The peculiar mark of the Antichrist is his denial of the coming of Christ in the flesh. He distinguishes between Jesus, the man, on the one hand, and the Christ, [24] the "Divine Principle," on the other. He denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is an old falsehood. It was widely spread even in the days of John, and has often since been revamped. To-day it is one of the tenets of the so-called "Christian Science." Denying the reality of all matter, they necessarily deny the real existence of the flesh, or that Christ has ever come in the flesh. "I am grateful to Christian Science," said a certain Jewish lady, "because it made Christianity reasonable and believable to me. That the Christ came down from heaven, became actual flesh, hungered and suffered, and died by public execution--I never could have believed. But when Christian Science explained to me that it was the Christ Thought that came among us, I gladly accepted Christianity." But what she accepted was not Christianity. It lacked the foundation and central principle, that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God." It was Antichristianity. "Every spirit that, confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already." (1 John 4:2, 3.)

      Note now what follows. There being no real flesh, according to the fundamental assumption of that strange religion, all matter being only an illusion of the "mortal mind," it is a foregone conclusion that Christ did not come in the flesh. He could not have suffered, because suffering has no real existence. He could not have died. Therefore he could not have risen again. He did not shed his blood. His blood was no atonement for any man's sins. The whole gospel is set aside as but a figment of mortal mind.

      If the reader thinks I am unfairly forcing the consequences of this doctrine, I would refer him to the chief [25] text-book of the cult, Mrs. Eddy's "Science and Health and Key to the Scriptures." where these conclusions are boldly and openly avowed. And this book is the prescribed spectacles through which the Bible must be read, and according to which it must be interpreted; and it nullifies almost every statement of God's word.

      The phenomenal growth of this monstrous system is chiefly due to its performances of physical healing. Its successes in that line are well attested--as well certainly as are the miraculous cures of the Madonna of Lourdes and those of John Alexander Dowie. We would not attempt to deny them; there would be nothing gained if we could. What we do deny is that these cures are of God. Even if they were beyond dispute miraculous, then, coupled as they are with these Satanic falsehoods, they would come under the head of the lying miracles so often warned against in God's word. (Deut. 13:1-3; Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9.) But they are not miraculous. They bear no resemblance to the cures wrought by Jesus and his apostles--neither in principle, for he dealt with sin and sickness as with bitter realities, not imaginations; nor in fact, for his cures were universal, instantaneous, and complete, his power even extending to the raising of the dead four days after burial. But "Christian Science" is simply a method of psychotherapy the same in general nature as Dowie's, as that of Lourdes, as Weltmer's, as Dr. Elwood Worcester's of the Emanuel Church of Boston, and as that practiced in some secular institutions of Suggestive Therapeutics. Its necessary conditions, limitations, and failures are the same as theirs, though, of course, "Christian Science" fervently denies that. Never a demonstrated case of the cure of any organic trouble stands on record, as far as I have known and heard; and it fails probably quite as regularly in the case of severe functional disorders. [26] They will present lists of cures, to be sure. But Dr. Cabot, in a recent magazine article, has shown how unreliable and inaccurate these accounts are, both as to diagnosis and as to their cure.

      But "Christian Science" bears the unique distinction that it freights its system of healing with the biggest consignment of falsehoods that was ever forwarded to the public on such grounds. It brazenly takes the Bible out of the hands of the people, while it leaves the printed book in their hands; for the Bible no longer means to those followers what it says, but only what Mrs. Eddy--the greatest fake that was ever palmed off on a credulous generation--decrees it shall mean. Its God is not the God of the Bible. Its Christ is not the Christ in whom Christians believe. It has no personal God. He is "Life, Light, Good, Mind"--anything you choose, but not a person. Christ is an idea. Devil there is none, for the impersonal thing called "God" fills all the universe, and there really would be no room left for a devil. All the universe is God, and vice versa. Hence we also are part of God. Everything is part of God. So everything is good. If anything appears to be not good, it is only an illusion. All men are good--they are all divine. So there is no sin. Evil is imaginary and has power over us only as long as we believe in it and in the testimony of our senses. No personal God, no Christ, no cross, no blood, no atonement, no sin, no hell, no devil, no matter, no decay, no sickness, no pain, no death.

      And who believes that? Thousands upon thousands, and the number is daily increasing. Even members of the church of Christ have bitten the delusive bait. Among its adherents there is a large proportion of the highly educated and intelligent. Do you think it strange? It has always been so; not by iron decree, but in the nature of things. For some of the greatest minds of history [27] have been humble believers in God's word, but pride of intellect lays a man peculiarly open to the worst of delusions. "Thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes," said the Lord Jesus to his Father. (Matt. 11:25.) "Not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." (1 Cor. 1:26-29.) And it happens again, as it has in olden times, that "professing themselves to be wise they became fools." (Rom. 1:22.)

      One more point of distinction. As some one has pointedly remarked, there is one peculiar form of matter that Christian Science seems to believe in, and that is money. They believe in cash. Christ became poor, but Mrs. Eddy has gotten rich. So have many of her helpers. They know how to charge, and are not likely to accept imaginary compensation. When a certain noted Christian Scientist accused the professed churches of the country of not fulfilling Christ's commission, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons," he very wisely left off the last clause, for by no pretense could he prove that he or any of his cult practice it--"Freely ye have received, freely give." Mrs. Eddy may have the effrontery of claiming that her revelation is superior to that of Christ, but she could hardly claim that her methods are superior. And God has warned us of those that shall come, "and in covetousness shall . . . with feigned words make merchandise of you; whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not." (2 Pet. 2:3.)

      And now just a word of loving warning from God to all that may for any cause have been attracted by this evil teaching and may chance to see this: "Many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that ye [28] lose not the things which we (apostles) have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works." (2 John 7-11.) And this applies here so fully that no truer name could be given the system than "Antichristian Science."

[TAG 24-29]