The Teachings of Christian Science
By George J. Butler
Mrs. Eddy’s Views Concerning Prayer
Mrs. Eddy puts forth high claims that her newly discovered religious cult,—Christian Science—is a great moral force for the uplifting of humanity, to absorb at last all other religious denominations, and be the salvation of a sadly demoralized world; that it is indeed the second coming in earth’s history of the grand truths previously proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth. Any reader of her leading doctrinal book, “Science and Health,” will readily admit that she boldly puts forth such claims. I will not pretend to speak concerning the modesty of such claims as these, virtually comparing her work to that of the Great Teacher, but she evidently feels competent for the task, though she tells us that it will take centuries to accomplish this great program. Knowing, as every intelligent person must, how essential prayer is to the accomplishment of anything important in a religious movement, she seeks to imitate the course of Jesus, the first in rank of the great religious teachers, by instructing her followers how to pray. It will be an interesting study to ascertain how closely she follows her illustrious Predecessor. In order to give the reader a clear conception of Mrs. Eddy’s teachings on the subject of prayer, it will be necessary to quote suggestive sentences from her chapter on Prayer, beginning on page 307 of “Science and Health:” — “Desire is prayer.” “Does spoken prayer bring us nearer the Source of all existence and blessedness?” “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace expressed in patience, meekness, and good deeds.” “The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer.” “Audible prayer can never do the works of divine understanding which regenerates; but silent prayer, watchfulness, and devout obedience enable us to follow Jesus’ example.” “To suppose that God forgives or punishes sin according as His mercy is sought or unsought, is to misunderstand love, and make prayer the safety valve of wrong-doing.” “Audible prayer is impressive; it gives momentary solemnity and elevation to thought, but does it produce any lasting benefit?” “The danger from audible prayer is that it may lead us into temptation.” “Professions and audible prayers are like charity in one respect,—they ‘cover a multitude of sins.’” “Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers.” “Here let me give what I understand to be the spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s prayer: Our Father which art in heaven. Our Father, Mother, God, all harmonious. “Hallowed be thy name. Adorable One. “Thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom is come. God is ever present and Omnipotent. “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Enable us to know—as in heaven so on earth—God is all in all. “Give us this day our daily bread. Give us grace for to-day; feed thou the famished affections. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And divine love is reflected in love. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And love leaveth us not in temptation, but delivereth us from evil,—sin, disease, and death. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. For God is Substance, Intelligence, Life, Truth, Love.” — Id., pages 307–310; 312–314; 321, 322. These extracts give us a fair understanding of the drift of Mrs. Eddy’s chapter on prayer,—page after page of effort to belittle and show the danger of audible or public prayer, and everything she can muster to make important what she calls the prayer of desire, or mere mental thought. In other words, in her teachings all audible prayer is dangerous or unnecessary, unless, perchance, the Lord’s prayer with her variations and interpretations, might be repeated occasionally. Hence, as I understand, in all public religious exercises among Christian Scientists the voice of prayer is not heard, with, perhaps, the exception mentioned above. In order to prepare the mind of the reader for a proper understanding of what prayer is, and what the Bible teaches us on the subject, it will be proper to get a clear definition of the term from competent lexicographers. Mr. Webster defines it as follows: “The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request. . . . Especially, the act of addressing supplication to God; the offering up to the Supreme Being of adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving; the practice of communion with God in devotional address, worship, and supplication; as, public prayer, secret prayer, etc.” That clear definition of prayer is worth volumes of such chaffy pabulum as Mrs. Eddy bestows on her devoted Christian Scientist admirers. Really and truly that definition rules out, as no prayer at all, the whole of that mental concept and “desire” which Mrs. Eddy in labored platitudes endeavors to teach her followers is the only proper form of prayer. Mere desire is in no proper sense prayer. Desire may and will precede and prompt prayer. But prayer itself is “the act of addressing supplication to God.” A person may and does desire thousands of things utterly disconnected with the Deity. The use of such loose definitions as this, that “desire is prayer,” is only calculated to confuse the minds of the unwary, and mislead the unsuspecting. It is surely most reprehensible teaching, and demonstrates that Mrs. Eddy is a dangerous teacher, to say the least. “Patience, meekness, and good deeds” are valuable possessions, but they are in no sense prayer. Earnest prayer to God may and will help us to develop them, but they in themselves are in no sense prayer. Neither is the “habitual struggle to be good” in any sense prayer, which is “the offering up to the Supreme Being of adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving.” Was anything ever more preposterous than the idea that an audible, humble address to the Deity, expressive of a sense of our weakness, our need of His divine grace, our longing for His blessing, our confidence in His love and mercy, was a “dangerous” thing? Such a thought is worthy of Satan himself. But let us leave this painful subject, and go to the blessed Book of books to learn something of real value concerning prayer. Paul, in describing the whole armor of God, which is to enable us to stand in the evil day, mentions prayer as an important part of it: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Eph. 6: 13–18. By the term “all prayer” he doubtless refers to various kinds, or forms, of prayer, like public prayer, secret prayer, prayer for the sick, etc. All of these prayers must embrace supplications addressed to the Deity, as well as adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. They cannot in any sense be confined to a mere mental conception never expressed, which is really no prayer at all. We have almost any number of instances, in the Scriptures where prayers are mentioned, all of which make certain beyond doubt that words were expressed and addressed to God—if public, in the hearing of others; if secret, spoken to the Lord alone. In the familiar instance of the Lord’s prayer the disciples came to Him, and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Our Saviour did not for a moment countenance any such nonsense as Mrs. Eddy teaches, nor tell them that they must commune in silence with their own souls, whatever that may mean. He did not inform them that it was a “dangerous” thing to speak words of audible prayer, but immediately told them how to pray, giving that wonderful petition beginning with, “Our Father which art in heaven.” It seems that Mrs. Eddy’s followers venture to repeat this petition, “dangerous” as it must be to offer an audible prayer. Our Saviour did by no means confine prayer to this mere form of words, but His disciples were to pray in “this manner,” not multiplying words in long-drawn-out petitions and repetitions to make a show, as the Pharisees and hypocrites do, but to present their petitions in simplicity and brevity. “For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” They were taught to pray. They were to recognize God as the giver of all their blessings. To ask Him was but a recognition of Him as their Father and their God. In John 17 we have recorded quite a lengthy prayer offered to God by the Saviour in the presence of His disciples. He assuredly would not have set them such an example had it been a “dangerous” thing for them to follow it. Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Ezra, Daniel, Paul, and others prayed, and their prayers are recorded. Their prayers were answered, an evident token of God’s acceptance, and a full proof of the propriety of public prayer. Christ taught secret prayer also: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matt. 6: 6. Hear Mrs. Eddy’s sage and wonderful exposition of this text: “In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet, and shut the door. We must close the lips, and silence the material senses.” “The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit whose door shuts out sinful sense, but opens to Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it opens to Truth, and vice versa.” — “Science and Health,” page 520. Isn’t that a perfect perversion of the Saviour’s teaching, that foggy mysticism so prevalent in all her writings? The original word rendered “closet” signifies simply “any retired place at home or abroad.” In secret prayer the person should be shut away from all listeners, where God alone can hear. The mind under such circumstances should be wholly occupied with thoughts of God, and all the petitions be addressed to Him alone, with no thought of what others think of it, and in no way influenced by others. That kind of supplication is specially pleasing to God because the suppliant is not praying to men. He is alone with God. Much more might be said on this all-important subject of prayer. Suffice it to say, Mrs. Eddy’s ideas of prayer are contrary to the whole tenor of the Scriptures, and demonstrate beyond all question her lack of true Christian experience. Her kind of praying may answer for Spiritualists, Christian Scientists, mystics, and cold-hearted professors, but true Christians, who have had their hearts drawn out after God, and have known the preciousness of communion with Him in secret or public prayer, will never be misled by such teaching.