Personal
Evangelism Handbook
CHAPTER XVII
Christian Science and Unity
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
(Christian Science)
The founder of this group was
Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy. She was born on July
16, 1821, in Bow, New Hampshire, and was the youngest of
six children. She was raised in a family of strict
Calvinism but was never won to this belief herself.
Her health was very poor; it
interrupted her formal education. She was a semi-invalid
for years.
George Glover, whom she married
in 1843, was the first of her three husbands. In less
than a year after their marriage he died, leaving her
with an unborn child. Later, after the death of her
mother and remarriage of her father, she married Daniel
Patterson. Patterson was captured and imprisoned during
the Civil War. When he returned, he ran off with a
neighbor's wife. Eventually he and Mary were divorced.
During all these years she constantly suffered from one
thing or another.
While still married to
Patterson, Mary heard of Phineas Quimby, who supposedly
cured people without the use of medicines. She went to
see Quimby when she was 41 years old, and during several
weeks at his Portland, Maine, office she received relief
which she attributed to God working through Quimby.
Quimby denied, however, that God had anything to do with
it or that he had any special healing powers.
Mr. Quimby died in 1866 when
Mary was 45 years old. Mary Baker Patterson began to
portray herself as a healer from this time on. Shortly
after Quimby's death she fell on an icy street and
injured herself. She claimed that the doctor who
examined her injury declared it to be fatal (though the
physician's own testimony later on denied this ) . Some
friends came to visit her before her supposedly
impending death. She had them all leave the room while
she read Matthew 9. While reading this portion of
Scripture she was immediately and completely healed (so
she said).
She began a school to teach
others to heal, charging from $100 to $300 for a course
lasting three weeks. During this time, too, she worked
on her book, Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures, which later became the textbook for the
cult. When the book was ready for publication, she had
to get the help of her followers to print it for no
Boston publisher would.
She was married the third time
to Asa G. Eddy. In 1878 she organized and pastored the
First Church of Christ Scientist with 26 members. During
this period Mr. Eddy died of a bad heart. However, Mrs.
Eddy declared he had died by "arsenic poison
mentally administered" by their enemies.
Her later life was filled with
sickness and nervousness. She died in 1910. Even though
she claimed not to believe in the reality of death, she
had to keep that appointment which God says every man
must keep (Hebrews 9:27).
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOCTRINE
contrasted with the WORD OF GOD, THE BIBLE
"Genesis 2:7. Is this
addition to His creation real or unreal? Is it the
truth, or is it a lie concerning man and God? IT MUST BE
A LIE, for God presently curses the ground"
(Science and Health, p. 524).
"The second chapter of
Genesis CONTAINS A STATEMENT of this material view of
God and the universe, a statement WHICH IS THE EXACT
OPPOSITE OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH . . ." (ibid., p.
521).
"ALL Scripture is given by
inspiration of God . . ." (II Tim. 3:16).
"In hope of eternal life,
which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, promised before the world
began" (Titus 1:2).
"Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt.
24:35).
CHRIST'S DEATH FOR SIN
"One sacrifice, however
great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin"
(Science and Health, p. 23).
"That God's wrath should
be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely
unnatural" (ibid., p. 23).
"The material blood of
Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when
it was shed upon 'the accursed tree' than when it was
flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father's
business" (ibid., p. 25).
"For BY ONE OFFERING He
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified"
(Hebrews 10:14).
"In whom we have
REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:
7). "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD HATH LAID
ON HIM the iniquity of us all . . . it PLEASED THE LORD
to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:6, 10).
SIN
"Man is incapable of sin,
sickness, and death" (Science and Health, p. 475).
"To put down the claim of
sin, you must detect it, remove the mask, point out the
illusion, and thus get the victory over sin and so prove
its unreality" (ibid., p. 447).
"For ALL HAVE SINNED, and
come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).
"For there is not a just
man upon earth, that doeth good, and SINNETH NOT"
(Eccl. 7:20).
THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
"The virgin-mother
conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the
name of Jesus-that is, Joshua, or Saviour" (Science
and Health, p. 29).
"Jesus was the offspring
of Mary's self-conscious communion with God"
(ibid., pp. 29, 30).
The angel, not Mary, said,
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).
"And Paul . . . reasoned
with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging
that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again
from the dead; and that THIS JESUS, whom I preach unto
you, IS CHRIST" (Acts 17:2, 3).
". . . for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost . . . Now all this
was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall
be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they
shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is, GOD WITH US" (Matt. 1:20, 22, 23).
"And, behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb (not in her mind), and bring forth
a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus" (Luke 1: 31)
.
THOUGHTS ON YOUR APPROACH
(1) You must understand the
major premise or formula of the Christian Scientist in
order to reach him intelligently for the Lord. His basic
approach to God, salvation, etc., can be summed up in
this way:
God is Love . . . God is Life .
. . God is Good . . . God is Spirit . . . God is ALL.
(These are all true except for the last. )
Since God is Love and God is
ALL, there can be no hate. Since God is Life and God is
ALL, there can be no death. Since God is Good and God is
ALL, there can be no evil. Since God is Spirit and God
is ALL, .there can be no matter. (So they feel there
will be no hatred, illness, sin, death, etc., to the
person who knows God aright.)
This is another form of
"pantheism," the doctrine or belief that God
is not a personality, but that all laws, forces,
manifestations, etc., are God. It is strongly adhered to
by Christian Scientists. This formula governs nearly all
their thinking. Therefore, you need to know how to
answer it from Scripture.
(2) SCRIPTURES REFUTING THE
IDEA THAT "GOD IS ALL."
Genesis 1: 1, "In the
beginning God CREATED the heaven and the earth."
Notice it doesn't say God IS the heaven and the
earth-but He created it.
Isaiah 59: 2, "Your
iniquities have SEPARATED between you and your God, and
your sins have hid His face from you...." Again,
the truth that God is SEPARATE FROM His creation.
Numbers 23:19, "God is NOT
A MAN, that He should lie...." Man lies; God does
not. No thinking person really believes God is
EVERYTHING!
(3) The most important thing to
remember is that you must give the Christian Scientist
the GOSPEL. Often a person is attracted to this cult
because he doesn't want to believe that he is
accountable for the sins he has committed. Christian
Science gives a convenient way out for such a person and
provides a FALSE sense of security. If he understood the
gospel, that God loves sinners and has already made a
complete payment for sin, he would perhaps respond and
accept Christ as his Saviour.
(4) One reason so many elderly
people are Christian Scientists is that they fear death
and what lies beyond, and they do not know the love of
God. The teachings of Christian Science that there is
really no sin or death, etc., calm their fears.
(5) As a group, you will find
that the Christian Scientists are lovely people who are
trying to live the best kind of life they know how. Even
though the plan of salvation excludes man's good works
for entrance into heaven, there is no reason why you
shouldn't compliment a person who is obviously trying to
live a good life.
(6) Since the Christian
Scientist doesn't believe he is a "sinner," an
effective way to get across to him the truth that he
needs a payment for what he has done wrong is to ask,
"Are you perfect?" Most people quite readily
admit that they are not perfect. When they see this and
that they need to be perfect to enter heaven, half your
"battle" is won.
(7) Be sure to emphasize
Scriptures like John 3: 16, that point out the great
LOVE God has for us, since this will be especially
appealing to the Christian Scientist. The gospel-the
good news that God has made a payment for sin- is the
power God will use to save the Christian Scientist.
Note: ". . . keep that
which is committed to thy trust (the gospel), avoiding
profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of SCIENCE
falsely so called, which some professing have ERRED
concerning the faith" (I Timothy 6: 20, 21).
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
(Unity)
Unity was founded in Kansas
City, Missouri, in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.
At the time, the Fillmores were almost penniless;
Charles suffered from numerous ailments, including a
withered leg (the result of a childhood skating
accident); Mrs. Fillmore had tuberculosis.
They heard a Dr. Weeks speak on
"New Thought." After the lecture Mrs. Fillmore
reasoned that since we are all children of God (error),
there must be a fixed divine law operating in her life.
If she had faith in this law, surely all the negative
things of life, like sickness and poverty, would vanish.
After this
"discovery" the couple improved in health and
financial status. They felt their theory had been
proven. In 1889 they decided to devote the rest of their
lives to spreading the gospel of their
"discovery." Thus "The Unity School of
Christianity" began.
DOCTRINES OF UNITY and the
TRUTH FROM THE SCRIPTURES
(1) Reincarnation of man.
Hebrews 9:27; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 10:30, 31.
(2) God never performs
miracles. John 2: 1 - 11; John 6:2; Acts 2:22; Acts
15:12.
(3) Man is part of God. We may
all be like Christ now. Isa. 53:6; Isa. 64:6; Romans
3:10-18, 23; Numbers 23:19.
(4) There is no evil. Genesis
6:5; John 8:39-45.
(5) Heaven and hell are states
of mind. John 14:1-3; II Cor. 5:1, 2; Jude, verse 7;
Matthew 25:41.
(6) Pain, sickness, poverty,
old age, and death are not real. Heb. 9:27; Rom. 5:17,
18; Rom. 8:18-23; Matt. 4: 23, 24.
(7) The entire Bible is
allegory. John 17: 17; Psalm 19:9-11; Psalm 119: 128,
142.
With such people as these, keep
Paul's instructions to servants of the Lord in mind:
"The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be
gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient, in
meekness instructing those that oppose them selves"
(II Timothy 2:24, 25).
THOUGHTS ON YOUR APPROACH
(1) Unity's method of
interpreting the Bible is "spiritualization."
For instance, according to Unity, "Jerusalem"
is not a city at all; it "signifies the heart
centre of the individual consciousness." Peter was
a "fisherman" which is "symbolical of a
consciousness that is open to and seeking for new
ideas." Their whole approach to the Bible is based
on this kind of spiritualization.
(2) The main emphasis of Unity
is on health and prosperity. Personal salvation is
ignored completely. That man needs to be saved is
denied. Its emphasis is on this life now on earth, as it
is in many liberal Protestant churches to day. It offers
no hope for life after death.
(3) Perhaps one of the greatest
dangers of the cult is the fact that many of its
sentiments are both beautiful and true -as far as they
go. So when someone hears the message of a Unity church,
he often misguidedly thinks it is just a more
"practical" approach to
"Christianity."
(4) You need to emphasize that
the gospel is of grace, not of works. This is essential
because of Unity's insistence that man is part of God-as
a drop of water is a part of a great ocean. Therefore,
according to Unity, man just needs to recognize who he
is-part of God-possessing goodness and deserving of
God's favor.
(5) Like the Christian
Scientists, disciples of Unity don't like to think about
sin and its punishment. They need to understand the
gospel.
(6) Those who believe in Unity
doctrine are usually so intent on looking for the good
in man that they will not admit to the presence of any
evil. Sometimes you might have to bring them to face
reality by a question such as, "Do you think the
brutal slaughter of six million Jews under the direction
of Hitler was a GOOD thing?" Or, "Do you think
a man is showing God-like qualities when he steals,
lies, and murders?" (7) I am glad the Lord has
given us the Bible, which is a sharp, two-edged sword,
and which can penetrate the heart of man and bring in
the light of the gospel. Without the power of the gospel
from the Word of God, no one could be saved, including
those under the teachings of Unity.
