MUCH of the criticism of Christian Science is due to a failure to discriminate between its Principle and the practice of its representatives. These are frequently confused in the thought of those who find fault with Christian Scientists, especially when something happens to call particular attention to the subject. While Christian Scientists have no desire to defend imperfection, and no willingness to justify incompetence, it is only fair to make a distinction between the idealism of Christian Science and the present capacity of its exponents to embody or express their ideals.
Jesus' statement, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," sometimes seems to be thought of as a statement of present possibility, but as generally understood, his words are a plea for future perfection. His appeal was addressed to mortals struggling with the same false sense of pleasure and pain in matter which assails humanity to-day. It may justly be described as a radical requirement, and to many it seems entirely at variance with the possibilities of human experience, and yet Christians will find it difficult indeed to believe that Jesus would have demanded of men that which he knew to be impossible of fulfilment, or have presented to them an utterly unattainable ideal. Christian Science explains the apparent contradiction by pointing out that Jesus was not hinting at the possibility of an ideal mortal, but that he referred to the perfectness of the divine nature, which is reflected in the spiritual man. It must not be forgotten, however, that nothing short of perfection can ever meet the demands of divine law.
Christian Science makes certain radical and advanced statements regarding the true man, his well being, the laws governing him, his origin and his continuity, all of which present a marked contrast to the present achievements of human existence. It must not be supposed that believers in Christian Science think for a moment these radical and advanced views can be made to displace popular notions at once, but Christian Scientists would be false to their teaching, false to their high ideals if they temporized with material beliefs or practised "timid conservatism" (Science and Health, p. 167). They understand, however, that they must progress out of the false into the true, and that while this progress will be slow or fast according to the willingness of the student to abandon the shadowy and mythical, nevertheless the law of development cannot be set aside. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
