Articles

CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD have benefited from the selfless, tender care of Christian Science nurses for the last 100 years. November 2008 marks the centennial of the By-Law in the Manual of The Mother Church that officially established Christian Science nursing as part of the Church's healing activities.

MUCH OF THE WORLD today seems obsessed with aging and loss. Advertising focuses almost exclusively on the value of youthfulness, promoting everything from unrealistic body images to botox.

WHAT NEVER BEGINS, NEVER ENDS, never breaks down, never ages, never hurts, rusts, corrodes, or falls apart, but always exists, thrives, progresses, and—like the pink bunny in the battery ad—just keeps on going .

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.