| 255GREAT HARM IS INFLIGTED
--------------
Christian Science as Practiced
Results in Very Serious
Things.
---------------
Mrs. Peattie Writes of a Belief and Practice
Which is Obsrading it-self Upon Notice.
-----------------
She Says Despite its Evil Results There is
a Germ of Immoral Truth in the
" Science."
-------------------
There has come into the religious life of Christendom, during the last few years, the peculiar demonstration known as Christian science. It is a philosophy which claim a unity for mind and matter, and for mind and spirt, and for spirit and God Sickness of the body is the indication of the sin of the spirt.
By cleansing one the other is cured. Heat, cold--all external affections--matter not to him whose spirit is fixed in its [dr?] unrecognizance of matter---who looks always of God.
Metaphysics are quite difficult enough to make comperhensible even when they deal with the simple and understood phenomena of the mind ; but when they deal with that. Whcih for convenience, may be termed supernatural, it is dfficult indeed, to understand them. The involutions and complexities of the Christain science metaphysics may well dismay even the most studious mind
But briefly, as the simple understand the laws of this teaching, spirit and matter are one--aprit is God---all is God. The Christian scientists refuss to recognize matter.
As the philosphy reads, It is pleasant, serene and pure. Whatever its points of differenatiation may be from the orthordox Christain teaching, it seems to be in general harmony, and to be rather an attempt to make practical the most absturse teaching of Christ. It also attempts to modernize the miracles. It believes in the casting out of devis, figuratively speaking and the making whole of the dissased body.
That is the theory. As to the practice----but what religion would like to be ludged by the practice of those who profess it? Making, then, all allowance for human weakness. and for the inability of common mortals to attain to their own ideals, the fact remains that by the insitence of believers in this Christ healing, upon those who do not believe, great harm is inflicted.
A few weeks ago a little girl in this city was stricken with diphtbera. Her mother was a Christain scientist and would call no physician. The poor little one grew worse. She begged to be allowed to remain in bed. She wanted care. She wept and said she was not able to play. The mother, infaturated with these amazing metaphysics, would listen to no reason. She told the child not to metion her illness, and assured her that pain was a delusion.
She drive the little one out of the house to play in the yard It was not that she was hard-hearted or that she did not love her little girl
It was merely that she compelted her-self to have the faith which would more mountains. But no mountain, so far as known, has ever been moved by faith.
And the little girl, who might have been saved if the mother had called medical assiatance, died, because that mother insited on persevering to the end in her belief. The poor child is dead. No faith of the mother's can restore her to life. And one wonders if she " refused to recognize" that pathetic bit of matter, the little cold body that had held the spirit of her child. No one knows where that spirit has gone. No one can be sure that there ever was a sprit.
We may believe it---most of us affirm it. But it is certain, The only thing about the child that as certain was the body, with its delicate functions--its movement, thought and beauty.
As one thinks of that helpless little thing, bound body and soul to obedience to its parent, in the pathctic way that childern are, depending on that parent's judgment for its very life, being denied what common humanity would have accorded to it, one is almost impelled to pronounce the whole belief as fraudulent, frantic and insane.
Yet, within all the folly and frenzy of this belief dwells a germ of immortal truth.
It is the simple truth that body reacts upon mind and mind upon body. It is the fact that aliments are frequently imaginary, and that a return of health to the mind means the recovery of the body. Whole nations have been afflicted with hysteria before now. Committees are the prey of a mental disturbance. Individuals frequently imaginary, and that a return of health to the mind means the recovery of the body. Whole nations have been afflicted with hysteria before now. Committes are occasionally the prey pf a mental distrubance. Indivduals frequently suffer from imaginay maladiest. The regular practing physicians are not a little to blame for this. Certain physicains, especially specialists, are given to the encouragement of disceases. Take, for example, the gynecologists. They, undoubtedly, encourage many a woman in the belief that she is alling. and so impregnnte her mind with the idea, that she subjects to the most distressing local treatment year i and year out. Whereas, all that she really need is to keep free from the irritation of local treatment, stop thinking about herself and go to work. There are whole neighborhoods of women who give themselves up to discussions of their complants, and whose weaknesses acquire a similarity from being much talked of. The state, unfortunately, cannot afford an asylum for all such feeble-minded persona.
But these imainary diseases have nothing to do whatever with the bonafide disease. Is it not folly to supose that the perfectly healthy, happy person, going about his work, with no thought of self, who is suddenly stricken dow with a virulent germ disease, is to balne for the suffering, or that he imagines it?
I never but once had any personal experience with Christain science, I had been suddenly afficted with a contageous disease in the midest of perfect health. Indeed, so good was my general health that I laid my illness to fatigue, rather than to the real cause, and not until I could no longer sit up would I believe that I was really to be ill, and even then I refused to credit the seriousness of it till I saw the tranformation taking place in my flash.
It was rating late at night when I made this discovery, and not wishing to disturb any physician I decided to wait till morning. It happened that there wass a social gathering of some sort in the house next door, and among the guests was a practing Christain scentist of wide reputaion.
She heard of my illness, and in a spirit of kindness. begged to be allowed to cure me. She said she would sit up for the night and concentrate herself on me.
I appreciated the kindness, and while I deprecated the inconverniece she would
put herself to, I was assured that I need feel no concern, for she did not need sleep. I honorably promised to subject my mind as far as possible to hers. I did so. I offered not the slightest opposition to her wishes I said to myself that I would awake in the morning, cured. I determined to believe this, and I think I did, unreservedly. My kind neigbor sat up till morning, and I feel sure she used all the power she had to cure me.
But morning found me unrecongizble as to face, almost delrious, and in the very excess of disease. I sent for an alopatic physician and recovered quickly. I am oblged to confess that if I had continued my experiment with my kindly Christain scientis I believe I should have been where the wicked cease from troubling I don't know just waht flaw the enthusiatic Christain scientists will point out in this ex-perience They willl probably say I did not believe. But I think I can assure them that I did---at least. I did not disbelieve Why should I, when I did not know?
There is nothing like trying things before you make up your mind about them I have tried a good many supernatural things. I have always been credsious U have not known but I might touch the skirts of the intinaite at any moment.
But I have found, thus far, only disappointment, fraud, delusion and insanity.
These are, in very truth, the repliant forms that I have found lurking behind the fair masks of suernaturalism.
For supernaturalism, in itself, is a comforting conception. If only God would speak straghit to us now, in visitble acts, showing direct correspondence with us, life's miseries would be greatly mitigated.
It is no arugment, of course, for any of these things, to say that amny people are happy in believing them. I have been a man perfectly triumphant in the idea that he was Christ of Nazerth, and that he was riding into Jerusalem, amid the warning palms of the multutude But he wasn't. He was only a thin little old man with a wisp of straw in his hair, sitting cross-legged on a stool in an insane asylum.
Becouse a person sincerely believes a thing is no evidence that such a thing is true. A person may be perfecly sane, and yet be absolutely misken. A belief may make a man or woman better, purer, happeir and braver, and yet not be based on truth. The beatiful is not always the true, nor the true always the beautiful. Even an empiracle belief may easily be erroneous, because the cause of an effect may be mistken.
Indeed, the theorshpisis, the Christain scientists, the spriitualists and the materialists differ as to the cause of certain phenomena, which all agree as to the existence of.
| 255GREAT HARM IS INFLIGTED
--------------
Christian Science as Practiced
Results in Very Serious
Things.
---------------
Mrs. Peattie Writes of a Belief and Practice
Which is Obsrading it-self Upon Notice.
-----------------
She Says Despite its Evil Results There is
a Germ of Immoral Truth in the
" Science."
-------------------
There has come into the religious life of Christendom, during the last few years, the peculiar demonstration known as Christian science. It is a philosophy which claim a unity for mind and matter, and for mind and spirt, and for spirit and God Sickness of the body is the indication of the sin of the spirt.
By cleansing one the other is cured. Heat, cold--all external affections--matter not to him whose spirit is fixed in its [dr?] unrecognizance of matter---who looks always of God.
Metaphysics are quite difficult enough to make comperhensible even when they deal with the simple and understood phenomena of the mind ; but when they deal with that. Whcih for convenience, may be termed supernatural, it is dfficult indeed, to understand them. The involutions and complexities of the Christain science metaphysics may well dismay even the most studious mind
But briefly, as the simple understand the laws of this teaching, spirit and matter are one--aprit is God---all is God. The Christian scientists refuss to recognize matter.
As the philosphy reads, It is pleasant, serene and pure. Whatever its points of differenatiation may be from the orthordox Christain teaching, it seems to be in general harmony, and to be rather an attempt to make practical the most absturse teaching of Christ. It also attempts to modernize the miracles. It believes in the casting out of devis, figuratively speaking and the making whole of the dissased body.
That is the theory. As to the practice----but what religion would like to be ludged by the practice of those who profess it? Making, then, all allowance for human weakness. and for the inability of common mortals to attain to their own ideals, the fact remains that by the insitence of believers in this Christ healing, upon those who do not believe, great harm is inflicted.
A few weeks ago a little girl in this city was stricken with diphtbera. Her mother was a Christain scientist and would call no physician. The poor little one grew worse. She begged to be allowed to remain in bed. She wanted care. She wept and said she was not able to play. The mother, infaturated with these amazing metaphysics, would listen to no reason. She told the child not to metion her illness, and assured her that pain was a delusion.
She drive the little one out of the house to play in the yard It was not that she was hard-hearted or that she did not love her little girl
It was merely that she compelted her-self to have the faith which would more mountains. But no mountain, so far as known, has ever been moved by faith.
And the little girl, who might have been saved if the mother had called medical assiatance, died, because that mother insited on persevering to the end in her belief. The poor child is dead. No faith of the mother's can restore her to life. And one wonders if she " refused to recognize" that pathetic bit of matter, the little cold body that had held the spirit of her child. No one knows where that spirit has gone. No one can be sure that there ever was a sprit.
We may believe it---most of us affirm it. But it is certain, The only thing about the child that as certain was the body, with its delicate functions--its movement, thought and beauty.
As one thinks of that helpless little thing, bound body and soul to obedience to its parent, in the pathctic way that childern are, depending on that parent's judgment for its very life, being denied what common humanity would have accorded to it, one is almost impelled to pronounce the whole belief as fraudulent, frantic and insane.
Yet, within all the folly and frenzy of this belief dwells a germ of immortal truth.
It is the simple truth that body reacts upon mind and mind upon body. It is the fact that aliments are frequently imaginary, and that a return of health to the mind means the recovery of the body. Whole nations have been afflicted with hysteria before now. Committees are the prey of a mental disturbance. Individuals frequently imaginary, and that a return of health to the mind means the recovery of the body. Whole nations have been afflicted with hysteria before now. Committes are occasionally the prey pf a mental distrubance. Indivduals frequently suffer from imaginay maladiest. The regular practing physicians are not a little to blame for this. Certain physicains, especially specialists, are given to the encouragement of disceases. Take, for example, the gynecologists. They, undoubtedly, encourage many a woman in the belief that she is alling. and so impregnnte her mind with the idea, that she subjects to the most distressing local treatment year i and year out. Whereas, all that she really need is to keep free from the irritation of local treatment, stop thinking about herself and go to work. There are whole neighborhoods of women who give themselves up to discussions of their complants, and whose weaknesses acquire a similarity from being much talked of. The state, unfortunately, cannot afford an asylum for all such feeble-minded persona.
But these imainary diseases have nothing to do whatever with the bonafide disease. Is it not folly to supose that the perfectly healthy, happy person, going about his work, with no thought of self, who is suddenly stricken dow with a virulent germ disease, is to balne for the suffering, or that he imagines it?
I never but once had any personal experience with Christain science, I had been suddenly afficted with a contageous disease in the midest of perfect health. Indeed, so good was my general health that I laid my illness to fatigue, rather than to the real cause, and not until I could no longer sit up would I believe that I was really to be ill, and even then I refused to credit the seriousness of it till I saw the tranformation taking place in my flash.
It was rating late at night when I made this discovery, and not wishing to disturb any physician I decided to wait till morning. It happened that there wass a social gathering of some sort in the house next door, and among the guests was a practing Christain scentist of wide reputaion.
She heard of my illness, and in a spirit of kindness. begged to be allowed to cure me. She said she would sit up for the night and concentrate herself on me.
I appreciated the kindness, and while I deprecated the inconverniece she would
put herself to, I was assured that I need feel no concern, for she did not need sleep. I honorably promised to subject my mind as far as possible to hers. I did so. I offered not the slightest opposition to her wishes I said to myself that I would awake in the morning, cured. I determined to believe this, and I think I did, unreservedly. My kind neigbor sat up till morning, and I feel sure she used all the power she had to cure me.
But morning found me unrecongizble as to face, almost delrious, and in the very excess of disease. I sent for an alopatic physician and recovered quickly. I am oblged to confess that if I had continued my experiment with my kindly Christain scientis I believe I should have been where the wicked cease from troubling I don't know just waht flaw the enthusiatic Christain scientists will point out in this ex-perience They willl probably say I did not believe. But I think I can assure them that I did---at least. I did not disbelieve Why should I, when I did not know?
There is nothing like trying things before you make up your mind about them I have tried a good many supernatural things. I have always been credsious U have not known but I might touch the skirts of the intinaite at any moment.
But I have found, thus far, only disappointment, fraud, delusion and insanity.
These are, in very truth, the repliant forms that I have found lurking behind the fair masks of suernaturalism.
For supernaturalism, in itself, is a comforting conception. If only God would speak straghit to us now, in visitble acts, showing direct correspondence with us, life's miseries would be greatly mitigated.
It is no arugment, of course, for any of these things, to say that amny people are happy in believing them. I have been a man perfectly triumphant in the idea that he was Christ of Nazerth, and that he was riding into Jerusalem, amid the warning palms of the multutude But he wasn't. He was only a thin little old man with a wisp of straw in his hair, sitting cross-legged on a stool in an insane asylum.
Becouse a person sincerely believes a thing is no evidence that such a thing is true. A person may be perfecly sane, and yet be absolutely misken. A belief may make a man or woman better, purer, happeir and braver, and yet not be based on truth. The beatiful is not always the true, nor the true always the beautiful. Even an empiracle belief may easily be erroneous, because the cause of an effect may be mistken.
Indeed, the theorshpisis, the Christain scientists, the spriitualists and the materialists differ as to the cause of certain phenomena, which all agree as to the existence of.
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