Q: I am not educated. I am wondering—can I still take Primary class instruction in Christian Science?
A: This question came from a man who lived in one of the mountain regions of the Philippines, during my trip to conduct meetings on the practice of Christian Science healing. In these regions, where an Internet culture has not taken hold, the main source of income is farming. For many, an elementary school education is all that is available. Many dialects are spoken, and for our meetings we often needed a local interpreter. But even though it was a language I couldn’t understand, I could sense this man’s sincerity—and his earnest desire.
I paused for a moment when he asked the question, for I had never been asked it before. Then another question came to me silently: Were those Jesus chose to be his disciples literate? How about those who followed him and healed others? The obvious answer had to be: No, many of them probably couldn’t read or write.
And so my reply to this man’s question was clear: Yes you can!
Jesus taught by parables and simple spoken words, but most of all with his examples of healing. And how about the students that Mary Baker Eddy taught, and her provision to allow 12-year-olds to apply for membership in The First Church of Christ, Scientist?
In the Church Manual she states that the church was “designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing” (p. 17). From what these farmers in the Philippines shared at our meetings, they seemed to represent this “primitive Christianity”—with plentiful healing examples in their daily lives. Many of them are learning to read English. One man in another meeting stood up and said he went to school only up to the fifth grade, but he has read Science and Health through many times and is now reading other Christian Science texts, including biographies of Mrs. Eddy. In India the mother of a Christian Scientist, who is Hindu, has begun to read Science and Health one page at a time, studying English along the way. She has found the ideas powerful, and is almost done with the book. Recently, she won a call-in game show due to her growing command of English that she gained from her desire to grow spiritually.
Many people who embark on reading Science and Health in English without a translation in their own language feel they are illiterate—but they are never prevented from healing and understanding the principles taught in Christian Science. By witnessing healing, and talking, and asking questions, they, too, become competent students.
It is interesting to note that Mrs. Eddy didn’t allow her students to take notes in her class. She wanted their full attention focused on her teaching—listening, and thinking deeply. She writes, “Christian Science presents unfoldment, not accretion; . . . an impartation of the divine Mind to man and the universe” (Science and Health, p. 68). If the student’s desire to heal and to grow spiritually is consistent and strong, we can trust that the divine Mind will impart what is necessary for that student every moment before, during, and after taking class.
In the early Christian movement, a vast majority of the followers were probably not well educated. Yet the movement spread widely and rapidly. Why? Because they were drawn to the spirit of Jesus’ healing ministry, love—not to wordy explanations or set rituals. Even a small child can feel and know God, Truth’s presence, with his or her spiritual sense, which is the only sense we possess.
So, perhaps the best guide to this gentle man’s inquiry is found in the first statement on the first page of Science and Health: “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (p. vii). Therein lies the real question: Are you ready to lean on the sustaining infinite?
Tokyo, Japan
