“This rule cannot be changed, amended, or annulled,
except by unanimous vote of all the First Members.”
The same being Mrs. Eddy. It is naively sly
and pretty to see her keep putting forward First Members,
and Boards of This and That, and other broideries
and ruffles of her raiment, as if they were independent
entities, instead of a part of her clothes, and could
do things all by themselves when she was outside of
them.
Mrs. Eddy did not need to copyright the sentence just
quoted, its English would protect it. None but
she would have shovelled that comically superfluous
“all” in there.
The former Unpardonable Sin has gone out of service.
We may frame the new Christian Science one thus:
“Whatsoever Member shall think, and without
Our Mother’s permission act upon his think,
the same shall be cut off from the Church forever.”
It has been said that I make many mistakes about Christian
Science through being ignorant of the spiritual meanings
of its terminology. I believe it is true.
I have been misled all this time by that word Member,
because there was no one to tell me that its spiritual
meaning was Slave.
There is a By-law which forbids Members to practice
hypnotism; the penalty is excommunication.
1. If a member is found to be a mental practitioner—
2. Complaint is to be entered against him—
3. By the Pastor Emeritus, and by none else;
4. No member is allowed to make complaint to
her in the matter; 5. Upon Mrs. Eddy’s
mere “complaint”—unbacked by
evidence or proof, and without giving the accused
a chance to be heard—his name shall be
dropped from this Church.”
Mrs. Eddy has only to say a member is guilty—that
is all. That ends it. It is not a case
of he “may” be cut off from Christian Science
salvation, it is a case of he “shall”
be. Her serfs must see to it, and not say a
word.
Does the other Pope possess this prodigious and irresponsible
power? Certainly not in our day.
Some may be curious to know how Mrs. Eddy finds out
that a member is practicing hypnotism, since no one
is allowed to come before her throne and accuse him.
She has explained this in Christian Science History,
first and second editions, page 16:
“I possess a spiritual sense of what the malicious
mental practitioner is mentally arguing which cannot
be deceived; I can discern in the human mind thoughts,
motives, and purposes, and neither mental arguments
nor psychic power can affect this spiritual insight.”
