ON page 17 of the Church Manual is found a statement of the purpose which actuated the first group of Christian Scientists, namely: "To organize a church designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing."
In view of this statement it is pertinent to inquire whether or not the Christian Science church has fulfilled its purpose, so clearly defined. Has it reinstated primitive Christianity? Has it reestablished the "lost element of healing"? These inquiries naturally lead to a third: What was primitive Christianity? To the last question there can be but one answer: Christianity as founded by Christ Jesus, the Christianity which embodies the words and works of Christ Jesus as recorded in the four gospels.
Not through dogmatic interpretation of the Master's teachings and ministry by an individual or a group, but only through the revelation of the spiritual import of his teachings, could primitive Christianity be restored. Many creeds and dogmas have sprung up, built upon interpretations of Jesus' teachings—human opinions regarding his life and precepts. Many volumes have been written about the religion of the Founder of Christianity; but few authors have essayed to set forth those teachings in their primal simplicity. That is to say, in the vast amount which has been written and spoken about Christianity, comparatively little, before the discovery of Christian Science, dealt directly with Jesus and his surpassing demonstration of his oneness with God, and with his teachings in their primitive meanings. A New York clergyman recently remarked, "There is the religion about Christ Jesus and there is the religion of Jesus." The religion of Jesus concerns his relationship with God and his way of living. On the other hand, the religion that has grown up about Jesus has to do with things that have been said of him, and with interpretations of his sayings. Between the two viewpoints there has developed a very wide chasm. The religion of Jesus deals with God, with the Christ, and with the real man's relation to God. Much of Christian religion as commonly set forth deals with statements about the Nazarene and with human interpretations of his sonship with God.
