When it comes to the practice of Christian Science in daily life, I've come to see the importance of how I express myself in front of others —especially to those new to the concepts in this beautiful teaching. Mary Baker Eddy gave inspired explanations of absolute truth through out her book Science and Health, and the foundation of spiritual healing is built on these absolute truths. But countless other references —given in relative terms rather than in absolute scientific language —address the practical side of life, such as statements about food, physical care of the body, and human relationships. And many of these practical ideas have brought healing in my life.
What exactly is meant by the terms absolute and relative? One dictionary includes these definitions of absolute: "pure," "perfect," "whole," "not mixed," and it defines relative, in part, as: "regarded in relation to something else"; "meaningful only in relationship; not absolute." Mrs. Eddy was not a person who spoke absolute truth all day long with everybody —without keen discernment first. She relied on her spiritual intuition as to how to speak to others, depending on the need and spiritual awareness of the person she was talking with. Compassion was at the heart of her mission to have the message of Christian Science understood —and felt.
For instance, in Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, Irving C. Tomlinson, a member of Mrs. Eddy's household, gave this account of daily life at her Chestnut Hill home: "In everything that she said and did, Mrs. Eddy was a shining example of common sense. Her profound understanding of spiritual things did not isolate her from the comprehension of her fellow men. Quite to the contrary; in conversation with her students, her language was always simple, and to the one who listened earnestly, easily understood. She protested against using involved terms and complex phraseology. I remember she once said that when she wrote for the public, she was compelled, through the necessities of the situation, to write absolute Science, and therefore she must use language and employ terms that were precise and exact in their scientific use and application, but when she was addressing an individual, she always adapted herself to his understanding and spoke so simply that he was sure to grasp her meaning. When we are talking to one who is not a Christian Scientist, in speaking of a disease, she continued, we are not to say that So-and-so has a belief. Say plainly that he is sick. And she quoted Paul's admonition, 'I had rather speak five words with my understanding . . . than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue' " (p. 95).
