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Show ABSURD CLAIMS Or CHRISTIAN SCIENCE Is Neither Christian Nor Scientific, But Abounds In Denials of the Teaching Teach-ing of Christ. (Key. Walter M. Drum, S. J., in Catholic World.) Mr. Eddy would make it. out that Christ reserved re-served for her far greater revelations than the apostles received. All the truths of faith were .not bv" anv. means made known to-thern- lo no-bod no-bod v did God quite fully reveal Christ s meaning, until Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian h.uenee. The contents of her "little book open are all new revelations. For nearly nineteen centuries we have been in darkness as to what Christ wished to su-. Did Christ come, then, as light to the world onlv to leave in darkness the souls of the world: lias his teaching been purposeless for nearly nineteen nine-teen centuries' Did he leave even his mother and his dearest friends ignorant of what he meant to say Did he send his band of chosen few throughout through-out the whole wide world only to spread gross ignorance igno-rance i Did he bid them teach all nations falsehood! false-hood! Did he lay it down as a law that they who believed such falsehood would be saved, and that thev who rejected it would be damned ( X.-1? seems to think so; for she claims that Christ kept Jiis meaning hidden away under words whose secret se-cret could not be unlocked save by the "Key to the Scriptures." which he led Mrs. Eddy to discover. More than that: this nineteenth century discoverer is still on the lookout for revelations. Her textbook text-book may grow in bulk so long as she lives; it is as adaptable as the Book of Mormon. ote well her attitude: 'As of old, I stand with sandals on and staff in hand, waiting for the watchword and the revelation of what, how, and whither. -o man of prudence and judgment can assent to all this as the teaching of Christ. Mrs Eddv rejects also Christ s teaching about the divine inspiration and consequent inerrancy ot the Old Testament. Christ gave hearty approval to the esteem in which the Jews held the holy, scriptures. With him these books clearly stood a far more than a merely human authority (John v '.'A); time and 'igain he quoted them as documents so reliable that it was utterly impossible their words should not be fulfilled. All of you shall be scandalized in nie this night. For it is written:. "T will strike the shepherd. andhe JWP flock shall be dispersed" (Matt xxyi 31). - Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished ac-complished which "were written by the , prophets concerning the son of man' (Luke iff ) .He quotes the Mosaic books as tl.eword ot God him-4lf him-4lf "Have vou not read that which was spoken by God saying to you: I am the God of Abraham! (Matt, xxii 31.) Yet God did not say these words to the Jews except by inspiring Moses, to write them (Exod. iii 6). It is precisely because God .peaks through the sacred writers; that Christ says the principles of the Mosaic code cannot be smirched with error, and will last so long as truth. -It is easier for heaven and earth to pa: than one title of the law to fall." (Luke xvi 1,; ,Vat . v IS) He promises rhis endurance ot the mun of the old law. in almost the very same words that he applies to the new; "Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.' (Matt, xxiv a3; Mark xiii, 31 ; Luke xxi 33.) But with Mrs- Fddy tlw Old Testament must vield to her discovery. The -statements ot the Mosaic- code must be pared down and twistea into shape with her preconceived notions of what they should have been. She does not hesitate to say that the Pentateuch is full of error. In this statement sho does not follow her usual course and fly away into safe obscurity of words, yords, words. Her rnnd is clear. The author ot the stop- ot the m-ikino of Kve has erred. "He falsity, error, ch-u-e's truth, God, with iuducing a hypnotic state in 'Adam in order to perform a surgical operation on him, and thereby to create woman. Beginning creation with darkness instead of light-materially rather than spiritually-error now simulates the crk of truth, mocking love, and declaring what ;rcat things error' hath -done." Evidently Mrs. ddv does not consider St. Paul "to bca Christian when he tells Timothy. "All scripture, inspired by God, is profitable to teach" t(H run. .in Jt)-- The third point of Mrs. Eddy's departure irom ! the teachings of Christ is the doctrine ot sin and ,11 its consequences. To Christ sin was a dreadful rt-.litv He knew that "by one man sm entered the world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men" (Bom. v 12); and again that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. vi 23). The real distinction between bodv and sort I in man was pointed out again , ,d .gain by Christ. He bade the apostles: 'iear v, not then, that kill the body, and are not able b kill the souP (Matt, x He urged them to handle his glorified body, to feel Us flh and bones, md be sure it was no spirit (Luke xxiv ,,9). He tai.oht the prevalence of the intection ot sin. its S pread effects. "If we say that we have : no . I i ' ; .n-sclves. and the truth is not in us (L John IS). Wc that arc sick have nee. of the physician not only of the. body (Matt. ix. 12), but especially of the soul. lChris't came as a great phys.ci an to cure our souls; "to save sinners" (1 Tim. i. U . "He had delivered de-livered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God" (Er.li v, 2). "He hath borne our infirmaties. He was wounded for our iniquities. He was bruised for our sins" (K -1). So completely- did He take to himself the flesh of Mnners- thaJ it P-ml sav -'Him. who knew no sin, lie (God) hihielnfor us" (II Cor. v .21) Surely Christ did not think sin an unreality, when Hr gave Him: self a redemption for all" (L Tim. u, 6) He did not redeem us from an unreality, but from j the curse of the law, being made a eure for us Gal. ... Hp stisfied for realities when He "bore in HWy upon a tree" Pet ii, ) of the cross. He merited for us real grace to save u, from real blemish of soul and real torment of i hell He suffered others to louI on Uim 83 a sin" tier (John ix. 24). to crucify Him as a malefactor. j Sot onlv did Christ merit for us the remission j of sin and satisfy fully for the punishment due us . V on account of our sins, but He left means of ap- j plying to ourselves His merits and satisfaction. Theseare the church and iU sacraments, prayer and j penace. It is not enough that Ho has suffered, and 1 merited grace and satisfied for sin; we, too. must J take up the cross and follow Him (Matt, xiv, 24). j We, too. muar. merit grace and satisfy for sin. He calls the sinner to penance (Matt, ix, 13), and says I that "there shall be joy in heaven upon on sinwr j that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just, who need not penance" (Luko xv, 7). To say that. I sin is unreal is to de-troy the trul'i and th whole j 1 purpose of the coming of Christ. Nothing on earth was more real to Christ than sin and its dreadful consequences. ' With Mrs. Eddy there no such thing as sin. Tt 1 the soul sinned,' she writes. 'it would bf immortal. Heeause the soul is immortal, it cannot sin." Pushing this lo its' logical conclusion, could a Kithier or more pernicious doctrine, be advanced? y If the soul cannot sin." and "man cannon depart from holiness." then there is no sin in theft, bla- , .' phemy. adultery. Mrs. Eddy says: "When he sins. man Inn -at assert there is no such thing as sm."' .1 Then the ten commandments are only delusion?. j Xot at all; Mr. Eddy respects two that, are real: "Thou shalt not use tobacco!" "Thou phalt not drink i strong drink ! In very truth Mrs. Eddy says right: I "The time for ihinkfrs has come." But alas, "How few think rightly of the thinking few, ! How many nover thing who think they do!" s Since sin is not a reality, there is no death of eiNher soul or body; there is no such thing as dis- , ease. "Disease is an impression originating in thn 1 c unconscious mortal mind, and becoming at length ' ? a coliscious belief that the body suffers." A man is just the same whether he go through the, delusion . of death or stay in the unreality called life. Mrs. Eddy tells us : "A man is the same even if he has j been guillotined." "As there is no death, so there i - is no other consequences of sin." How can he j know sin i "If God has any real knowledge of sin, 1 sickness and death, they must be eternal; since he is . . without beginning ot years or euu oL f days." " "Such terms' as divine sin and infinite sin- j ne'r arc unheard of contradictions absurdities. But would they be sheer nonsense, if God has, or can j have, a real knowledge of sin?" "Sin is nothing. a Temptations are nothing. Diseases do not spread. i Suffering is unreality." Why, then, did Christ become man. .He did not die: He did not take sin upon himself. He did not redeem us. "Christ never suffered on the cros-. ? but Jesus did." Mrs. Eddy advances the centurie- j old theory of Xestoriue, of a duel personality in our . Lord,-the seen and unseen, Jesus and the Christ. Christ is eternal. Jesus is mortal. "Jesus is man. jj not God." Was Christ God, according to Ah'. - Fddv It is difficult to say. At one time she says the Holv Ghost is Christ ; at another, the Holy , i Ghost is Christian Science. At any rate she admits no trinitv of persons in God. What about Jesus ? ' He was conceived spiritually," and therefore was j not the natural son of Mary. He only thought he j died. His suffering was but fancy. "Had wisdom 1 characterized all the sayings of Jesus. He would not have prophesied his own death "He did not die at all." D&es Scripture err, then, when it say ; that Jesus gave up His spirit? o; the Greek . . j word used bv the evangelist, means air. Jesus gav i up air" not His soul, and "was alive in the grave. ; Material sense erred about Him, until he was seen ; to ascend alive into heawen." . i Was there, then, no atonement, no merit or satisfaction sat-isfaction of Christ for sin? Xone at all; at least, j none such as Christ taught. "Jesua came to save sinner i e., to save from their false belief such as believe 'in the reality of the unreal." "The atone- i ment means at one-ioess with God." This curious hit of "etymology is as delicious as Mrs. Edda de- rivation of Adam from a dam, any obstruction m a e waterway. ' , t ! This at-one-ness clearly means that Christian , Science teaches neither satisfaction nor merit of f Christ; in fact, it does away with the whole order f of -race. "Christian Science is natural. The truo : science of -God and man is no more supernautral l than the science of numbers. As Christ; has not merited nor satisfied for our -ins He has left us no means of applying His . merits and satisfaction to ourselves. The sacra- ; ments, prayers, penance, and merit are ail un- j realities. . ' All the sacraments are delusions, evea mam- mony. Man and woman cannot have sexual intercourse; inter-course; for "gender is a characteristic, a quality of mortal mind, not of matter," and. "qualities of mortal mind" are qualities of nothing at all. Hence . God is not our Father, but our Father-Mother I The ; ideal propogation of the human race is seen in the , formation of eve by spirit. The birth of Jesus from - i a virgin bv spirit is next to this ideal propogation. Mr Eddv hopes the time will come when there will be no more marriage. "To abolish marriage at thi-j period, and maintain morality and generation would put ingenuity to ludricrous shifts; yet this is pos- ? siblo in science, although it is today problematic. The time cometh and now is for spiritual and external ex-ternal existence to be recognized m science. AU vs mind. Human procreation, birth, Mo and death arc subjective states of human, erring mmd. They are the phenomena of mortality, nothingness. (To be Continued.) |
