Christian Science -- Controversial literature; Eddy, Mary Baker, 1821-1910
This is not in the By-laws, it is in the first chapter of Science and
Health, edition of 1902. I do not find it in the edition of 1884. It
is probable that it had not at that time been handed down. Science and
Health's (latest) rendering of its “spiritual sense” is as follows:
“Our Father-Mother God' all-harmonious, adorable One. Thy kingdom is
within us, Thou art ever-present. Enable us to know--as in heaven, so
on earth--God is supreme. Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished
affections. And infinite Love is reflected in love. And Love leadeth us
not into temptation, but delivereth from sin, disease, and death. For
God is now and forever all Life, Truth, and Love.”
If I thought my opinion was desired and would be properly revered, I
should say that in my judgment that is as good a piece of carpentering
as any of those eleven Commandment--experts could do with the material
after all their practice. I notice only one doubtful place. “Lead us not
into temptation” seems to me to be a very definite request, and that the
new rendering turns the definite request into a definite assertion. I
shall be glad to have that turned back to the old way and the marks of
the Spiral Twist removed, or varnished over; then I shall be satisfied,
and will do the best I can with what is left. At the same time, I do
feel that the shrinkage in our spiritual assets is getting serious.
First the Commandments, now the Prayer. I never expected to see these
steady old reliable securities watered down to this. And this is not
the whole of it. Last summer the Presbyterians extended the Calling and
Election suffrage to nearly everybody entitled to salvation. They did
not even stop there, but let out all the unbaptized American infants
we had been accumulating for two hundred years and more. There are some
that believe they would have let the Scotch ones out, too, if they could
have done it. Everything is going to ruin; in no long time we shall have
nothing left but the love of God.
THE NEW UNPARDONABLE SIN
“Working Against the Cause. Sec. 2. If a member of this Church shall
work against the accomplishment of what the Discoverer and Founder of
Christian Science understands is advantageous to the individual, to this
Church, and to the Cause of Christian Science”--out he goes. Forever.
The member may think that what he is doing will advance the Cause,
but he is not invited to do any thinking. More than that, he is not
permitted to do any--as he will clearly gather from this By-law. When a
person joins Mrs. Eddy's Church he must leave his thinker at home. Leave
it permanently. To make sure that it will not go off some time or other
when he is not watching, it will be safest for him to spike it. If he
should forget himself and think just once, the By-law provides that he
shall be fired out-instantly-forever-no return.
“It shall be the duty of this Church immediately to call a meeting, and
drop forever the name of this member from its records.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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