Articles

As a child, I remember vividly that our family never passed by the scene of a car accident without doing two things: We determined that there were adequate “helping hands” at the site to assist those who might need aid. (Usually we were not needed because emergency services had already arrived.

Lois Carlson, a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science from Chicago, participated in a JSH-Online live chat titled, “The Christ-power behind forgiveness. ” This excerpt from the chat has been adapted for publication.

As soon as cooler weather sets in, many start worrying about “germs,” which seem to take the forefront of public thought like actors on a stage, claiming “the flu season” as their own. But in fact, the derivation of the word germ doesn’t indicate something meant to cause harm.

For years I had a practice of reading a By-Law from the Manual of The Mother Church before work each day. I’d open the slim book at random and read.

The evidence of God’s good can’t be hidden.

Here are two true stories. The first taught me a spiritual lesson, and the second illustrates how this lesson might be applied in our relationships with fellow church members.

Occasionally I visit the city of Leipzig, the cradle of the peaceful revolution of November 1989 in what was then called the GDR (German Democratic Republic). There are still reminders of how the open political resistance against the East German regime began and how the demonstrators refused to be deterred, even when armed units of the police and military were summoned.

A millstone or a milestone, Which shall it be? Shall I hang it heavy around my neck And drag it along with me, Or stand it up by the roadside To mark one more victory? Peter J. Henniker–Heaton Christian Science Sentinel January 29, 1966 Our lives often seem filled with trials of one kind or another, and with each trial we must choose.

Sympathizing with a person or group of people who are suffering is a good thing, especially when it is accompanied by a genuine desire to help and heal. On the other hand, being mentally drawn into the suffering of others—being mesmerized, or hypnotized, into believing in and fearing the supposed cause of their suffering—is not a good thing.

Read about Christian Science practitioner roundtables that have been launched around the U.S. in the last several months.