To be successful in applying the truths of Christian Science in our daily lives we must study thoroughly the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. Many of us who think of ourselves as serious students of this book actually ignore much of what it says. When we read it we are interested mainly in passages with which we are already familiar. Or if we learn a new passage, we may soothe ourselves with it rather than let its message rouse us to new thought and new action.
To the serious student of Christian Science, every line of the textbook has a vital message. But that message never stands alone; it is part of a grand symphony, a symphony with a message of demonstrable, immortal Truth. To be understood, a passage, however familiar, must be seen as part of the paragraph in which it is written and the paragraph must be seen as part of the chapter and the chapter as part of the book.
In the chapter on the Apocalypse, Mrs. Eddy begins with the discussion of the tenth chapter of Revelation, in which John tells of seeing a "mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open." Rev. 10:1; A voice from heaven tells him to take the book, and when he does so the angel says, "Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey." v. 9; In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes: "Mortals, obey the heavenly evangel. Take divine Science. Read this book from beginning to end. Study it, ponder it. It will be indeed sweet at its first taste, when it heals you; but murmur not over Truth, if you find its digestion bitter." Science and Health, p. 559;
