Many years ago a young student of Christian Science found herself on a Sunday morning in a strange city, miles from home and in what seemed to be a hostile group. Being able to slip away from her companions for a few hours, she eagerly sought out a Christian Science church, expecting to find comfort and companionship there.
On entering the church, however, she was deeply disappointed to find everything so different from the church structure and congregation with which she was familiar that she did not feel the sense of home she had expected to find there. Instead of being consoled, she felt more, lost and lonely than ever until the wonderful moment when the First Reader, glancing lovingly over the congregation, began the familiar announcement, "Friends: The Bible and the Christian Science textbook are our only preachers" (Explanatory Note, Christian Science Quarterly). It was as though a dear, familiar friend had suddenly stepped to the Reader's desk and smiled at her. She exclaimed to herself, "Why, my own dear pastor is right here in this church, and I am not lonely at all!" It was an experience she has never forgotten; and many times since then the memory of it has inspired her to give more loving support to the services of the branch church of which she is now a member and to the Christian Science movement as a whole.
Now the Bible has for centuries been commonly referred to as the Word of God. This designation is accepted by Christian Scientists, as is evidenced, for instance, by the first tenet of Christian Science, found in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy (p. 497): "As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life." Christian Scientists recognize that the Bible is the result of divine inspiration and is rightly designated as God's Word.
