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Show Mrs. Eddy and Bob Ingersoll. Editor Intermountain Catholic: In your issue of Nov. 2, in discussing the merits of the little book entitled "Mrs. Eddy and Bob Ingersoll; or. Christian Science Tested," you s.iy "Christian Science is tested in the form of a. dialogue. and shows that the subject when pressed to its iogical conclusions is not only unscriptunl but a denial of all Christian principles." As a representative of the Chrlst. au Science denomination. I kindly ask space m your paper for a few of the fundamental statements of the Christian Chris-tian Science religion, which I trust may serve to correct the wrong impression which the readers of the Intermountain Catholic would necessarily get from the. above statement. In the authorized text book of Christian Chris-tian Science, "Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," by Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, page 4!I3. you may find the "tenets" of the Christian Science church, six in number. The first is as follows: "As adherents of Truth, we take the Scriptures for our guide to eternal Life. Second: We acknowledge and adore one Supreme Infinite God. We acknowledge one Christ, the Holy Ghost, and man as the Divine image and likeness. Sixth: We solemnly promi-e to strive, watch and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also I in Christ Jesus, to love one another. I and to be meek, merciful, just and pure." On page 2'.'i of the same book you may read: "God is what the Scriptures declare Him to be Life, Truth, Love. God is Spirit, and Spirit is Divine principle." prin-ciple." Jesus said, John iv., 24: "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." And John viii., 32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." From the above you can readily see that Christian Science Sci-ence is Scriptural. Christian Science, in a greater degree possibly than any other religion in the world today, is striving to carry out all the commands of our blessed master. mas-ter. Jesus the Christ, and is not only preaching the gospel, but healing the sick and raising the dead, (dead in trespasses and sins), to newness of life in Christ. Teaching love for God and man, as the incentive to every act. Is this not Christian? It is anparent to the Christian Science Sci-ence student that the Rev. C. Van Der Donckt does not "know the truth" concerning con-cerning "Christian Science." nor the grandeur of the work the beloved leader lead-er of the Christian Science movement in doing for suffering humanity, or he would not be wasting his time trying to liken Mrs. Eddv to Bob Ingersoll. M. H. LINCICOME. THE WRITER of the above presumably pre-sumably has not read Rev. C. ' j Van Der Donckt's little work. In 1 it he quotes from Mrs. Eddy's "Science I and Health, with Key to the Scrip- lures." in extenso and shows very j clearly the authoress to 'be at variance with the teaching of the Scriptures; also in conformity with Ingersoll's materialistic ideas. To show that the contradictions are not apparent but real contradictions, Rev. Van Der Donckt quotes from Science Sci-ence and Health, page 492: "We have no religious creed, if we accept the term as doctrinal beliefs." And yet. in the next line, she does say: "The fol- lowing is a brief exposition of the im-iwrtant im-iwrtant points or religious tenets of Christian science." Is that not a plain Vontradiction? She disclaims doctrinal doc-trinal beliefs, but sets forth religious tenets (Rev. Van Der Donckt's book, ! page 13). 1 Showing a conflict with the Bible, the author quotes from Mrs. Eddy's work regarding the medical fraternity; "Mortal medicine substitutes drugs for the power of God, even the might of mind to heal the body. Science di- j vests material drugs of their imaginary power and clothes spirit with supremacy. su-premacy. Mortals entreat God to restore the sick to health, and forthwith forth-with shut out the aid of the spirit by using material means, thus working against themselves and their prayers and denying man's God-given ability to demonstrate Mind's sacred power" j (S. and H.. page 73). Again, quoting from the same work Mrs. Eddy's opinion opin-ion of the physicians, we find the same not very exalted: "Where there are fewer doctors and less thought is given to sanitary subjects, there will be better constitutions and less disease" dis-ease" (S. and H.). That the above contradicts con-tradicts the Bible Rev. Van Der Donckt shows by quoting first from Ecclesiastes xxx., viii.: "Honor "Hon-or the physician for the need thou hast of him, for the Most High hath created him. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head and in the sight of great men he shall be praised." Coming down to the time of the Savior of the world, the author quotes the words of the Savior: "They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill (Matthew ix., 12). In "Science and Health" we read: "Mortal medicine substitutes drugs for ! the liower of God" (page 75). In the ' Scriptures we read: "The Most High, hath created medicines out of the J earth, and a wise man will not abhor i them." (Ecclesiastes xxxviii, 4). j Many similar quotations from ' "Science and Health " unH tha c. ! Scriptures are given by Rev. Van Der Donckt in his little book, showing the contradictions that exist between Christian Science and the Scriptures. The author also shows the conformity conform-ity between Mrs. Eddy's teaching and J that of Colonel Ingersoll. First, in regard re-gard to the Trinity, Ingersoll says: "If we had been born in India we would have believed in a God with three heads. Now we believe in three Gods w ith one head." ("Mistakes of Moses.") Mrs. Eddy writes "The Eternal Elohim plural does not Imply three persons in one. It relates to trinity of Life. Truth, Love." ("Science ("Sci-ence and Health," page 50S.) There is the same conformity between Mr. Ingersoll and Mrs. Eddy in their doctrine doc-trine of creation. Said Ingersoll: "The statement that in the beginning God created heaven and earth, I cannot accept. To conceive con-ceive of matter without force, or of force without matter, or of a time when neither existed, or of a being who existed for an eternity without either, and who out of notHing created both, i3 to me utterly impossible." "Mistakes "Mis-takes of Moses.") Said Mrs. Eddy: "If mind is first, it cannot produce its opposite, matter. If matter is first, it cannot produce mind. Like produces like. In natural history the bird is not the product of a beast. All must be mind, or else all must be matter. Neither can produce the other." "("Science and Health," page 54S.) j Again: "The universe, according to my idea, is, always was, and will be. i It is the one eternal being." ("Mis- J takes of Moses.") "Christian Science reveals that the universe, inclusive of man. is as eternal as God." ("Science and Health," page 546.) In the dialogue Rev. Van Der Donckt gives many other texts from Mr. Ingersoll's In-gersoll's and Mrs. Eddy's works which show a conformity of doctrine. To these we will refer our critic who avers "that the Rev. C. Van Der Donckt does not 'know the truth' concerning con-cerning Christian Science, nor the I grandeur of the work the beloved lead-! lead-! er of the Christian Science movement is doing for humanity, or he would not be wasting his time trying to liken Mrs. Eddy to Bob Ingersoll." The pages of Rev. Van ' Der Donckt's book show that he has made a very exhaustive study of Mrs. Eddy's "Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures." Christian Science, like all religious errors, originates in the Scriptures, which it falsifies, misapprehends and misapplies. It is "no waste of time" to combat error, which is never harmless, harm-less, any more than poison, though its antidote with a skillful physician may be at hand. The popularity of Christian Chris-tian Science is due to the fact that it appeals to the Bible for temporal happiness, hap-piness, redress for physical ailments, and Indulges in vague generalities regarding re-garding the future. It is not put forth as a system of unmixed falsehood. Hence the currency it has gained is by virtue of the truth it mixes with its fundamental errors. Error is often stated in few words, and in a popular form, as may be witnessed in the writings writ-ings of Colonel Ingersoll, whose thoughts are clothed with a brilliant and captivating rairoent. In a large volume of several hundred hun-dred pages, like "Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures," it is no easy task to unravel the web of sophistry so-phistry and pick out Mrs. Eddy's tangled tan-gled yarn or separate what Is true from .what is false. . Our correspondent, correspond-ent, having adopted .the error and committed himself to it, is unwilling to listen to anything which may be urged against it. The brief reference in our columns to Rev. Van Der Donckt's publication pub-lication must have disturbed the tranquility tran-quility of his mind, if not his conviction, convic-tion, which, too, would be affected if he read the book. Let him follow the example of the reverend gentleman by I reading both sides of the question, even j though it should mortify his pride, for I only then will he be able to give an I intelligent opinion on the merits of I the work, and point out wherein he I erred, and "did not know the truth." |