
aire. We are all familiar with such
child's play.
Mrs. Eddy's system of philosophy,
at best, is but child's play. 1t is not
in it's definitions true to fact or his
tory. Its reasonings are childish. It's
conclusions are absurd. 1t is only a
make believe philosophy. Look at
some of her definitions:
Matter has no life, hence it has no
real existence" (p5S4. The physi-
cist teaches in our schools that the
kingdom of matter in this world COM
prises rs chemical elements. These
elements have great variety of prop
critics. That they exist is demonstra-
table. The change in the form and con-
dition of iron, wrought by the appli-
cation of force to it, is a demonstra-
kion of the existence of the iron But
Mrs Eddy tells us matter has no ex-
istence because it has no life. This
is illogical and false. If she had said;
Matter has no life, hence it is in
ert," she would have stated a truth
recognized by the scientific world. The
five senses testify to our consciousness
that matter has real existence-and
only an ignorant or insane mind, mind
ever soberly denies the testimony of
the five senses-unless, perchance, for
humorous reasons. it is engaged in
make believe and child's play.
Man is given a peculiar position in
Mrs Eddy's philosophy. She says
tpage 1859 soul or spirit signifies
deity and nothing else. There is no
finite soul nor spirit" Here she de-
nies the personal being and entity of
the human soul ego. But do you eX-
ist? How may you know? Here is
the proof: II think, therefore, [ am.
You must exist before you can think.
Further, she says: Man is not God
and God is not man" (page 4S0). Now,
if there be no finite soul nor spirit,
and if man is not God and God is not
man, then what is man? Here is her
answer: Man is not matter, he is
not made up of blood, brain, bones,
and other material elements" And
here she contradicts Jesus, for He
said, That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the
spirit is spirit" So Jesus teaches that
man consists of both matter and spir-
II.
She completes her definition of man
by saying: Man is spiritual and per-
feet; and because he is spiritual and
perfect, he must be so understood in
Christian Science. Man is idea, the
image of love; he is not physique. He
is the compound idea of God, includ-
ing all right ideas; the generic term
for all that reflects Gods image and
likeness; the conscious identity of be-
ing as found in science, in which man
is the reflection of God, or mind, and
therefore is eternal; that which has no
separate mind from God" (page 475).
In all this verbosity Mrs. Eddy en-
deavors to tell us that man is not a
soul or spirit, but is only an idea. She
would have us believe man has no
soul or body, and mo separate mind
from God" And this is the authors
wonderful discovery. Mrs. Eddy
clearly contradicts the scriptures in all
this, for Genesis says, And the Lord
God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nos
trils the breath of life; and man be-
capoa a living soul"