, Associate Dean of Enrollment for San Francisco Theological Seminary, prayed for a Christian Scientist to enter the program. Having taken Primary class instruction in Christian Science, Dr. Burch, who has a doctorate in religious education, reasoned that the nature of that individual's questions would come from a particular spiritual sensibility that would benefit the other students. Madelon Maupin Miles happened to be that Christian Scientist, entering the program in 2005 to pursue a master's degree in theological studies.
Here, Ms. Miles talks with Burch about Mary Baker Eddy's contribution to religious thinking and practice.
Dr. Burch, I think you're the kind of person Mrs. Eddy could have been writing about when she said, "My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself..." (Science and Health, p. 55). What was it about this Science of Christ that drew you?
Mrs. Eddy came closer than anyone else to recognizing the scientific process in spiritual exploration. She identified the footsteps and clarified terms in a way no one else has. I feel this is her great gift to humanity.
I found in her writings a science that's not only functional, but has room for individual expression because of the way it is applied. It's analogous to architecture or carpentry: anyone can build a cabinet if they have directions. Mrs. Eddy gave us those basics for Christian healing. Which means a student of Christian Science is able to take the next step and prove how these basics can be individualized and utilized, both within a person's consciousness and also in one's life experience.
Your spiritual education in Christian Science as part of your professional education and career are a fascinating combination. What's the story behind it?
My doctorate in religious education extends to lifelong learning. Deciding to take Christian Science class instruction, immersing myself in a 12-day intensive course on spiritual prayer, was a natural step in seeking deeper answers. People go through a process of unfoldment and discernment as they try to get in touch with the Divine. I took class because of the Science that Mary Baker Eddy discovered.
What got you interested in this whole field of religion and spirituality in the first place?
I grew up in Hawaii and had a pretty eclectic background. My parents were Catholic, but they divorced when I was young. My grandmother was a member of the Congregational Church, the same denomination Mrs. Eddy was raised in. Later, when we moved to the mainland, I wanted to explore other religious traditions. I had an aunt in Honolulu who went to the Christian Science Church, so when I discovered a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, right across the street from where we lived in California, I started to attend Sunday School there. From the age of 15, I had a great series of teachers who were totally attentive to their students.
I GOT TO THINKING, WOULDN'T IT BE INTERESTING TO HAVE a "modern" Christian Scientist come to study at a "modern" Calvinist seminary?
But in college everything changed. I focused on just trying to make money and complete my undergraduate degree, at the same time getting caught up in a partying lifestyle. One morning I woke up with a serious eye problem. Pretty soon I needed a cane to walk and had to learn to read Braille. Deeply depressed, I had to move back in with my mother. I felt there was nothing to hold on to.
But right about this time I had a profound spiritual realization that was different from anything I'd experienced before. I heard a minister on television talk about [the Apostle] Paul who was living a life counter to the life of Jesus. Paul was struck blind, then found a Christian to pray for him—Ananias—and was healed (see Acts 9:1—18). This story affected me in a personal way. I prayed, and a great peace came over me. I poured out my drink, put out my cigarette, and was immediately and permanently freed from addiction to both.
Both Paul's own letters and the book of Acts indicate Paul went through a deep period of self-examination and spiritual maturing after his blindness and restoration of sight. What happened with you?
The eyesight problem was actually addressed through a medical procedure. But from the moment I made that connection with Paul's healing, I simply had a new way of looking at the world and realized I needed to reexamine my spiritual self. I had a profound sense of hope going forward and felt like I was given a new start in life.
What eventually led you back to the study of Christian Science?
I had returned to school and majored in religious studies because of my deep desire to serve the world. I immediately pursued a master of divinity degree and then went to England to get my doctorate in education at the University of Bristol. Influenced by my grandmother's Congreagational Church, I became ordained in the United Church of Christ and was doing ministry with new immigrant church communities, particularly Filipino congregations. Eventually, I landed at San Francisco Theological Seminary and was asked to go to southern California to start a program there.
Once I moved, there were many blessings, but I started having health flare-ups. I had a relapse of the eye problem, and it occurred to me that the only time I had no health problems was when I was attending the Christian Science Sunday School during high school. I began to read the Christian Science weekly and monthly magazines, the Christian Science Sentinel and the Journal, and asked for help through prayer from Christian Science practitioners.
It came to me that in order to gain a deeper understanding of the truths I had initially responded to in Science and Health, and because of my background in religious education, there would be tremendous value in going through Christian Science Primary class with a group of others who were seeking that same depth of understanding. There's no requirement to be a church member to take class, so I looked for a teacher the way I looked for a college—it had to be a right fit. I chose my teacher because he had thought about many of the issues I was trying to understand, as well. And I was drawn to the fact that he'd worked with a range of students from different religious denominations.
And that leads us to today and how we met....
Yes. I love the ecumenical nature of the San Francisco Theological Seminary and how inviting it is to those of other Christian faiths who want to talk and learn. Mrs. Eddy had a Calvinist background, and I got to thinking, Wouldn't it be interesting to have someone 125 years after her discovery, a "modern" Christian Scientist, come to study at a "modern" Calvinist seminary? I thought it would be a blessing to everyone. This fits my ideal of a seminary. A learning/teaching community that offers catalysts for spiritual growth rather than being a dispensary of prescribed knowledge.
How do you incorporate Christian Science into your regular spiritual practice?
When I wake up each morning, the first thing I do is take time for quiet prayer, and that begins with reading the Psalms, going through each one during the course of a year. Then I study the Weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly, and finally, take the time to pray for myself, my community, and the world.
What does your work with a cross section of Christian churches indicate?
One exciting trend is that those congregations that previously had a strong focus on exterior social justice efforts are now addressing the interior social justice aspects within themselves. This leads into an entirely new way of thinking. There's less and less of the idea that a pastor has to look a certain way or have a certain size congregation of a certain ethnic similarity. There's a profound realization by these memberships that God works from the inside out.
Isn't this at the heart of Jesus' teachings: "The kingdom of God is within you?" (Luke 17:21)
Absolutely. And the result is that the outward expression of Church is transforming as it establishes itself on spiritual basis, within consciousness. In order to have growth of any kind, we need to think differently, just as Mrs. Eddy did. She was way ahead of her time, and so were the ideas she discovered. You can't help but know she was divinely inspired.
