In reply to Mrs. W. S. of Toledo, O., who puts in a plea for the old churches, I agree with her that they are a "preparatory school." They are the John the Baptist to lead us to the Christ. But when Christ comes and is recognized we look upon them as merely finger-posts pointing to Truth but not revealing it, although as a matter of fact the most of us come from so-called Orthodox churches. I see no reason why anyone who is spiritually minded enough to discern that Christian Science is the Truth, cannot demonstrate over self and advance in the Kingdom of Heaven regardless of what we were before knowing Christ. We must leave our old beliefs anyway.
We can put the whole jumble of man-made theories and speculations about God into one bundle, mark it error and then burn it. He that is least in this glorious Kingdom has more Truth than they all. Wouldn't it be wise to teach our neighbor that there is one God and that He is Omnipotent, rather than seem to endorse the belief of our Christian churches in many gods? W. G. asks, "Are the heathen ready for Christian Science before they have first the religion as taught by the missionaries?" Is it necessary to teach error, after Truth appears, as a preparative for receiving Truth?
How much better off is one who transfers his faith from a material God of stone to a material God of medicine? "Of two evils choose the least." For me it seems better to use my money for the advancement of the understanding that breaks the chains of material sense and makes us "free indeed" rather than to contribute to the "mission fund." Admitting that what missionaries teach is a benefit, is it not better to stop feeding to the "heathen" the fruit of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" and do all in our power to deliver our message of Truth to suffering humanity around us? In regard to church persecutions we can say "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
