Articles

At the beginning of a great undertaking, such as the construction of a large dam, a long bridge, or a high building, all those associated with the work, from the one who turns the first spadeful of earth at the ground-breaking ceremonies to the one who performs the last finishing touch, are inspired with confidence. Aeronautical engineers design and build an airplane, which they expect to be able to attain a speed of a thousand miles an hour or even more; and throughout the time of their activity they maintain confidence in the ultimate success of the legitimate undertaking.

When Christ Jesus was counseling his disciples to be more forgiving one to another, and even to avoid giving offense, they interrupted him with this heartfelt petition: "Increase our faith" ( Luke 17:5 ). It was as though he was demanding of them more than they felt equal to, and so they humbly asked for more faith.

At times one hears serious objections raised to Christian Science on the score that Christian Scientists do not observe certain long-established ordinances of the Bible or follow all the observances of the Master and the practices of his disciples. However, the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, states as the first religious tenet of Christian Science (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.

Did you ever see an automobile running uphill without the aid of a motor? No doubt you are laughing to yourself at this seemingly ridiculous question. Yet near the city of Moncton, in New Brunswick, Canada, one can apparently witness such a thing.

We are all familiar with the words from the beautiful and comforting twenty-third Psalm, "My cup runneth over," but we are often inclined to associate this running over with those times when our blessings seem unusually abundant. This attitude of thought stems from the erroneous belief that a kind but incomprehensibly whimsical deity fills our cup at times, but at other periods withholds benefits for some unknown disciplinary purpose, so that our cup is empty or merely half filled.

How to obtain and maintain health is a question frequently discussed today. Mary Baker Eddy sets forth vividly and lucidly in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," the complete revelation of divine Science, which in a simple yet satisfying way answers this universal question.

Gold and dross, wheat and tares, are contrasting pairs of terms used by Christian Scientists to illustrate the distinction between good and evil and particularly to show the necessity of separating them, that the gold and wheat may remain and the dross and tares be destroyed. On page 535 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" its author, Mary Baker Eddy, writes, "The seed of Truth and the seed of error, of belief and of understanding,—yea, the seed of Spirit and the seed of matter,— are the wheat and tares which time will separate, the one to be burned, the other to be garnered into heavenly places.

In the Gospel of Matthew (4:23) it is recorded that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. " Jesus never resorted to material medicines or methods for healing and made no concessions to persons or opinions.

" Invite all cordially and freely to this A banquet of Christian Science, this feast and flow of Soul. " Thus Mary Baker Eddy delightfully characterizes the Christian Science testimony meeting in a letter of instruction sent to The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Often in Wednesday testimony meetings held in Christian Science churches one hears expressions of gratitude for a severe testing time, and the individual who is young in the study of Christian Science may wonder why one would rejoice over affliction. But the older student knows that seemingly difficult experiences, rightly viewed, carry the reward of a growing spiritual understanding that ultimates in victory over the claims of matter.