WHEN Mrs. Eddy affixed the name Christian Science to Christianity, she roused the world to the fact that there had never been, since the early Christian era, a frank acceptance of spiritual truth as definitely knowable, practically demonstrable, susceptible of proof. She squarely accepted the Scriptural challenge, "Faith without works is dead." The time had come for the fulfilment of Jesus' promise, "Ye shall know the truth."
The demur was made that to name Christianity Science, or demonstrable truth, was to reduce it to the realm of materialism. The demur was set aside, however, for the student of this Science, by the conclusive statement that only spiritual truth is worthy the name of Science, and capable of proof. Thus the horizon of human hope, the sense of man's dignity, was immeasurably expanded. Christian Science showed that man and nature can be accounted for, analyzed, explained, classified, only by a Science that refuses to recognize anything outside the perfection of divine Mind, Spirit. All approach to Truth from a basis of matter was made forever impossible for thoughtful students by the statements of Science.
As soon as this teaching began to gain ground, opinion had it that these ideas had already been set forth in idealistic philosophy from Plato's day down. Mrs. Eddy, it was said, must have gleaned her conviction from this source. Today, when new teachers voice this familiar idealism, the word not infrequently goes out that it is the same thing as Christian Science, arrived at by a different route. Even persons who think they understand Christian Science listen to this philosophy of the hour without discerning the wide gulf which divides it from Mrs. Eddy's teaching. The letter of it may seem to coincide in part with that of Science, but just here the warning, "The letter killeth," is especially pertinent. Those who know the route by which she arrived at her conclusions, understand that her destination must be different from that of those who are following the unaided human reason. Can any teacher of the new or old vague transcendentalism of philosophy say with Paul, "Ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God"?
