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⇉ Handshift:Calvin C. HillThis is very valuable containing Mrs Eddys own corrections
DEFENCE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
BY
PRESIDENT OF MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE.
BOSTON, 571 COLUMBUS AVENUE:
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
1885.
⇉ Handshift:Frances Thompson HillHandwriting on the cover of Defence of Christian Science by Mary Baker G. Eddy – is F, T,, H my husband's handwriting-
June 4, 1953
Athol, Massachusetts.
DEFENCE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
SCIENCE AND HEALTH.
WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
Price $3.00Editorial Note: $3.00 in 1885 is the equivalent of $79.07 in 2019.. By mail, 17 cts.Editorial Note: $0.17 in 1885 is the equivalent of $4.48 in 2019. extra.
The only known work containing a correct and complete statement of the SCIENCE OF METAPHYSICAL HEALINGEditorial Note: Christian Science, its principle and practice.
For sale at
THE MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE,
571 COLUMBUS AVENUE, BOSTON.
The Christian Science Journal.
An independent Family Paper to promote health and good morals. Gives the practical workings of Mental Healing. All invalids should have it. Address
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL,
571 COLUMBUS AVENUE, BOSTON.
DEFENCE
OF
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
BY
PRESIDENT OF MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE.
BOSTON, 571 COLUMBUS AVENUE:
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
1885.
Copyright, 1885,
University Press:
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
DEFENCE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
IN your public letter anathematizing Christian Science and its textbookAs Written:text-book, "Science and Health,"Editorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy you assail the religious views and life of members of your own and of other evangelical churches, the Pastor the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, and insult the sacred opinions of more than a hundred thousand readers of this book.
At an early age, I united with a Congregationalist church, at Tilton, New HampshireAs Written:N. H., of which I have been a member in good standing over thirty years. Before leaving my native stateEditorial Note: New Hampshire, I communicated to my pastor the new and more spiritualized sense I entertain of the power of Christianity, its cause and effect, requested a letter of dismission from my church, gave the Pastor my published works to examine before granting it, and received the following reply:—
JAN. 13th 1875.
THIS CERTIFIES that Mrs. Mary M. Glover is a member of this Church in good and regular standing. At her own request, she is dismissed from this and recommended to any evangelical church in LynnEditorial Note: Lynn, Massachusetts.
When received there her particular connection with us will cease.
Pastor of CongregationalAs Written:Cong'l Church, Tilton, New HampshireAs Written:N. H.
[The initial M.Editorial Note: Morse was dropped at my last marriage, to retain my maiden nameEditorial Note: Baker.]
The discipline of the Congregational church is taken from the 18th chapter of Matthew, "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone," etc.Matt 18:15 ¶Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. When Rev. Joseph Cook was pastor of a church in Lynn, and it was alleged he was breaking up the society, and he resigned his pastorate, there followed him scathing newspaper articles. I then ventured a woman's protest against too summary condemnation among Christians.
Again I call public attention to this usage. Only a day before the meaningless farce of examining my booksEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the aforesaid gentleman called on a student of mine, borrowed "Science and Health,"Editorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy but took no heed of the earnest request that he have an interview with the author, and give her opportunity to explain this text-bookEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that she is teaching to others, before expressing his opinion pro or con. But a glance at a scientific work that some of the grandest minds in Boston and throughout the Union are studying, was alone granted, before the Ban on the following forenoon, and the cat's play with the mouse was over. Are such the footsteps of the shepherd, in accord with Church discipline, or Christian sentiment? Do they meet the demand of Christ, "As ye would that others should do unto you, do ye even so"Matt 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. ?
The ApostleEditorial Note: The author of the gospel of Mark. Mainstream contemporary New Testament scholars maintain that the actual author of this gospel is unknown. says, they shall speak with "new tongues" who lay hands on the sick and they recoverMark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. . One look at the pages of "Science and Health,"Editorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy whose phraseology is difficult, for it must state metaphysics in physical terms and then be understood metaphysically — and this look uninspired, but not unprejudiced, is insufficient for the claims of justice in reviewing a work of that kind, and dead to the demands of Christian charity.
Christian Science is interpreted spiritually: until thus discerned it should not be judged. To have fair play, I offer Clergymen gratuitous instruction; if they give me this chance, I will guarantee they shall understand Christian Science sufficiently to demonstrate it conclusively by healing the sick. Of this unmerited aim at the heart of Christian healing, let us charitably say they "know not what they do;"Luke 23:34 ¶Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. but it has awakened keen comment and condemnation.
The following is quoted from Rev. A. J. Gordon's letterEditorial Note: Gordon’s letter was read by Cook to his Tremont Temple audience three weeks before Eddy’s reply on March 16, 1885., read in Tremont Temple and applauded by Joseph Cook: –
"I believe Christian Science to be of precisely the same lineage as Spiritualism or Theosophy — from beneath, and not from above. One has only to open the published volumesEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy of its lady apostle in this cityEditorial Note: Boston, Massachusetts to find such a creed of pantheism and blasphemy as has been rarely compounded. No personal Deity, no personal devil, no personal man, no forgiveness of sin, no such thing as sin, no sacrificial atonement, no intercessory prayer, and so far as I can learn, its ministry to the bodies and souls of the afflicted has for its ends their conversion to this creed. Let Christians beware of the systemEditorial Note: Christian Science."
1st. To the charge, "One has only to open the published volumes," to find such a creed of pantheism and blasphemy as has been rarely compounded , I reply: To open our book was all that this wise functionary could have done and arrived at his conclusions. He demands the right to explain creeds, or the idea of three persons in one person would be in fact blasphemy, a heathen conception of Deity! But he would he consent to my being heard, in explanation ?
2d. Christian Science is "Spiritualism, or Theosophy," : There is not a Christian Scientist in the world who is a Spiritualist, or can be made one after his enlightenment by the word of TruthII Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Dr. Gordon's and that Mr. Cook's churches have scores of members who are Spiritualists. From my textbookAs Written:text-book "Science and Health"Editorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy I quote the following: "The opinion that I must be a spiritualist, or medium, because I am not a materialist or creedist, I desire to correct. I never was a spiritualist, or medium , and never admitted that I was a .Editorial Note: See Science and Health (6th edition, vol. 2), p. 167. I have been called that by Spiritualists; they call most people so. Mediumship is either a fraud or a delusion; it is neither science nor truth. If the so-called medium understood even in part the science of being, he could no longer produce the manifestations said to originate with the departed."Editorial Note: See Science and Health (6th edition, vol. 2), p. 4.
In a lecture delivered in Boston, Rev. Joseph Cook declared in favor of Spiritualism, and ventilated his so-called rationalistic, mystic and Germanistic metaphysics to corroborate spiritualism which I deem a departure from the scriptures, that is irrational and superficial.
3d. To the accusation of "Pantheism" I reply, by quoting from my book statements prominent and sustained throughout my entire works: "The Science of Soul is this, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before MeEx 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ; love thy neighbor as thyselfMatt 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. .' Heathen mythology and scholastic theology would perpetuate the fallacy of intelligence in matter, and idolatry and ritualism have sprung from this false belief. The visible universe and material man are counterfeits of God's creation, the spiritual universe and man; mortal man has made a covenant with his eyes to belittle Deity with human conceptions. Materiality is an atom of dust thrown into the face of immensity, a flickering false sense, instead of the abiding fact of God's universe ."
4th. To the accusation of "blasphemy," Science and HealthEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy gives the lie in every line that is understood. Read the following : "Are you living right, approximating to Divine Love? Then your Life is being hid with Christ in GodCol 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. , and the harmony of Christian Science will unfold to you more and more until the perfect dayProv 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. ? — then our explanations will seem clearer, and your good works prove what the understanding of God does for man. Christianity demonstrates Christian Science in Truth and Love, without which we have not arrived at what that word includes."
5th. "No personal Deity," — the following from Science and HealthEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: "God is infinite; neither a limited Mind nor a limited body. 'God is Love,' and Love is Principle, not person. What the person of the infinite is I have no evidence to sustain a conclusion. The five personal senses have no cognizance of the infinite, finite sense is inadequate to . perceive Spirit
"We can have no personal sense of Deity, without limiting him. The term Principle seems distant and cold until it be found only another name for supreme Being, and we recognize the divine presence and power of this Being. We do this proportionately as we seek and find in divine scienceEditorial Note: Christian Science the truth of Life and the life of Truth, and demonstrate it. Omnipotence and omnipresence can be understood only as divine Principle. I cannot conceive of personal omnipotence or omnipresence, in the acceptation of an everywhere-present body, or that mind can start from limits and be limitless. The ScienceEditorial Note: Christian Science of omnipotence reveals an ever-present God, and avoids the common idolatry — faith in the power of matter drugs, hygiene, sin sickness and death When Deity is understood we shall find no power beside Him, and all power in Him."
6th. "No personal devil," : No man hath seen the person of good or the person of evil; both are bigger than human conceptions of person. [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.the Scriptures speak of more than one devil, we read "He cast out devils;"Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. again, "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? This defines devil, as evil, in mortal man. Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan;"Matt 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. but this meant not that he to whom Christ gave the keys of the kingdomMatt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matt 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. was a devil and we have no idea of seven persons being cast out of Mary MagdaleneMark 16:9 ¶Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. .
The most distinguished divines in Europe and America admit that the Scriptures have both a literal and moral meaning; but which is the most important, whereby to gain the true idea of either the literal or the moral sense of God, man, and devil? Divine Science presents a broader view of Deity than human personality , and it makes our human views proportionately more liberal and just. Deity is bigger in ScienceEditorial Note: Christian Science than in creeds, and not only a definite omnipotence and [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.intelligence, but practical power, [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.truth and [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.love.
Man is more when interpreted by scienceEditorial Note: Christian Science than is seen from the sensuous side and evil appears more and less; more, because the evil we once saw not we then see; and less, because as we destroy it we lose sight of it . St. Paul said, "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7th. "No personal man," : Man means more than person, if person is finite form even as [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.mind means more than matter, this is the survival of the fittest. Man is the image and likeness of GodGen 1:26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. , hence he is the representative of infinity; the infinite idea of Divine Mind but material man is not this representative. [*]Archival Note: A capitalization mark as been inserted here.man cannot lose his identity in scienceEditorial Note: Christian Science .
Bishop Foster said in a lecture delivered in Boston, "No man living hath yet seen man." When finite personality disappears who can say what personality becomes? I am not a spiritualist to venture assertion; perhaps Bro. Cook is. One thing is sure, finite person or mind is not man in the image and likeness of infinite personality or Mind.
Dr. Gordon said in his sermon, on The Ministry of Healing, "the forgiven soul in a sick body is not half a man." Does he declare it is "blasphemy" to infer that man is impersonal? What, then, of saying that a pardoned soul is but half a man! I shudder at such a thought.
8th. "No forgiveness of sin," : Jesus said "I am the Way the Truth and the Life."John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Truth forgive not error, but pursues it unrelentingly, until destroyed; and when it is destroyed, there is nothing left to forgive: God is good, and good will annihilate evil; in this sense only, it forgives it. The orthodox doctrine of the forgiveness of sin is my doctrine of the destruction of sin: our terms vary. But I must insist on the destruction of sin when God forgives it. The ApostleAs Written:Apstle John writes For this purpose the son of man was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The Psalmist said, "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases."Ps 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Ps 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Disease is not healed until it is extinct. Jesus healed sickness as he healed sin, his physical and mental healing were oneas he cast out devils (evils) and healed the sick. But how could he both cast out sin and forgive it ? Had he forgiven it in the sense generally employed it might have remained, and this very interpretation has retarded the Christianization of mortal man.
A magistrate can pardon a criminal, but that very pardon may encourage crime; it has not extinguished the motive for crime, or wiped out the crime which is the effect of that motive. Sin should suffer, since suffering destroys sin, hence the law of God "thou shalt die."
9th. "No such thing as sin," I reply: my meaning is misapprehended here as in all other instances alluded to. It is only on the basis of the opposite to that which is real, it being good, that I say evil is unreal; my faith is founded on reform, repentance; and this destroys sin according to divine law. To illustrate: I believe the unmerited public abuse that would stop the sale of a book healing its thousandsEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, or retard a cause healing the sick and promoting ChristianityEditorial Note: The cause of Christian Science., is evil; but I shall try, in Christian Science, to reduce this evil in my own mind, and the mind of others, to its common denominator, nothing, because it is not of God; and I shall go on to bless them that curse meMatt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; and "overcome evil with good."Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
10th. To the accusation "No sacrificial atonement," I reply: The earthly history of our LordEditorial Note: Jesus Christ was a sacrifice beyond tears or prayers to reward, or human power to appreciate, only as we drink of His cupMatt 20:20 ¶Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. Matt 20:21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. Matt 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. Matt 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. Mark 10:35 ¶And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. Mark 10:36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? Mark 10:37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. Mark 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? Mark 10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: Mark 10:40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. , suffer for righteousness' sakeMatt 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I Pet 3:13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? I Pet 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; , and are baptized with his baptism, cleansed by Truth, the purification of Spirit, and willing to give up a sense of mortal life, its mistaken claims of pleasure and pain, for the life of Christ, spiritual life.
The blood of Jesus speaketh better things than that of Abel.Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Gen 4:6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Gen 4:9 ¶And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? Gen 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. Gen 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; Gen 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Gen 4:13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Gen 4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. Gen 4:15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. Gen 4:16 ¶And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. The body and blood of Christ were not material offerings; the blood of Spirit never flowed from human veins. Jesus said, "Spirit hath not flesh and blood."Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
The sacrificial atonement by which Jesus' struggle and triumph pointed man his way out of sin, sickness, and death, is too great, too glorious to be comprehended only as we love the Father, and sacrifice human affections to the divine. Not to appease the wrath of Love, but to destroy the human sense of hate and sin, Jesus suffered and gave his body a sacrifice for mortals.
A human sense of love sees no farther than to die for a friend, but divine Love includes its enemies; and Love so great destroys hate, blessing itself in blessing its enemies. Any other than the spiritual signification of atonement removes its efficacy from Spirit to matter.
The merit of Jesus' atonement was increased instead of diminished, was more to me than to you, when I learned in Christian Science it revealed the way out of sickness and death, as well as sin.
11th. To the accusation "No intercessory prayer," I reply: Prayer is desire uttered or unexpressed. I have found inaudible prayer more efficient to heal than the audible. This prayer is not begging God to do more than He does, but calling on man to recognize what He does; this causes man to love Him more than merely asking for more love.
It is not asking universal Love to include us in His affections, but utilizing the Love and truth already ours. By this prayer we make new and scientific discoveries of what we have and the power of spiritual light to give forth His image; like the photographer who discovers the power of solar light to paint pictures.
Silent prayer, and none other, may meet the demand "pray without ceasing,"I Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing. and is the prayer of the righteousJames 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. that heals the sick. It is intercessory when effectual, and effectual if sincere. Words may belie desire and utter the hypocrite's prayer: the apostle says, "Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, to consume it on your lust."James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
12th. To that shocking counsel from such a source, "Let Christian beware of this systemEditorial Note: Christian Science," I reply: The apostles were persecuted and misrepresented by the church of their time; the gathering storm of ecclesiastical fury must burst before the full-orbedAs Written:full orbed significance of such lives could appear. Even Jesus said "For which of these works do ye stone me?"John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
There are sinners in all societies; I had hoped for one without them, but history repeats itself. Many are saying todayAs Written:to-day, "Have I not done wonderful works in thy name?"Matt 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? who have no part in Him; while others are doing His work.
But alas! for religion, when the watchmen sit in judgment on good works and condemn them, sending forth false alarms and slumbering themselves over Christ's command, "Heal the sick and cast out evil."Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. He that by turns is orthodox, heterodox, spiritualist and lunatic, is shattered in mind, whose praise is censure, and whose censure praise.
Did Dr. Gordon mean what he said in his sermon, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and it is done todayAs Written:to-day; and as the faith of the church increases and Christians more and more learn their duty to believe all things written in the Scriptures, will such manifestations of God's saving power increase among us"?
Let an unprejudiced mind compare the leading points of my abjured systemEditorial Note: Christian Science with Dr. Gordon's system of religion, understanding one as thoroughly as the other, and reason and conscience must decide for Christian Science.
His system requires three personal Gods to make one, and that one unable or unwilling to heal the sick, necessitating other gods for this department of human need.
According to his own words, a personal man with his soul forgiven and sick is but half a man. (If he understood forgiveness he would know man is not sick under such circumstances.)
His personal devil seems more omnipotent than his Deity; he has the balance of power, and it is not in all the vanity of his system in the name and for the sake of Christ to cast out this devil and heal the sick.
The God of my abjured systemEditorial Note: Christian Science is omnipotent, and it has but one God, and this One an ever-present help, able and ready to make whole all who come unto Him.
Man, after my systemEditorial Note: Christian Science, is every whit a man, healthy, holy, of the ElohimEditorial Note: God of His creation, coexistentAs Written:co-existent and coeternalAs Written:co-eternal with God.
The Satan of my system is being chained and engulfed in the bottomless, where evil has no resurrection and good is supreme.Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Christian Science has healed more intemperance, licentiousness, sin, and sickness within the past eighteen years, than was ever done by the united power of creeds.
13th. To the accusation "Its ministry of healing has for its ends conversion to this creed," I reply: It has no creed, and no system that importunes people to join our church; it leaves them to their own convictions. It has no system of begging money or men; and has earned the strong cry for it by benefiting mankind, and reclaiming sinners in the way of His appointing. Perhaps the above thrust was occasioned by a member of Dr. Gordon's church who came to me sick; my conversation, she said, helped her more than medicine had ever done. She was anxious to become my pupil. I took her on charity. It happened that I had a Sabbath lesson for the class. She refused to attend it saying she must go to her own church. I told her not one lesson could be lost if she wished to learn what I taught. She persisted, and stayed away from my Sunday lesson. Then I dismissed her from membership with the class. This person was a Spiritualist. I had done for her, according to her own admission, more than her clergyman or the "spirits" could do, yet her bigotry carried the question.
A distinguished clergyman came to be healed; he said, "I have great nervous exhaustion; have to eat beefsteakAs Written:beef-steak and drink strong coffee or tea to support me through my sermon." I replied, "If my toils are severe and unremitting, I look to Christ for rest and find it; the Truth of my being rebukes its error." A lady said to me yesterday, "Only he who knows all things can estimate the good your books have done humanity." A distinguished D. D. of Boston said: "Your bookEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy leavens my sermons." The following, from a letter postmarkedAs Written:post-marked Philadelphia, represents others of which I am daily in receipt: "Your books are binding up the broken-hearted, preaching deliverance to the captiveIsa 61:1 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; , convicting the infidel, alarming the hypocrite, and quickening the Christian." Are these the fruits of blasphemy? Does the same fountain send forth sweet and bitter water?James 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Protestantism in Queen Elizabeth's time consigned its victims to the dungeon and stake; it choked the very channels of God; it denied the rights of conscience, and the ecclesiastical paw muzzled the mouth lisping God's praise.
But the heretics of yesterday are todayAs Written:to-day acknowledged martyrs. Jesus said, "I thank thee, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes."Matt 11:25 ¶At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Luke 10:21 ¶In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. May such Christianity come to this age. Without charity we are as sounding brass;I Cor 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. charity "suffereth long and is kind, doth not behave itself unseemly, thinketh no evil, but rejoiceth in the Truth."I Cor 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, I Cor 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; I Cor 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
The combined efforts at this hour of the materialistic portion of the pulpit and press, to retard by misrepresentation the stately goings of Christian Science, are giving it new impetus and energy, awakening the vox populi — directing more critical observation of its uplifting influence upon the health, morals and spirituality of man.
Their movements indicate fear and weakness, a physical and spiritual need that Christian Science should remove and the results become glorious. The conclusion cannot be pushed that woman has no rights that man is bound to respect. This is woman's hour in all the sweet amenities, charities, and reforms of todayAs Written:to-day. With my scores of letters daily filled with unmeasured thanks and praise, it is difficult to say which may be most mischievous to the human heart, the praise or the dispraise of mankind.
I have loved the Church and followed it, thinking it was following Christ; but if the pulpit will allow the people to go no further in this direction and reject Apostolic Christianity, seeking to stereotype infinite Truth, it is a thing to be thankful for that we can walk alone the straight and narrow wayMatt 7:13 ¶Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. , in the words of DouglasEditorial Note: Frederick Douglass, that "God with one is a majority."
It was the pulpit and press, clerical robes and prohibiting free speech, that cradled and covered the sin of the South, that most unmitigated system of crimes, American slavery; and it required the enlightenment of these through civil and religious reform to blot out that inhuman code. It was the Southern pulpit and press that influenced the people to wrench from man both human and divine rights to subserve the interests of wealth, religious caste, civil and political power. And the pulpit had to be purged of that sin by human gore, when the blood of Christ would have washed it away in Christian Science.
The cry of the colored slave had scarcely been heard and hushed when another sharp sound of oppression comes because of those who hold the children of Israel in bondage. Another form of inhumanity lifts its hydra head to forge anew the old fetters, to shackle conscience, stop free speech, slander, vilify, and invite its prey, then turn and refuse the victim a single vindication through the journals employed in this most unprecedented conspiracy.
A conflict more terrible than the battle of Gettysburg awaits the crouching wrong
that refuses to yield its prey to the peace of the desert, when a voice is heard crying
in the wilderness, the spiritual famine of this period, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which
shall prepare thy way before thee. Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight. Matt 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Jud
æa, Matt 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matt 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight. Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius C
æsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Jud
æa, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of
Ituræa and of the region of
Trachonitis, and
Lysanias the
tetrarch of
Abilene, Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of
Zacharias in the wilderness. Luke 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins; Luke 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Must history repeat itself, and religious intolerance, arrayed against the rights of man, again deluge the earth in blood? The question at issue with mankind is, Shall we have a spiritual Christianity and a spiritual healing, or a materialistic religion and healing? The advancing faith and hope of Christianity, the earnest seeking after practical truth that shall cast out error and heal the sickMatt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. , refuse to be ordered to the rear or laid upon the rack; they wisely demand for man his God-given heritage, human and divine rights, that his honest convictions and proofs of advancing truth be allowed due consideration, and treated not as pearls trampled uponMatt 7:6 ¶Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. .
My ancestors came from England and Scotland to America to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. they were distinguished in the early struggle of our country for civil and religious liberty they were among the time-honoredAs Written:time honored settlers of the State, of New Hampshire who planted the seed of pure and undefiled religionJames 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. before God and man. And shall not the children of the Puritans speak at this day in the words of St. Paul, "I was free born,"Acts 22:27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. Acts 22:28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. and may seek a higher inheritance, even the liberty of the sons of GodRom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. .
The charges against my views though false are natural, since they have grown out of misconceiving my meaning and ignorance of the scienceEditorial Note: Christian Science that I teach , and their own are unwillingness to be taught it, even gratuitously; But they should remember that if they did understand they could demonstrate this scienceEditorial Note: Christian Science, — healing the sick and sinner — hence the injustice of their misinterpretations.
Christian Science and mental healing
It is the "new tongue,"Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; the language of them "that lay hands on the sick and they recover,"Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. which they refuse to hear the spiritual interpretation of. For instance, the literal meaning of "lay hands on the sick" would be manipulation; its moral meaning, found in the "new tongue," is spiritual power, as in another Scripture — "His hand is not shortened that it cannot save."Isa 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Those familiar with my history who have known me all my life are more just and discriminatingAs Written:discrinating on this subject . I have professed Christianity for half a century, and calmly challenge the world to show a single departure in my writings from the highest ethics, and Christianity . Man has a nobler destiny on earth than has dawned in its full-orbed significance upon her sick-bound and sin-enslaved children. To unfold this upward tendency to health, greatness and goodness, I shall continue to labor and to waitEditorial Note: "Learn to labor and to wait." is the last line of Henry Wadsworth Longellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life.".
ADDENDA.
ARISTOTLE said, "What does a man gain by telling a lie? Answer not to be believed when he speaks the truth." If the simple falsehoods uttered about me were compounded, the mixture should be labelled thus: "Some peoples' mistaken views of Mrs. Eddy's text-bookEditorial Note: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy; and the malice aforethought of sinners."
That I take opium, that I am a spiritualist, a mesmerist, a "pantheist," an infidel or that my hourly life is prayerless, or not in strict obedience to the HebrewEx 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Ex 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Ex 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Ex 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Ex 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Ex 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Ex 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Ex 20:12 ¶Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Ex 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. Ex 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Ex 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. Ex 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Ex 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. decalogueEx 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Ex 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Ex 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Ex 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Ex 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Ex 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Ex 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Ex 20:12 ¶Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Ex 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. Ex 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Ex 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. Ex 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Ex 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. , is not more true than that I am dead. The St. Louis Democrat is alleged to have reported me dead, and to have said in my obituary that I died of poison, and had bequeathed my property to Susan Anthony!
The opium falsehood has this to it. Years ago when the mental malpractice of poisoning people began , to thwart that evil design, I experimented by taking some large doses of morphine to note the effect, but the drug had no effect upon me — perhaps the hour had struck, when "if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them."Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
well known The most devout members of evangelical churches will tell you that I am not a spiritualist, an infidel , or prayerless. those of my own household, know this and none remain in my house whose morals are questionable. I have neither purchased nor ordered a drug since my residence in Boston, and to my knowledge, not one has been sent to my house, unless it was to remove stains or insects