THE redemptive work that is being done by Christian Science in many public institutions is an activity which draws favorable comment from officials in those places. In penitentiaries and reformatories, through the ministrations of Christian Science, sin and disease are healed, hatred, sullenness, and despair are overcome, some social outcasts regain their self-respect; and, what is perhaps of chief importance, increasing numbers of men and women, boys and girls, when they leave those places of confinement are mentally equipped to withstand such evil influences as had caused their downfall. The moral awakening brought about by the utilization of the teachings of Christian Science has changed many an individual enslaved by sin into a self-respecting and useful citizen.
The reformation of a criminal is a grand accomplishment; but demonstration of the power of Christian Science in strengthening the morally weak, and so preventing them from drifting into crime, is grander still. Said a prison inmate to a Christian Science welfare worker: "I am here because the drink habit led me into bad company. Had I known before I got into this place what Christian Science has taught me since entering it, I would be a respected man today." His statement echoes the cry of many another held in duress.
Officially and otherwise, much thought is given to the problem of overcoming crime; and various methods are used in endeavoring to check it. Mostly, however, these savor of "the wisdom of this world." Usually, attempts are made to eliminate undesirable effects without first having a clear understanding of their so-called causes. These are always primarily mental. Although most people will admit that fear, selfishness, and pernicious environment are chief factors in wrongdoing, the status of these enemies to human weal, and the method by which they may be successfully combated, are not so generally understood. Christian Science strongly emphasizes the fact that fear, selfishness, and all phases of evil are unreal. It is of paramount importance to mankind that Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, has fully explained the unreality of evil in her textbook of Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and also that thousands of followers of her teachings are daily proving the truth of her statements.
