Through the Department of Committee on Publication in Boston, and its one hundred and eighty Committees throughout the world, The Mother Church carries on a continuous dialogue with authors, editors, reporters, professors, students, and clergymen whose work has in some way prompted them the examine the history and teachings of Christian Science. In order to correct a misimpression of Christian Science it is helpful to know precisely what the wrong impression is. That means listening closely to determine what another person is saying, and why.
The Committee on Publication listens to others and stays in touch with trends of thought in a variety of fields, including science, theology, and medicine. Some twelve hundred informal talks on Christian Science and fifty radio and television appearances are arranged each year through the Committee office—more instances of the dialogue.
Although there continues to be a great deal of misinformation about Christian Science, not so often today in the headlines, but in pamphlets, sermons, and textbooks, "this should not amaze us," a spokesman from the office of the Manager of Committees on Publication commented. "But we do need to be aware that it's there and to find ways to speak which will cut into misconception and not simply add to it." If, for instance, a clergyman is saying that Christian Science is simply positive thinking, and a Christian Scientist goes to him and says, "Look, you're wrong, and I'm here to correct you," the door to dialogue clangs shut. Instead, the Committee is well aware that individuals hold honest, differing opinions, that most people feel their criticisms are valid. He sets about to offer the needed context so that they can make better sense out of what they know of Christian Science. Frequently the critic has learned little about the spirit of Christian Science, knows only fragments of the letter, and has pieced them together in a distorted way. But only after listening and trying his best to determine why the clergyman thinks as he does is the Committee qualified to act as a source of information.
