Page:The Origin of Christian Science.djvu/33

Rh (the younger), Marinus, Simplicius and the Christians, Synesius and Boethius. Boethius was a Christian who subscribed to certain Neoplatonic principles, as many Christian theologians have done. Synesius was a Neoplatonist who adopted the Christian faith. He was more a philosopher than a Christian. The anti-Christian character of Neoplatonism is manifest in the fact that the Emperor Julian, who was mad against Christianity, was an enthusiastic supporter and defender of it. Iamblichus was his teacher and guide.

Neoplatonism is, I repeat, one of the mightiest metaphysical systems that have been given to the world. Though it is a purely rational view of the universe and was at first inspired to defeat Christianity, by virtue of its intellectual power it affected profoundly scholastic theology. And not a few remains of it linger in modern theology and the “old” psychology. It professed to be unmaterialistic, spiritual and intellectual, as Christian Science does.

We shall find in Christian Science certain features that show a modified or developed form of Neoplatonism. For example, Mrs. Eddy's conception of Christ, and of Christian theology in general, is in the main the same as Spinoza's, the great Jewish philosopher and the world's greatest pantheist. Now Spinoza did little more in his philosophy than to reproduce Neoplatonism and his teaching as to Christ is a forging of him into the Neoplatonic mould. He could not deny his historical reality. But he could attempt to