VIEW FROM DOWN UNDER

Helping others. That theme runs throughout the life and work of Christian Science practitioner and teacher ABIGAIL MACKAY. Even as a teenager, Abby, as she's called, felt the pull to contribute—to make a positive difference in the world. Not surprisingly, after college she became a teacher, specializing in English literature. Her career in education began in Cape Town, South Africa, where she also taught religion and history. She later earned a master's degree in education at Southern Illinois University in the US. Over the years, her teaching stints took her to several other countries before she landed in a suburb of Melbourne, Tecoma, Australia, where she now lives.

Yet, that theme of helping others had only deepened over time, and in 2003 Abby left her teaching career to begin advertising her public practice of Christian Science healing in the Journal. Three years later, she became a teacher of Christian Science. And while Abby still loves literature—and especially poetry—her life today centers on healing and bringing the message of Christian Science to the world.

When Abby and I began our e-mail conversation from across the globe, I asked her to tell me about one of her most memorable experiences with Christian Science.

Abigail Mackay: When I was about twenty, I was traveling in rural South Africa with my brother, who was driving, and his friend, who sat in front while I was in the back. Most of the time the road had very little traffic and was straight for long stretches, so my brother was driving at high speed, about 140K per hour (90 mph).

At one point, we approached a large trailer truck traveling slowly ahead of us. My brother put on the turn indicator and moved into the overtaking lane. At the same moment, the trailer truck, without indicating, turned straight across our path. I looked up in time to see that we had about one second before we would hit the very large iron trailer with tremendous force. A wave of terror rose up in me, especially as I had no seat belt on (these are not required for backseats in South Africa). But I did what was very natural to me in a situation of danger: I instantly turned my whole being, my whole consciousness, to God as the one supreme power in my life.

Immediately I felt the fear drain away, and in its place a clear, strong thought came to me to relax and not brace against the impact. And I was able to do that, which would have been impossible if I had been rigid with fear. Then came an enormous crash, and the car rolled several times before coming to a standstill upside down on the far side of the road. I found myself lying in the roof of the car in a heap of shattered glass. My brother and his friend were hanging above me, unharmed, still suspended in their seat belts.

When we climbed out of the totally mangled vehicle, I found that although I had not been wearing a seat belt to hold me in place, I had no injuries, not a single bruise. The driver of the truck (who did not have a license) was also unharmed. He went to call the police. We all felt an overwhelming awareness of deliverance.

But then, what was almost more moving to me, was that the power of God that I felt certain had shielded us from being injured during the crash, stayed with us just as a loving parent would, and filled the rest of the day with a profound sense of tender care, instead of shock and fear.

It was a very hot and sunny day, and I felt a little dazed. I lay down on the side of the road and closed my eyes while we waited for the police to arrive. My brother and his friend did the same. Soon, a gentle Afrikaans voice above me said, "Die Here het u gered!" which means, "God saved you!"

I opened my eyes and saw an elderly couple looking down at me. They put out their hands, lifted me to my feet, and with their arms around me took me to their two-room cottage about 100 metres down the road. The place had a dirt floor, but was scrupulously clean and neat. They washed my dusty feet, gave me a drink and some biscuits, and put me in their own bed. The feelings of love and peace I experienced during the hour I spent in the cool of their quiet, humble home is something I can never forget. It still speaks to me of God's gracious presence, expressed in tangible, practical ways, when we turn to Him for comfort and refuge.

I remember nothing of the crash. Instead of living with an awful memory of disaster I have the very opposite—a memory of the wonderful proof of God's instantly available protection and care.

Marilyn Jones: Abby, let's talk about the state of your thought during that experience. How would you explain to a stranger why you were certain that it was God's protection and not just a happy coincidence that brought you and your brother and his friend through without any injuries?

Well, of course, this wasn't my personal miracle. I had just turned to God as the basis of my life instead of turning to my own human sense of things. When I turned to this power, which I had done many times before in difficult situations and experienced healing and help, I felt secure. I just knew that God was there. And even though I didn't know how He could save me, I was willing to trust in His power. I felt immediate peace from this reliance on Him. The ability to stay calm came because I felt conscious that my real being was in God and was therefore entirely spiritual—not a piece of matter subject to chance.

The spiritual fact of God's love overcame this dangerous situation, because spiritual existence is superior to a physical sense of existence. Another way of saying this is that the laws of God have spiritual and moral authority over matter because they're based in divine Truth—and this Truth never changes. It's larger than our human sense of what constitutes substance and power. Spiritual truths override—in fact, extinguish—our educated beliefs about physics and biology, or any other human doctrine.

The fundamental fact about God's laws is that they demonstrate that our life is based in Spirit, not matter, and therefore our life is maintained by that Spirit, which we call God. Spirit is not dependent on matter for expression, and we can catch glimpses of spiritual reality when we deeply consider this fact. God communicates to us through spiritual sense, not through the senses of matter. So healing and salvation are natural results of communing with God, the Principle of life.

We find how radically this Principle saves us particularly in situations where we can see no human solution. These experiences lead us to imbibe the idea that God is not contained in matter and therefore enables us to actually experience a higher, truer, stronger sense of life. Then we've found a safety and comfort that is invulnerable and so much more than even the best human capacity. We can experience the spiritual truth right now that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). We just need to trust these spiritual facts. As soon as we let go of our preconceptions, which are limited to material theories, and truly leave them behind for a more expansive, totally new way of thinking and being, we discover something of the nature of Spirit—as I discovered in the car crash.

That reliance certainly brought you deliverance and a wonderful freedom from fear and panic. That's just one of the many aspects of the freedom inherent in Christian Science. Because, both as a Science and as a religion, Christian Science doesn't require rituals or tests for someone to practice, to participate in, or to benefit in countless ways from what is really an ancient system of healing. Can you talk about how you've been freed through your study of Christian Science of either imprisoning beliefs or other forms of limitation?

Freedom is one of my favorite things to think about, Marilyn. Because, of course, nothing happens without the freedom to do it. I like to think of the creation story in chapter 1 of Genesis, which states, "And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (verse 2). I love the fact that before anything was created, God moved. Freedom is necessary for movement to take place. We all feel the need to move, to be moved, and to act on what moves us. That's what it means to be alive.

But I like to take that a step further and think about the freedom to be spiritual. To me, that's the greatest freedom, because spirituality takes us infinitely beyond ourselves. It leads us to know God. To me, nothing could be more moving and profound than to discover the Principle of creation. Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered, for more than all others spiritual causation relates to human progress" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 170). To reason from a spiritual standpoint as the basis of everything real, of everything that has life, gives a much freer view of the possibilities for human life than reasoning from the huge, heavy limits of matter with all its obstructions. I think people are often drawn to spirituality without even knowing specifically why, because spirituality with its atmosphere of freedom is innate to everyone. It's the source of our being and our genuine motivations and highest aspirations.

Probably what draws us most to Spirit is our recognition of the goodness and love of our Creator. We catch glimpses of the beauty of Spirit in a moment, a view, or a thought that takes us beyond ourselves and suggests the harmony and grace beyond human comprehension. Christ Jesus showed us this awareness. His ministry shows that he focused on beauty, goodness, perfection, the power of Spirit. And he went through his days undaunted by material circumstances, truly free.

And Jesus taught that freedom is a condition of truth, as when he said, "The truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). This statement emphasizes to me that divine Truth is self-existent and all-powerful to itself. An error can have no foot to stand on in opposing Truth. There's just no contest. And the truths of God help free us from any apparently ungodlike situation.

One area where many of us can feel most imprisoned is in personal relationships. For example, I had a relative whom I found very difficult. She seemed to always be angry and firing complaints. I was praying about the situation because I saw her regularly. One day I had the idea that despite a very full schedule, I would pay her a visit. When I called first, her husband answered the telephone and said it was not a good time because she was in a very bad mood. I said I'd come anyway. When I arrived, he opened the door and said she was in bed, not talking, and there was no point in my trying to see her. Nevertheless, I went into the bedroom where I was greeted with a very fierce look. But I felt completely that it was nothing. I knew that this foul mood was not part of this woman's true God-given nature, and I smiled, kissed her, sat on the bed, and talked with her. The stony silence lasted about five minutes, and then we were chatting very warmly. She thanked me happily for coming over. Her husband was even happier!

I realized I had gained my freedom by not seeing her—or anyone—as an angry creation. My prayers led me to stick with the goodness of God, which I knew had spiritual reality and substance. God causes only love and peace and harmony. He doesn't cause resentment, fear, or hatred. So relying on spiritual truth for my sense of the situation brought healing. It brought to light the fact that peace and harmony are always present and powerful because they're sourced in ever-present Spirit. Anger or negativity can hang around only if we're prepared to react to them.

It gave me a great sense of freedom and invulnerability to see how a spiritual sense of life can dissolve the power of stubborn angry thoughts—whether we think they are our own or someone else's. God made us strong and free. But this strength and freedom is spiritual. We won't find this total freedom by delving into human psychology, biology, or material theories. But when we know what's really true, as Jesus said, it has the effect of giving us freedom.

We find, just as Jesus taught and demonstrated, that relying on spiritual truths alone takes us outside of material limits to a full sense of the real creation. But to get there we need to see that a material sense of life is totally inadequate. Only then are we ready to let go of any false preconceptions. This spiritually based freedom has allowed me to drop any fear of disease and has delivered me from many untoward circumstances.

Since you're in Australia, and Christian Science—and The Mother Church—were both established in the United States, how do you help others to understand the universality of this Science? Have you met with resistance from Australians or people from other countries who view Christian Science as a strictly American religion?

Well, Christian Science had to be founded somewhere, didn't it! But when it comes to the things of Spirit, it's natural to see that issues of culture and nationality are external to the real substance of spiritual truth. Such a narrow focus on the geography or other such details misses the point about the significance of this world-changing discovery—the discovery of spiritual reality. Truth, by its nature, must be universal, and it's that universality that's most stimulating and dynamic. Truth also unifies the world because Truth never varies or is contingent on anything but itself. It's the same for everyone.

Stereotypes aren't always helpful, but we often have to deal with them in popular culture, and they can be mixed with some valid truisms. One of these stereotypes is the association of American culture with freedom. I think the fact that the United States was founded by people seeking religious freedom is significant. This aspect of national history doesn't detract from the universality of a truth, such as the Science of Christianity, which was discovered by an American. The fact that it was discovered in America doesn't make Christian Science American. But the place of this discovery does underscore the fact that liberty of thought is conducive to discovery.

Even in relation to world problems, if we consider that the solution is first and foremost spiritual, then the need for everyone's spiritual progress becomes obvious, urgent, and vital. To box this great endeavor into a framework of national or cultural dimensions is impossible. It would reduce the substance of the relationship between truth and freedom down to a meaningless theory. For example, the significance of a beautiful piece of music is not which piano it was originally played on, but the inspiration that produced it and the continued expression of that inspiration. In the same way, Christian Science transcends nationality. To me, the truths of the Bible are so infinitely meaningful, always providing me with new insights into the nature of God and of myself as His creation, it's impossible to think of them as enclosed in a particular era or locality. They speak to the very nature of existence, of what it means to exist at all, in the most fundamental way. Christian Science opens up the spiritual meaning of these inspired words from the Bible, enabling us to get at their substance, which is God revealing Himself to us. His creation.

This is so much bigger than nationality, but I think there is meaning in the fact that Christian Science was founded in a country that provided the freedom necessary to think and act outside the boxes of conventionality and tradition. It says to me that my individual discovery of God, of Truth, requires that my thought be permitted that same freedom to think and be free of material convention. It points me to the fact that for spiritual inspiration to take hold, my thought needs to be uncluttered by any limit on thinking spiritually.

Right now the world is going through tremendous turmoil. Across the globe economies are veering off course, and people everywhere express fear and uncertainty about the future—both long-range and in their immediate situations. Christian Science really can change the world. So how do we do it? Practically speaking, how do you see the role for yourself as an individual, and then the role of our whole Christian Science movement, in bringing the Science of Christianity to bear on all of these world issues? And not just in this current economic situation, but also in healing disease throughout the world?

I think a great place to start when facing world-sized problems is to see that God has not left humanity without answers, without hope, or without help. People today, just as those in Bible times, are experiencing the results of thought inspired by the divine Presence. These effects are unmistakable and profound. For example, the lives of the prophets in the Bible tell of powerful healings and escapes from deadly situations—whether unjust laws or tyranny—which show that prayer, communion with God, results in powerful deliverance from anything and everything. And the New Testament tells of the advent of Christ Jesus and his world-changing ministry of healing and transformation.

Christian Science examines this divine power and its source, God, and enables anyone to follow in overcoming problems of all kinds. However, there is work attached to this. It does demand consecration and a willingness to let go of our own, sometimes tightly held, assumptions. But this is hugely freeing. And that takes me back to Mary Baker Eddy's statement that the question we need to pose is about spiritual causation, because this is what affects human progress most.

When we start from the inspired and powerful perspective of God's Word, we're working outside of material limits. We have spiritual dominion over everything that keeps us imprisoned when we see that material limitations are not walls that God created. They're the results of our own misconceptions. The mission of Jesus and the prophets was to alert us to these misconceptions and to lead us to think in an entirely new way, a divine way. When we transform our thinking, then we're really making progress. We're seeing beyond the problems of matter to the real Science of the universe.

This Science obliterates disease, for instance, by showing us that disease was not made by God. This divine Science provides the method—our own prayer that aligns our thought with divine Truth—that enables us to lose our fear of sickness. We can then prove to ourselves that evil of any kind, including disease, is not part of God's creation. Christian Science demystifies and dissolves the material propensity to be fogged in because of the belief that life is material instead of spiritual.

Once we've figured out that the real answers to life's dilemmas don't lie in the human brain, material theories, or technology, we've begun to look in the direction of real, permanent solutions. We start to contemplate the fact that God hasn't left us here helpless and frail in the face of all kinds of disasters, but has given us ascendancy over evil and pain. That's because the laws of God are intelligent and logical. They are not mystical or ephemeral. They make sense and are practical.

In relation to the financial crisis that's threatening the whole world right now, it's vital to examine this law of Love in action. Many experts, as well as everyday people, recognized immediately that this crisis is the result of greed, fear, and corrupt practices. Spiritual law includes a moral imperative. Wrong practices are never successful in the long run. And although the situation is difficult, it's really healing that's taking place. Because people all over the world see more clearly than ever that greed is a recipe for failure and that the only way to a secure future for everyone is through fairness and honesty.

We can realize that unprincipled behavior is just that—actions that have no Principle, no divine mandate and hence no genuine power to achieve anything. Divine law upholds integrity and justice, so we don't need to fear that another's actions can deprive us of any good. The good in our lives comes directly from God. It has a firm, unshakable basis. Trusting God's laws of justice and mercy to govern rightly, we'll see we're always under the umbrella of those laws. Security in any area of our lives must come from something higher than human behavior. It must have its source in divine Truth or it would be changeable and subject to human fallibility.

There is spiritual force to that perception. God's law upholds integrity in business as well as everywhere else. And this law is irresistible. As we take the demands of spiritual living seriously and realize that they need to be acted upon, not just read about, we'll see changes for the better taking place in every sphere of thought, which is where every action begins. The capacity for Christian Science to change the world is immeasurable, because it involves finding out about spiritual reality and the true nature of God. And that's an infinite pursuit for each of us—with infinite potential for good.