Articles

In the early days of the Christian Science movement, the Church of Christ, Scientist, was faced with many difficulties, some of which might have proved disastrous had it not been for the wise leadership of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. In a letter to The Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts, concerning a legal matter relating to the building of its first edifice, our Leader said (Miscellaneous Writings, p.

Christ Jesus ' statements in his Sermon on the Mount ( Matt. 6:24 ), "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

" Personality ," writes Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" ( p. 491 ), "is not the individuality of man.

In the Bible we are told that Joseph's brethren agreed to sell him into slavery because they were envious of his father's love for him. He was placed temporarily in a deep pit, but was soon drawn out and sold to the Ishmaelites.

The harvest season of the year is a time of rejoicing, a time in which to count one's blessings and to give special thanks to God for His abundance. The seeds of the earth have brought forth their marvel of multiplication, and the golden grain has been gathered into storehouses.

As humanity advances in its insatiable quest for supremacy over material limitations, many are asking: "What will be the eventual outcome? Is mankind really progressing toward its goal of freedom?" Whatever the promise for the future, offered by the material sciences, it must appear insignificant in comparison with the import of the question propounded by Christ Jesus ( Matt. 16:26 ), "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" It would be tragedy indeed if mankind were to gain mastery over a world and yet remain in bondage to the false sense of self.

In Isaiah, we read the divine promise ( 65:25 ), "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. " Is that holy mountain a particular locality? Several years ago, a Christian Scientist delivered a baccalaureate sermon at a great university.

On several occasions the Apostle Paul pointed out to the early Christian church the danger of splitting up into divisions or factions. He once wrote ( I Cor.

There is more security in one Godlike motive and act than in all the matter in the world. Security cannot exist in materiality, a state of thinking in which men deny the integrity of God and His creation.

In Christ Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, as recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Luke, it is made clear that the foolish wanderer, once he was truly repentant, found his father ready to receive him, not only with kind words of welcome, but with food and clothing. It is further brought out that the elder son who, we must infer, remained at home industriously working in the fields complained about the generous treatment accorded his erring brother.