Articles

A LEGEND FROM THE TIME OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH relates that the Apostle John, well into his 90s, announced that he would give a public speech. We can imagine the stir that must have taken place among those early followers to actually have the opportunity to hear from the last surviving apostle and learn directly from him.

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ANECDOTE about the monkey who found a hole in a coconut just big enough to put his hand in? As he did, he discovered something inside and wrapped his fingers around it. But then he couldn't get his hand out, because holding onto the treasure, his hand became a fist—too large to remove from the hole.

The author points out that Christian Science is not an alternative but an alterative—because it moves us away "from the belief that matter constitutes our substance, faculties, or functions."

1. In this month's Deep Think, Christian Science practitioner and teacher Ron Ballard takes on the question that every thinker has wrestled with since the beginning of time: What is the nature of existence? According to Ron, a completely spiritual basis for understanding life is not really an alternative to traditional beliefs.

The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love. — MARY BAKER EDDY "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet.

I HAD GIVEN SO MUCH TO THE ORGANIZATION in time and effort. My intentions had been honorable.

I LOVE THE IDEA THAT GOD CREATED US TO FULFILL A DIVINE PURPOSE, that God has appointed each of us to serve Him in a unique way, and that He needs us to do His work. But sometimes it can seem easy to fall into the trap of believing that we're just not that special.

A high-school student found peace when the annual spring musical set the stage for a story she hadn't anticipated. Performing and singing in musicals are two of my favorite things to do.

NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR SLEET NOR HAIL keeps Leonard Lempert and his two retired cronies from their appointed rounds at the picnic table. "We think of ourselves as 'the Christian Scientist, the Catholic, and the agnostic,' " Lempert laughs, referring to himself and "the two Toms"—one a lawyer, the other an ex-advertising executive and current town selectman—who gather most mornings outside the tiny general store in rural Massachusetts.

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" ( Matthew 22:29 ). "The Scriptures require more than a simple admission and feeble acceptance of the truths they present; they require a living faith, that so incorporates their lessons into our lives that these truths become the motive-power of every act" (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp.