Man is by nature a credulous, and at the same time a superstitious, being, and ever prone to allow an undue influence to the imagination and passions. This is due to the original structure and specific elements of the mind. It is a natural trait of the mind to contemplate with interest whatever is presented to it as deviating from ordinary natural events, whatever is novel or strange, and whatever affects the senses, through an obscure medium so as to arouse the passions. Thus, when primeval man first felt, saw or heard such natural phenomena as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, the aurora borealis, thunder, lightning, meteors, and eclipses, it was quite natural for him to people the hidden recesses of the earth and of space with demons, and to imagine that these strange noises and sights were manifestations of some powerful enemy. In his blind ignorance, he could ascribe no natural causes to the phenomena, and he therefore attributed them to supernatural agencies. His feeling of dependence, and of insecurity, in the face of these mighty unknown forces, inclined him to seek a protector, and for this purpose he created one or more gods. Idols of various kinds answered the purpose, until his dawning intelligence taught him the futility of this sort of worship, and then he worshipped the sun and other heavenly bodies. Then a glimpse of astronomy further enlightened him, and, realizing the absurdity of planet worship, he invented other gods of an invisible nature to which he attributed the creation of all phenomena. The propensity for the novel and marvelous always obscured his reason and judgment. To the ignorant mind, everything marvelous is super-natural; but the philosopher sees in all marvelous phenomena nothing but the results of natural causes, even if those causes are not yet fully understood. Science cannot yet fathom all of nature's mysteries, but nearly every day brings forth new light.
In ancient times, the enlightened few took advantage of the ignorance of the multitude, and, by stupefying their reason with a mixture of science and magic, made them more submissive and obedient as slaves or subjects. Science was used to inculcate gross superstitions in the minds of the ignorant masses, for the purpose of enhancing the interests of the deceivers. By means of concave and convex mirrors, of lenses, of chemical and optical illusions, and even of ventriloquism, the pagans fooled their devotees into all sorts of absurd beliefs. Demons and angels were made to appear in frightfully distorted and hideous shapes, the dead were evoked from their graves to hold converse with the living, and every advantage was taken of natural phenomena such as the eclipse and the mirage. Even drugs, like opium, were given and taken to throw the operators into semi-conscious ravings and trances; and in innumerable other ways the excited imaginations and the irresistible propensity to believe in the miraculous, was taken advantage of by the wise charlatans, seers, priests and soothsayers.
There are good reasons for believing that the dramatic exhibitions of the Witch of Endor, by which Saul was made to believe in the re-appearance of the deceased prophet, Samuel, to announce his approaching fate at Gilboa, was but an imposition practiced upon the senses of that superstitious monarch; and many of the ancient miracles, which appear to be so corroborated, can be satisfactorily explained in a similar manner. Ancient magic and natural science were synonymous, and magic was made to become an assistant to government. Doubtless the crimes committed by these unscrupulous charlatans, masquerading as philosophers, suppressed for many centuries the smouldering light of reason in the human race, and caused the world to be susceptible to the terrific doctrine of witchcraft that held sway until the seventeenth century, and which afflicted nearly every nation on the globe.
Christian Science
In order thoroughly to understand Christian Science, it is necessary to understand Mary Baker Eddy. Hence, I have found it necessary, reluctantly, to give a brief account of some of the important events of her life. Should these events show her to be a mercenary, selfish woman, it would tend to explain a great deal that she and her followers have failed to explain.
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, was born the year that Napoleon died, 1821. In her younger days, she lived in an atmosphere of mysticism. Mesmerism was everywhere in evidence, and much had been said about "Animal Magnetism," "Power of Mind over Matter," "the Shakers," "Faith Healing," etc., long before Mrs. Eddy had thought or heard of these things. She married George W. Glover in 1842, who died the following year, leaving Mrs. Eddy a widow at twenty-three. From that time until about 1870, Mrs. Eddy lived a sad and sordid life of ill health, poverty and unhappiness. In 1853, she had married Dr. Daniel Patterson, a dentist, but this proved an unhappy union and they were much separated, and finally divorced. During all this time she had drifted from one place to another, wearing out her welcome at every place she went, and usually leaving each place after having caused family discord in the household. She was practically an invalid during this period, which may account for her peevishness, ill-temper, domestic selfishness, and want of consideration for those who had befriended her.
In 1862, being then forty-one years old and a nervous wreck, and attracted by the stories of wonderful cures by Dr. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, Mrs. Eddy visited that famous occultrist at Portland, Maine. Dr. Quimby had learned much of his philosophy, and all of his mesmeric tricks, from Charles Poyen, whom he had followed about from place to place. About three years before Mrs. Eddy called on him, Quimby had perfected his system of mental healing and had reduced it to writing, having discarded the mesmeric part of it. Various disinterested persons are still living who have given reliable testimony to these facts, as also to the following: (1) When Mrs. Eddy first visited Quimby she was a physical wreck; (2) After three weeks' treatment from Quimby she was a well woman; (3) She borrowed, and had in her possession for a long time, a copy of Quimby's manuscripts; (4) She never gave Quimby credit for one bit of her "Discovery"; and even went so far as to abuse him for the rest of her life.
Please remember the dates: Mrs. Eddy first called on Quimby in 1862. In February, 1866, she slipped on an icy sidewalk and sustained a severe nervous shock. On the same day she called on Dr. A. M. Cushing for medical treatment. Dr. Cushing says she continued to take his medicines until she was cured. Mrs. Eddy denies that she took any of the medicines after the first visit, and says that she cured herself in a miraculous way and rose as one from the dead, and that she depended solely on God. Yet, she called on this same Dr. Cushing the following August to be treated for a cough!