The following article from the pen of the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy appeared in the Boston Herald, Sunday, December 2, 1900.
The Church Congress of the Episcopal Church, recently convened at Providence, R. I., smiled mildly on some features of Christian Science, but its arrangement of the programme for the discussion of the subject was unfortunate, in the interests of strict justice and fair play. The discussion was opened, first, with an address by Professor Theodore F. Seward of New York, author of "The Brotherhood of Christian Unity," and a member of the Episcopal Church, which was able, compact, courteous, and altogether logical and ample. It was a conscientious tribute from one whose heart is manifestly full of the love of Christ and love for his fellow-men; who has studied Christian Science from its spiritual standpoint, with a firm belief in Christ Jesus, his example, and his teachings; and who has aimed to get to the very bottom of his subject. It is reported that he was listened to with rapt attention, from its beginning to its close, by an audience of fifteen hundred persons. His opening of the discussion gave unlimited opportunity for unbridled criticism from those who followed him, without possible reply; and a lawyer, who referred to Christian Science in objectionable phrase made the argument against it, and made his exit from the Congress, substantially uncorrected and unrebuked.
As Christian Science is founded strictly on the life and teachings of Christ Jesus, it may be pertinent to ask why a doctor or a lawyer, who evidently has no aggressive faith in Jesus and his life labors for humanity, and who seldom reads a chapter from the Gospels and rarely enters a Christian house of worship, should be asked to address such a Congress on such a subject? Is it not obvious that the religious side of the question—its important and vital side—would be studiously ignored? Note the addresses of Dr. William M. Polk and Mr. W. A. Purrington, as reported in the Providence Journal, for a definite answer. Lawyer Leavitt's reply to unjust criticisms against the Christian Science text-book was a spiritual sunburst on the darkness.
