CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN THE COURTS.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE got into the courts the other day when the First Church of Christ Scientist of Philadelphia applied to Judge Pennypacker for a charter. He denied the application on the ground that on the face of the evidence the proposed church was a medical institution, the doctors or healers in which did not possess the qualification necessary under the State laws. In the view of the law these so-called Christian Scientists were unlicensed and not licensable practitioners of medicine. Their application was made to Judge Arnold. On the evidence before him he refused to grant the charter because the Church of Christ Scientist is a concern for revenue only, a business carried on for profit. According to Mr. Frederick W. Peabody, of Boston, Mother Eddy’s income from Christian Science is between $75,000 and $100,000 a year. The “mother church” in Boston brings in $21,000 a year or more, as every Christian Scientist gives $1 a year to it. The sale of the Christian Science oracle and bible, Mother Eddy’s “Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures,” has been enormous. But we do not vouch for Mr. Peabody. The incisive facts are that Judge Pennypacker denies the right of “Christian Science” to practise any form of healing, while Judge Arnold seeks to protect the followers of Christian Science from the effects of their own credulity.—Christian Work.