Attention is directed to the progress which has been made by what is
called Christian Science by the dedication at Boston of "The First
Church of Christ, Scientist." It is a most beautiful structure of gray
granite, and its builders call it their "prayer in stone," which
suggests to recollection the story of the cathedral of Amiens, whose
architectural construction and arrangement of statuary and paintings
made it to be called the Bible of that city. The Frankish church was
reared upon the spot where, in pagan times, one bitter winter day, a
Roman soldier parted his mantle with his sword and gave half of the
garment to a naked beggar; and so was memorialized in art and stone what
was called the divine spirit of giving, whose unbelieving exemplar
afterward became a saint. The Boston church similarly expresses the
faith of those who believe in what they term the divine art of healing,
which, to their minds, exists as much to-day as it did when Christ
healed the sick.
The first church organization of this faith was founded fifteen years
ago with a membership of only twenty-six, and since then the number of
believers has grown with remarkable rapidity, until now, there are
societies in every part of the country. This growth, it is said,
proceeds more from the graveyards than from conversions from other
churches, for most of those who embrace the faith claim to have been
rescued from death miraculously under the injunction to "heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons." They hold with
strict fidelity to what they conceive to be the literal teachings of the
Bible as expressed in its poetical and highly figurative language.
Altogether the belief and service are well suited to satisfy a taste for
the mystical which, along many lines, has shown an uncommon development
in this country during the last decade, and which is largely Oriental in
its choice. Such a rapid departure from long respected views as is
marked by the dedication of this church, and others of kindred meaning,
may reasonably excite wonder as to how radical is to be this
encroachment upon prevailing faiths, and whether some of the
pre-Christian ideas of the Asiatics are eventually to supplant those in
company with which our civilization has developed.
(_Montreal Daily Herald_ Saturday, February 2, 1895.)