Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Homecoming of Bliss Knapp's Orphan

This entry is primarily a response to a couple of comments on the previous entry. The factual information is as accurate as my recollection and memory permitted. Any errors in detail are unintentional and shouldn't affect the gist of it. Clarifications or corrections are welcome.

Bliss Knapp's Destiny of The Mother Church was discussed in a much earlier entry. As was said then, it is an unobjectionable book, being primarily a brief memoir of his parents' activities in the young Christian Science Church. The book does not purport to be a biography of MBE or even to be about her, and she is only mentioned in the last few chapters.

Mr. Knapp's will, with its munificent bequest, apparently stated that if the Christian Science Publishing Society published the book and had it for sale in "essentially all" Reading Rooms TMC would receive the bequest. Bliss Knapp probably passed on circa 1940, but for decades TMC declined to publish the book, even for the multi-million dollar reward. This refusal was not because it was a book without merit, but because one of the book's arguments is that Mrs. Eddy is the woman in "Revelation", which was not an official Church position or one she unambiguously accepted.

The terms of the will were to expire in something like 50 years, or around 1990. If CSPS had not published the book by then, the loot would go to a second legatee, Stanford University (?). Naturally, all that swag just sitting there looking for a home was to TMC like a deliciously plump lamb parading sedately before a pack of hungry wolves. Succumbing to the Siren song of the "elusive spondulicks" the Church Board had, one surmises, a kind of fiscal epiphany in which "Destiny" was suddenly imbued with the irresistible attraction a very wealthy, fat, ugly widow might present to a penniless spiv. In fact, the long-lost orphan was joyously welcomed home in a Dickensian sort of denouement and made the distinguished founder and patriarch of a glorious new tribe of MBE biographies, an event which was heralded with triumphant fanfare. Unfortunately, it was indicative of the moral and ethical rot which has permeated TMC that the first "biography" in their series wasn't even close to being a biography of anyone, and certainly not one of MBE.

At this point, the progress of events became a confusing scrum. At TMC there was a headlong rush to get the book printed and for sale in Reading Rooms. That some RR's refused to carry it undoubtedly necessitated the creative shoehorning of some data into the verification shoe. Owing perhaps to more than a little unconvincing "compliance" with the terms of the will, a judge decided in the end to divide the spoils equally between TMC and Stanford University. Each left the contest with something like $90 million. Not a bad few months work for TMC even if their rectitude had acquired a new dent or two and another thick layer of tarnish from the perfectly understandable (but denied) concession to cupidity.

In short, the honest Knapp book is nothing like the Gill thing in intent or content. Gill's verbal haggis (no insult to Scotland intended) is akin to the vicious Dakin and Milmine muggings of yesteryear. It is also worth noting that Ms Gill lists both Dakin and Milmine in her bibliography and quite possibly mined these two septic tanks for some baseless, but smelly tidbits.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Really well done (as usual.) You are so funny, so creative in the way you describe the shortcomings of those in charge in Boston.
God bless you for shining the light on wrongdoing and please keep up your wonderful blogging!

Anonymous said...

I knew when I read the title, this was not going to disappoint. And it hasn't! A terrific blog post, and when I got to the part about the Board having a fiscal epiphany, laughed right out loud.
Thanks, and keep it going...

Anonymous said...

Witty and articulate as always, blogger.

However I cannot help but disagree strenuously with your position.

The Knapp book is highly objectionable for several reasons. Not the least of which is that is appears on the surface benign and unobjectionable to many.

There are numerous misstatements of both Christian Science and Mrs. Eddy contained therein. Frankly I don't remember them specifically at this point though I could enumerate many of them at one time.

The words "soft thought" come to mind here. Bliss Knapp, although he may have been sharp as a tack at one point was far from his prime when he penned the tome.

The fact that it does not purport of itself to be a biography of Mrs. Eddy is totally irrelevant. For anyone to write misstatements about Christian Science and Mrs. Eddy and then to tempt anyone to publish those misstatements--Knapp I'm sure didn't think they were misstatements but that too is irrelevant-- with a large bequest and for TMC to publish that book containing misstatements is the issue. Wrong is WRONG! As they say, you can't be "a little bit pregnant!"

Mrs. Eddy states that fact unequivically in Science and Health p. 464:25 "Adulterating Christian Science, makes it void."

She also states in Science and Health p 542:9 "Even the disposition to excuse guilt or to conceal it is punished."

Another point is that I cannot help believing that the Knapp book led to the Gill book. Boston was emboldened by their success in foisting the Knapp book off on the field so they decided they could go even further.

BOTH books are objectionable. Yes, the Gill book is more of a cesspool but both are travesties on Christian Science and Mrs. Eddy.

You're doing great so far, blogger, don't lose the scent here, we can't afford to lose you!

Anonymous said...

A grand job. What a blessing it is to have you thinking about serious concerns, and posting them in such a fresh and funny way.
Wouldn't miss one of your entries for the world!

Anonymous said...

A very interesting blog post, this. To my mind, both the Knapp book and the Gill book should never have been published, much less hawked in reading rooms. But then, as you bring out in your usually witty way, money is money after all. And getting their hands on all they can seems to be the motivation for much that Boston has been doing of late.
Appreciate this lively blog.

Anonymous said...

Delightful, as always. But I beg to differ, respectfully of course, with the commenter who indicated that the Knapp book was evil. My recollection of it is that Knapp was mainly remembering his parents, and that he was quite respectful to our Leader. The main problem was why the church published it, and it was to get their paws on the money.
But with that commenter, I say, too, keep blogging, blogger. We need you!

Anonymous said...

The problem I had with that Knapp book is that it presented Mrs. Eddy as the woman in Revelation. Other than that, it seemed fairly benign to me. But the real wrong is that our church grabbed the money!
Thanks for speaking plainly about things we need to know!

Anonymous said...

At the time the Knapp book came out, a friend of mine read it through carefully with her Bible and Science and Health at the ready. What she found was that Mr. Knapp was not the world's greatest scholar and there was a lot of misquoting of both the Bible and Science and Health. Shoddy scholarship plus the fact that there were misstatements of Christian Science which are not worthy of publishing as authorized Christian Science literature. The part of the book that was a biographical account of this parents was not objectionable, it was the second part of the book (see above). I believe it was either in 1948 or 1949 that the Board of Directors said no to publishing for just those reasons. In fact one of the Board members who voted against it was a student of Mr. Knapp's.

I can't recheck what my friend found because I was so disgusted with the book that I literally trashed it. If we'd had a fireplace at that point it would have burned it, I was that unhappy with it's publication.

Then to top that off, the CoPs were required to push the book into Reading Rooms (which is not the manual requirement for CoPs). Those who balked were removed from their post and replaced with "Boston" toadys.

All these together make the book very objectionable.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more that the Knapp book was objectionable, and as for that Gill thing! don't get me started on that. With both, the motives for putting them out and trying desperately to get money for them, was despicable.
Thanks to blogger and commenters!

Anonymous said...

As for myself, haven't even wanted to read either tome, but trust the blogger and the commenters who seem to me to be of a higher calibre than other CS writers around. (And the author of this blog did point out at the start, if details wrong was unintentional.)
Really enjoy this website!

Anonymous said...

So funny and well written, blogger. A question: is Bliss Knapp's orphan still sold in reading rooms?)

Anonymous said...

I just love your entertaining blogs! And you always tackle important issues concerning Christian Science, things we students who respect Mary Baker Eddy need to know about.
Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

You are one talented writer and I'm so glad God led you to start this blog. It's so refreshing to see issues dealt with in an honest and funny way.
God bless,

Anonymous said...

Thank you for an arresting blog. As a Journal listed Christian Science practitioner, I wish to point out my objection to the Bliss Knapp book and it is this: it gives the impression we deify the Discoverer and Founder of our relgiion, and we do not! Let me let Mary Baker Eddy's own words state the case. This is from "Prose Works" (Miscellaneous Writings, page 308): "Whosoever looks to me personally for his health or holiness mistakes. He that by reason of human love or hatred or any other cause clings to my material personality, greatly errs, stops his own progress, and loses the path to health, happiness, and heaven. The Scriptures and Christian Science reveal 'the way,' and personal revelators will take their proper place in history, but will not be deified."

Anonymous said...

You, blogger, are so good at putting things into the freshest, most vivid language! That TMC did wrong and tried to fool the public, all because of money is beyond dispute. Boston cannot explain it away, and it calls to thought the story of the 3 little pigs. One built his house on wood, one of straw, and the wise little pig of brick. Well, the wolf blew the first two houses down, but not the third. This makes me think of the Boston organization which has built on a very weak foundation. I feel certain it will fall. How can it not? It is only a matter of time.
(Oh, and I agree with those 2 commenters who laid out why the Knapp book was objectionable.
Well done.)

Anonymous said...

A very interesting discussion going on here. For obvious reasons, will not disclose my name but I was working the Center when the Knapp deal was brokered. A practitioner who was a trustee and Jack Hoagland put it together to help fund his media expansion (which we all know went bust big time.) The motive was all wrong, and God did not prosper it.
Will they never learn?!

Anonymous said...

Speaking of motives, sense that your reason, blogger, for doing this posting is to stand up for the dignity of our Cause, and to show respect for its Founder, and for this, I applaud you.
Keep it going!

Anonymous said...

I almost always get several laughs out of the way you write, and this was no exception. Very well crafted entry. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

We are so fortunate out here to have someone who loves Christian Science as much as you do! Keep up your blessed giving!

David Wilkins said...

The Knapp book states that Mrs. Eddy and Christ Jesus were created specially and apart by God on the fourth day of creation as the two great lights. They are anterior and superior to all mankind. The Christian Science Board of Directors told Knapp in 1948 that his book contradicts what our Leader says in Science and Health about the two greats lights being Christ Jesus and Christian Science, that God creates and knows mortal, human personalities, that an element of time enters into spiritual creation, and that Knapp confuses the relative with the absolute. Of course from our perspective Jesus and Mrs. Eddy made the highest demonstrations of Christ the world has ever known, but from the perspective of God the individual consciousness that appeared to us as Mrs. Eddy and the individual consciousness that appeared to us as Jesus are equally complete reflections of the one Mind as the individual consciousnesses that menifest themselfes in this Adam-dream as you or me. It does read as unobjectionable for a long time, but read the later chapters that are taken from his association adddresses again. Read them with a Science and Health and a concordence handy. I did this and came up with a long list of very serious deviations from our Leader's teaching. It's also worth noting that our Leader forbade others from writing an exigesis on Revelation as "none [was] equal to that task" but her. This was also a stated reason that the Directors gave in 1948 why they could not publish his book. Today's directors have stated that we don't know how close a decision that 1948 vote was when they decided not to publish Knapp's book. The 1948 letter from the Directors to Knapp contains the phrase, "...we find ourselves unanimously in disagreement with your views...."

Anonymous said...

Very well done,blogger.