christian science-第30章
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And yet I am sorry the lady told me; since a wound which brings me no
happiness has resulted。 I am most willing to apply such salve as I can。
The best way to set the matter right and make everything pleasant and
agreeable all around will be to print in this place a description of the
shrine as it appeared to a recent visitor; Mr。 Frederick W。 Peabody; of
Boston。 I will copy his newspaper account; and the reader will see that
Mrs。 Eddy's portrait is not there now:
〃We lately stood on the threshold of the Holy of Holies of the Mother…
Church; and with a crowd of worshippers patiently waited for admittance
to the hallowed precincts of the 'Mother's Room。' Over the doorway was a
sign informing us that but four persons at a time would be admitted; that
they would be permitted to remain but five minutes only; and would please
retire from the 'Mother's Room' at the ringing of the bell。 Entering
with three of the faithful; we looked with profane eyes upon the
consecrated furnishings。 A show…woman in attendance monotonously
announced the character of the different appointments。 Set in a recess
of the wall and illumined with electric light was an oil…painting the
show…woman seriously declared to be a lifelike and realistic picture of
the Chair in which the Mother sat when she composed her 'inspired' work。
It was a picture of an old…fashioned? country; hair cloth rocking…chair;
and an exceedingly commonplace…looking table with a pile of manuscript;
an ink…bottle; and pen conspicuously upon it。 On the floor were sheets
of manuscript。 'The mantel…piece is of pure onyx;' continued the show…
woman; 'and the beehive upon the window…sill is made from one solid block
of onyx; the rug is made of a hundred breasts of eider…down ducks; and
the toilet…room you see in the corner is of the latest design; with gold…
plated drain…pipes; the painted windows are from the Mother's poem;
〃Christ and Christmas;〃 and that case contains complete copies of all the
Mother's books。' The chairs upon which the sacred person of the Mother
had reposed were protected from sacrilegious touch by a broad band of
satin ribbon。 My companions expressed their admiration in subdued and
reverent tones; and at the tinkling of the bell we reverently tiptoed out
of the room to admit another delegation of the patient waiters at the
door。〃
Now; then; I hope the wound is healed。 I am willing to relinquish the
portrait; and compromise on the Chair。 At the same time; if I were going
to worship either; I should not choose the Chair。
As a picturesquely and persistently interesting personage; there is no
mate to Mrs。 Eddy; the accepted Equal of the Saviour。 But some of her
tastes are so different from His! I find it quite impossible to imagine
Him; in life; standing sponsor for that museum there; and taking pleasure
in its sumptuous shows。 I believe He would put that Chair in the fire;
and the bell along with it; and I think He would make the show…woman go
away。 I think He would break those electric bulbs; and the 〃mantel…piece
of pure onyx;〃 and say reproachful things about the golden drain…pipes of
the lavatory; and give the costly rug of duck…breasts to the poor; and
sever the satin ribbon and invite the weary to rest and ease their aches
in the consecrated chairs。 What He would do with the painted windows we
can better conjecture when we come presently to examine their
peculiarities。
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PASTOR…UNIVERSAL
When Mrs。 Eddy turned the pastors out of all the Christian Science
churches and abolished the office for all time as far as human occupancy
is concernedshe appointed the Holy Ghost to fill their place。 If this
language be blasphemous; I did not invent the blasphemy; I am merely
stating a fact。 I will quote from page 227 of Science and Health
(edition 1899); as a first step towards an explanation of this startling
mattera passage which sets forth and classifies the Christian Science
Trinity:
〃Life; Truth; and Love constitute the triune God; or triply divine
Principle。 They represent a trinity in unity; three in one the same in
essence; though multiform in office: God the Father; Christ the type of
Sonship; Divine Science; or the Holy Comforter。 。 。
〃The Holy Ghost; or Spirit; reveals this triune Principle; and (the Holy
Ghost) is expressed in Divine Science; which is the Comforter; leading
into all Truth; and revealing the divine Principle of the universe
universal and perpetual harmony。〃
I will cite another passage。 Speaking of Jesus
〃His students then received the Holy Ghost。 By this is meant; that by
all they had witnessed and suffered they were roused to an enlarged
understanding of Divine Science; even to the spiritual interpretation 。
。 。 of His teachings;〃 etc。
Also; page 579; in the chapter called the Glossary:
〃HOLY GHOST。 Divine Science; the developments of Life; Truth; and Love。〃
The Holy Ghost reveals the massed spirit of the fused trinity; this
massed spirit is expressed in Divine Science; and is the Comforter;
Divine Science conveys to men the 〃spiritual interpretation〃 of the
Saviour's teachings。 That seems to be the meaning of the quoted
passages。
Divine Science is Christian Science; the book Science and Health is a
〃revelation〃 of the whole spirit of the Trinity; and is therefore 〃The
Holy Ghost〃; it conveys to men the 〃spiritual interpretation〃 of the
Bible's teachings。 and therefore is 〃the Comforter。〃
I do not find this analyzing work easy; I would rather saw wood; and a
person can never tell whether he has added up a Science and Health sum
right or not; anyway; after all his trouble。 Neither can he easily find
out whether the texts are still on the market or have been discarded from
the Book; for two hundred and fifty…eight editions of it have been
issued; and no two editions seem to be alike。 The annual changesin
technical terminology; in matter and wording; in transpositions of
chapters and verses; in leaving out old chapters and verses and putting
in new onesseem to be next to innumerable; and as there is no index;
there is no way to find a thing one wants without reading the book
through。 If ever I inspire a Bible…Annex I will not rush at it in a
half…digested; helter…skelter way and have to put in thirty…eight years
trying to get some of it the way I want it; I will sit down and think it
out and know what it is I want to say before I begin。 An inspirer cannot
inspire for Mrs。 Eddy and keep his reputation。 I have never seen such
slipshod work; bar the ten that interpreted for the home market the 〃sell
all thou hast。〃 I have quoted one 〃spiritual〃 rendering of the Lord's
Prayer; I have seen one other one; and am told there are five more。 Yet
the inspirer of Mrs。 Eddy the new Infallible casts a complacent critical
stone at the other Infallible for being unable to make up its mind about
such things。 Science and Health; edition 1899; page 33:
〃The decisions; by vote of Church Councils; as to what should and should
not be considered Holy Writ; the manifest mistakes in the ancient
versions: the thirty thousand different readings in the Old Testament and
the three hundred thousand in the Newthese facts show how a mortal and
material sense stole into the divine record; darkening; to some extent;
the inspired pages with its own hue。〃
To some extent; yesspeaking cautiously。 But it is nothing; really
nothing; Mrs。 Eddy is only a little way behind; and if her inspirer lives
to get her Annex to suit him that Catholic record will have to 〃go 'way
back and set down;〃 as the ballad says。 Listen to the boastful song of
Mrs。 Eddy's organ; the Christian Science Journal for March; 1902; about
that year's revamping and half…soling of Science and Health; whose
official name is the Holy Ghost; the Comforter; and who is now the
Official Pastor and Infallible and Unerring Guide of every Christian
Science church in the two hemispheres; hear Simple Simon that met the
pieman brag of the Infallible's fallibility:
〃Throughout the entire book the verbal changes are so numerous as to
indicate the vast amount of time and labor Mrs。 Eddy has devoted to this
revision。 The time and la