WHEN I BEGAN STUDYING CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, WELL, ACTUALLY even when I first heard about it from my roommate, I constantly kept my antennae on alert for anything that sounded suspiciously like "magic" answers. I didn't want any part of a religion that didn't make sense, that explained away difficult questions as "mysteries," or that didn't present logic I could follow and ultimately prove. And this passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (the textbook of Christian Science) caught my attention—and has held it for all the years since: "A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity" (p. 128).
No magic. Simply a scientific foundation for understanding why unlimited mental growth, unlimited possibilities, already exist within one's own being, within one's own "native air of insight and perspicacity." Nothing can impede or stop the upward, Spiritward trajectory of God's child. And understanding this fact—based on the divine laws of God—frees every individual to develop all of his or her "latent abilities" (God-bestowed) to realize even the most far-reaching and magnificent dreams.
This month, our cover story features four individuals from different walks of life who have relied upon their understanding of these divine, universal laws to prove that no matter what your circumstances, education, gender, or geographical location, the laws of the Science of being—what Mary Baker Eddy discovered and named Christian Science—work universally and reliably on our behalf, proving over and over again that divine Mind, Spirit, is "a God at hand ... and not a God afar off" (Jer. 23:23). That holy promise means that God's infinite goodness, intelligence, and creativity exist now, within each of us, just waiting to be revealed, tapped into, proven.
Also, check in with three writers who take on the biggest subject of all—see their short essays on different aspects of God. And in our Deep Think feature, Colleen Douglass delves into a provocative examination of modern-day tribalism in its many guises. We hope you'll find these and the other interviews and articles in this month's issue as inspiring as we have. And many thanks to you, our readers, for your continuing support. (You send us wonderful mail!) We love hearing from you, and we always welcome your suggestions of what you'd like to see addressed in the Journal.
