I called to interview him, and also to thank him. The spirit of his book jibes in lots of ways with what I am learning from Science and Health about love's nature and demands. Unlimited Love has made me more alert to specific ways that I can help others. For instance, when a friend called recently, I test-drove the form of love that Professor Post calls companionship, which involves "attentive listening." Post, Unlimited Love, p. 6 . Rather than multi-tasking, I stopped what I was doing. I really listened. I became spiritually focused, and that enabled me to provide prayerful counsel, consistent with my study of Christian Science, that comforted my friend and reassured him of divine Love's total control of the situation. When I returned to my work, I, too, felt restored. Sure enough, as Professor Post affirms, in keeping with the wisdom of worldwide religious and spiritual traditions, by giving myself I had discovered myself. By loving, I felt loved. Yes, "to give is to live." Ibid., p. 3 .
Mary Baker Eddy explained in Science and Health, published in 1875, that divine Love and God are synonymous. In Miscellaneous Writings, she described God as "the great Physician." Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 151. It strikes me that you're not far from reaching the same conclusion.
No, I'm not. I would raise a point of distinction insofar as I use standard allopathic care, and so in that sense I'm not as committed to a metaphysical idealism as Mary Baker Eddy. But what I think is important is that she clearly discovered an empirical truth, in that love does heal. There is such a thing as a Higher Love, and it is a healing force. The Bible passage that I like is, "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." I John 4:16 (NRSV).
