The mission of Christian Science is to bring a full salvation to mankind. It begins by enabling the individual to heal himself of sickness and sin and to realize his spiritual birthright of health and strong and noble character. It goes on to enable mankind to heal those false beliefs and practices which cause poverty, injustice, and war in the human community. It will eventually establish that perfect kingdom of God upon earth, governed by perfect laws, which John describes in the last chapters of Revelation as the holy city coming down from God out of heaven.
It was clearly to assist Christian Scientists in the great task of healing mankind of the false collective beliefs whose evil effects are so manifest in the world today, that Mrs. Eddy founded The Christian Science Monitor in 1908—an act which she regarded as of the highest importance, thus fulfilling her purpose "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind" (Miscellany, p. 353). Many years earlier she had launched the periodicals—The Christian Science Journal in 1883, and the Christian Science Sentinel in 1898. When the Monitor appeared, as named by her, she spoke of it as "our daily newspaper." Its general make-up as a regular daily newspaper, with little denominational about it save its name and a short religious article on the Home Forum page, is still as Mrs. Eddy originally approved.
Science and Health instructs us in the Science of Christianity. The Christian Science Monitor does not primarily instruct us in Christian Science. Its function, as a newspaper, is clearly to tell us what is going on in the world. It gives us accurate and complete news of international affairs, of wars and rumors of wars, as well as of progressive movements, such as the League of Nations or the abolition of slavery. It tells us fully about the domestic politics of the nations,of the struggles between Republicans and Democrats, Socialists and Conservatives, and about the policies and characters of outstanding public men and women. It gives us all necessary news of business, industry, and finance. It serves the need of the housewife by dealing with fashions,furniture,foodstuffs,and so forth. It gives much space to current art, music, and literature. It follows closely trends in education and developments in natural science. It has a Children's and a Young Folks' page, a page devoted to sport, and a page of good reading for the home. There is no aspect of current human thought or activity, with its hopes and fears, successes and failures, happiness and suffering, progress or calamity, good and evil, which it does not present to its reader.
