Mrs. Eddy

New Zealand Tablet, 8 November 1906, Page 10

Mrs. Eddy

1 In the sweetest bud : r-=r -= The eating canker dwells '. Mrs. Eddy is not exactly one^of your, sweet-bud maidens. She is ' of a. certain age ', as polite .French people say. Beyond this,- she is just a shrewd business woman who knows the money value of ' a « fancy ' new religion. She coined Christian Science (which is neither Christian nor scientific) into a bulky pile of , shekels, And now the eating canker of decay, has .set .its fangs upon -her vitals ; her Christian Science (despite its . miraculous claims) has not induced it to relax its hold ; and her generous and too trusting dupes are asking what has. become of the millions that her • scientific ' financing rolled into her fob." The 'situation presents aspects ofmuch interest to New Zealaaders who remember the story of the Temple of Truth <in Canterbury's capital.

A cardinal principle^ of" Christian Science is its 1 utter rejection of r :the; r aid of medical science. ! Yet (so runneth a stoutly contradicted cable story in our daily papers) Mrs. Eddy has-been for some time "under medical or surgical treatment for cancer.. Whether the stor y be true or .false, deponent "saith not.' "But it seems that, • in practice. at least, Christian Science has its admitted

limitations as a cure of the ills that flesh is heir to. We have, for instance, read, of some of its exponents ..who draw thVjine..at broken bones':. And. did not the ' High Priestess herself somewhere- make an exception in favor of contagious diseases— on "account of the stiffness of neck and th« hardness of hear fr of Public Health authorities? .AM, according, to «ari< American' paper, "two at least among her disciples chalked: up'- the cure^-line at lost molars. It happened -- thus : A few -years ago, a well-matched pair of Mrs. Ed<iy?-s disciples paid (so-, to . speak) a business visit to the Rev.- Dr. Henson, a popu-. lar Baptist minister -of Chicago.' The callers,' although ' Eddyites, retained their connection with" Mr.. ' Henson'scon<gregation. Now it so - happened that- Mr. Henson „ (like Polyphemus and Lords Nelson and Wolseley) - has ; only one good eye. His; visitors, {says the narrator) had felt- for some time that- their- pastor would be much improved if his ' lame ' eye could be made whole Jike unto the other. Why should not - their pastor have two .good eyes as well as one ? So they, went -to- see -him about' it. _•' We have been praying for you', they^said" to him, 'that you may have two perfect' eyes, and have now come to pray with-' you. Will you not a'sk'the.Lord right here and now to- give you a new -eye?? Dr. Hen'son's reply was - somewhat" disconcerting. -'What kind of teeth ""have "you ?' he suddenly ' asked- the male Eddyite. • ♦ Why— why, that's a strange- question,', he stammered, ' but I don't -mind -telling you that *-. my teeth- are mostly false.' v What -kind- of'- teeth do -you use, sister ?'• he asked of the' other-. ~ « Same -Kind;'- , she frankly admitted. ' Well, good friends', "rejoined the Doctor of Divinity, ' you go. and ask : God-to~grow- some . new teeth in your moutlis. According to . your theory, - , He will do it without delay. When .you, get your teeth, , come round, and we'll see what can be done about that new eye '. Well, the upshot of it was that those two good people are still grinding their. Quaker Oats, with t artificial molars, and Dr. Henson still, looks down on, his congregation with "(in the double sense,', we hope) a single eye. " ' ' - '