If a friend asked me what I thought of the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, I'd think of plenty to say! I know it has given me oceans of spiritual light, unlocking the Bible's enduring truths. It's healed me. It's changed the course of my thinking and my life.
Yet for all of us who have studied and followed this book, we know in our hearts it's still more than that—more than just a book that's done us a lot of good. We know the message of the book is truly God, eternal Love, revealing Himself. It's God revealing His nature—His allness, His omnipotence, and His love. Hence the sacredness of the book.
In a message to a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, Mrs. Eddy related this rather dramatic episode: "On April 15, 1891, the Christian Science textbook lay on a table in a burning building. A Christian Scientist entered the house through a window and snatched this book from the flames. Instantly the table sank a charred mass. The covers of the book were burned up, but not one word in the book was effaced. If the world were in ashes, the contents of 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' would remain immortal." The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 178.
