4 The Conservative *
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE , ITS STRENGTH
ANI > ITS WEAKNESS.
I > rcnclicil nt the St. Cloud Presbyterian
Church , Orange , N. T , l > y the Pastor ,
Rev. Cliiiiincey . Gooilrlch.
S. v:21 : : Prove all things ; hold fast
that which ! H good.
The cult of Christian Science has long
since developed beyond the point when
it conld be ignored as a harmless fad.
Already it has a history of thirty years ;
and of late there has been manifested
among its adherents the indubitable in
dication that as a religions movement it
has passed its initial stages namely ,
the disposition to divide into opposing
parties , the conservative and the liberal ,
the orthodox and the heterodox. Its so
cieties , or churches , in the United States
and Canada now number four hundred ,
its teachers and healers , five thousand ,
representing an actual membership , it is
claimed , of three hundred thousand.
Its growth in numbers from year to
year has been extraordinary and it is far
from giving signs of waning power.
The character of its adherents also is
such as demands respect. The new
teaching has of course attracted many
who were mere "faddists , " moved by
an Athenian curiosity for something
new , and many restless souls always
expectant of some easy panacea for the
ills of body and spirit. But among
avowed Christian Scientists there are
many of such intelligence and high pur
pose and beauty of character that we
cannot class them with the light-weights
who might easily be carried away with
the religious fashion of the moment.
The more one studies the movement ,
the more he is convinced that nothing
which is wholly a delusion or a fraud
could exhibit such vitality or attract the
men and women that it does. There
must bo in its teaching some truth
though it be but half a truth to give it
the power which it exerts over intelli
gent and earnest souls. No considera
tion , therefore , of Christian Science is
just or worthy which concerns itself
wholly with the exposure of its er
rors or the ridicule of some of its
palpable absurdities. Our method of
treating the matter should be rather to
discriminate the good , to stand ready to
appropriate whatever is helpful and
from that vantage point of sympathy to
judge , with less prejudice , its errors.
The Scriptural counsel is still applica
ble , "Prove all things ; hold fast that
which is good. "
In approaching the subject then in
this attitude with the inquiry first of
all as to what is true , what is good in
the teaching or practice of this new sys
tem , the attention is arrested by the
most obviously beneficent aspect of it as
a system of physical healing , and of
this I shall have something to say in a
moment. But I would remind you that ,
though from the first this has been the
most prominent aspect of the matter ,
theoretically and according to the teach
ing of the more discerning leaders in
the movement , it is not the primary as
pect. Christian Science is first of all a
religion , teaching of God and of man
and of their relation to one another.
Logically , therefore , the first fruitage
of the new faith is spiritual manifest
ing itself in character. And as a matter
of fact Christian Science , like some
of the other sects , tends to produce a
distinct type of character.
Before passing on to the more mooted
question of bodily healing , a word
should thus be said of the spiritual
graces most characteristic of this new
faith. It may be observed in passing
that if there are graces , there are also
blemishes , and we have many of us
doubtless suffered from that spiritual
conceit which in some of these religion
ists manifests itself in an irritating air
of superiority and condescension. Nev
ertheless , the normal product of this
teaching is in certain graces of which I
would name the two which seem to me
most commonly observable.
The first is a certain quietness and
serenity of opirit. This impresses us ,
when we meet it , by its contrast with
the prevailing temper of our Christian
life. Ours is a restless , anxious , fretted
age ; and even our Christianity has
caught something of this corroding
spirit. As a generation we are becom
ing increasingly aware of the defect and
are trying to remedy it. And we are
under a distinct obligation to Christian
Scientists in so far as their quiet and
sunny example emphasizes our need.
But does the teaching of Christian Sci
ence offer the only adequate basis for
such serenity of heart ? Because the ad
herents of the system happen to empha
size by their example a grace which is
today too generally neglected , shall we
forget all the ground that is offered for
its cultivation in our historic faith ?
You will bear me witness that not a few
times I have urged upon you from the
pulpit , repose of heart not merely as a
privilege , but as a Christian duty re
minding you how impressively , in His
Sermon on the Mount , Jesus associated
with the cardinal virtues this grace of
the unanxious mind recalling the great
legacy which he left his disciples of
peace such as the world could not give ,
and that benediction which echoes on
through the Apostolic writings , "peace ,
peace" the "peace of God" which
should "guard all hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. " And the record of the
Christian centuries brings before us
thousands of those whose lives , though
they knew nothing of this new teaching ,
were sweet and winsome with the seren
ity which the old Gospel gives.
Yes , we all need more repose of heart ,
and we thank those new religionists
whose example has reminded us of the
fact ; but we believe that the teaching
and grace of Christ , as we have of old
learned of Him , offer the sufficient
promise of attainment to these who
really crave the serenity of soul which
He urged.
And the other grace which I would
mention , as distinguishing certain of
the adherents of Christian Science is an
exceptionally vivid consciousness of the
divine. Though they may not think of
God as their personal Heavenly Father ,
yet to them the world is alive with spir
itual energy. At every moment they
are striving to be consciously in touch
with the divine. In many respects they
may seem to us sadly mistaken in their
conception of God and of their relation
to Him ; yet this is true , that in an age
which is painfully material , they offer
refreshing examples of men and women
who are in an impressive degree spirit
ually minded. Not only as a matter of
philosophical belief , but as a matter of
practical living they strive to make
spirit the great reality.
It is possible that to some Christians
who under the pressure of material in
terests have permitted themselves to
become unspiritual and earth-bound , the
example of such adherents of the new
faith has come with helpful suggestion.
But I would remind yon that Christian
Scientists can make no exclusive claim
to spiritual-mindedness. If we would
have an intenser consciousness of the
divine , we are not shut up to their doc
trine. Jesus of Nazereth who ever
lived in manifest communion with God ,
and who taught us to discern His pres
ence in the very field-flower at our feet ,
showed us this way long ago. It was
not a Christian Scientist who wrote :
"In Him we live and move and have
our being , " who assured us that to be
spiritually minded is life , " who urged
us to "walk in the spirit. " Nor when
Brother Lawrence in later years told of
the "practice of the presence of God , "
and led others into that life of sweet
communion , was it as the teacher of an
essentially different Christianity from
that which we to day know. Nor in
our own time did it require a Scientist ,
so-called , to write ,
"Closer la He than breathing ,
Nearer than hands and feet. "
No ! If we are reminded by the se
renity of heart or the intense spiritual
ity of some of the worthier adherents of
this "new way" of certain defects in the
Christian life of our time ; we are not
if we would remedy the defects limited
to the peculiar doctrines of the sect.
We are only prompted to look with
more earnestness to the Gospel as we
have received it , to learn there anew
those truths which through the centur
ies have blossomed forth again and
again in precisely the same graces of
character.
But I realize that for most of you it
has been another aspect of this matter
