Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-11-16
AN ANSWER ON CHRISTIAN
.s....=&" SCIENCE.

i Honolulu, nov. Is, 1915.
Editor Honolulu Star-Builetin:
Sir: In your issue of November IL,
was letter signed "A Christian" |
| would be pleased il you would publish
a few corrections, for it isr plan that
the author has attempted to write
about Christian Science without troub-
ling to ascertain exactly what Christ
ian Science teaches, and why.
Even if it is claimed that the latter
part, of Mark 10 is spurious, both the
Old and New Testaments are full of
testimonies of healing by those who
! worshipped the true God In James
5:14, 10, it speaks of healing by pray
er; also gifts of healing are mentioned
in three verses of Cor. II. The fact
| that the prayers OF Christian Scient-
lists do heal the sick is beyond ques-
ton. And no one was ever healed in
Christian Science without beng puri-
! fled morally, for true prayer destroys
! sin, and the Bible says that the wages
of sin is DEATH" Not only did Jesus
Christ and his followers raise the
dead, but the Old Testament bears
witness to such happenings. Whether
| it has been done in the present day,
/ do not know, but Paul asked (Acts
2e:Sl, why should it be thought a
thing incredible with you, that God
should raise the dead?P If one were
given problem in mathematics, but
found himself unable to. work it out
correctly to the finish, he would not
blame the principle or mathematics,
hut rather his own lack of understand
ing. Truth never fails, though lack of
understanding in the demonstration
may make it seem so.
To say that Christian Science de-
MES that sin is God-created is perfect
ly true, for Christian Science is found
ed on the true knowledge of God. TO
quote John 17:3, And this life eter-
nal, that they might know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou has sent. To know God is to
know Him as divine, infinite life, truth,
love and spirit, the only cause and
creator of all that reaiIy exists. If In
finite Truth, God, created sin. SIN would
be eternal and indestrueti3ie, for no
part of Gods creation can ever be de-
stroyed. One of the tenets of Christ
ian Science reads as sfollows: We
acknowledge Gods forgiveness of sin
In the destruction Of sin and the. spir-
itual understanding that casts out evil
as unreal. But the belief in sin is
punished. so long aspthe belief lasts.
Science and Health, page 49,.
The writer Of the letter IN question
also confuses man with mankind In
the first and second chapters OF Gene
sis are two accounts Of creation. In
the first chapter is the record OF man |
made in the image and likeness of
God; in the second chapter is the rec
ord of man made of dust. AS these
two creations are ab9dlutely opposed
to each other, both can not be true. |
Christian Science accepts the first as
the real, God-made man, the second |
as a misconcept of man, the dream
man who has no reality, that is, who
is not God-made and therefore not |
eternal. Man made in the image and |
likeness of God certainly Is IN unity |
with God and must express His quail
ties and characteristics. Christian |
Science teaches that God Is not man
like, but that the real man is Godlike. |
l would like to quote the following
from a recent article along this line
which appeared in the Christian Sci
ence Monitor of November 1:
In Jesus day as, in our own men
knew well that what is called sin sep
arated them, in some way they did not
scientifically understand, from God
God they believed to be good and men
they knew to De eyilly inclined; and
instinctiyely they felt that good and
evil could never be reconciled The
Jews sacrificed sheep and oxen to
atone for the peoples sins; life had
to be sacrificed, blood had to be shed
to wash away the guilt! Behind the
Journalism, which of itself was noLii-
Ing, was the desire, the earnest desire.
to be pardoned for the evil which had
been done, the yeahling for that purity
which alone can feel itself at one with
God. The scapegoat as it rushed off
into the Wilderness never carried
single sin with it; but the flight typi.
fled how eagerly the higher conscious.
ness CT the Hebrew would have part.
ed with that which degraded him. Had
the Hebrew known what man really
clearly what certain members of his
race had caught glimpses of before
the coming Of Christ Jesus, his mate
rial symbolism would have fled nat
urally from the temple instead of hav.
ing to be scourged therefrom by the
Masters whip. But all that men know
of God and consequently of mans true
selfhood has been a gradual revela-