China, Poland, South Africa, East Germany, Romania—despite decades of oppression, freedom feels more and more like something that ultimately cannot be put down.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" was the theme of several meetings in Massachusetts last December. Participants talked about an element of freedom that has often been central in the restructuring of societies along lines more supportive of individual rights—the freedom to practice one's religious convictions.
On one level the meetings were prompted by recent efforts in the United States to prosecute Christian Scientists for their commitment to the practice of Christian healing. Looking squarely at these prosecutions, not in fear or anger but in the light of spiritual sense, participants discussed the underlying issues. They spoke of what develops the capacity to cut through apparently great resistance to spirituality and spiritual healing.
