On a winter morning in a hospital classroom, twenty nursing students listened to a Christian Scientist explain the beliefs and healing practice of her Church. The Christian Scientist had prayed earnestly before coming. There was much goodwill during the talk. However, a single angry student asked repeatedly how prayer could possibly heal diseases and injuries to which she gave complex medical names. The speaker prayed to love this student and reached out to God for answers that would bless all. She found herself sharing long-forgotten healings of family members and acquaintances.
After the class left, one student remained: the skeptical questioner. She was sincere and apologetic. She said she was not a Christian and had never thought of religion in connection with health. She asked if anyone could go into a Christian Science Reading Room. Could she be healed of a minor problem she'd been plagued with? The two spoke warmly for some time and parted good friends.
In another town, a branch church member was serving in his church's Reading Room one night when a stranger walked in. The visitor said he didn't really know why he was there—he was waiting in line at the movie theater across the street, saw the Reading Room, and found himself drawn to it. "I think I wanted someone to argue with," he said. He was raised in another faith, he told the attendant, and began somewhat combatively to ask questions about Christian Science. The attendant prayerfully reached out to God for answers; he chose his words carefully and spoke honestly out of his own experience. Before the visitor left he told the church member this was the first time anyone had ever talked to him about religion without trying to convert him. He expressed genuine gratitude.
