Articles

Sacrifice in worship takes different forms. In many early cultures, showing respect for tribal gods through animal sacrifice was central to worship.

I was standing at the bus stop, waiting for my bus. The scene was depressing.

The British slogan “Keep calm and carry on” began as a 1939 poster but has made a global reappearance today. In the midst of modern-day disturbances and disasters, it encourages many.

Have you heard the expression “two sides of the same coin”? It means that two things are very closely related even though they seem different. I’ve learned that the “coin” of personal sense is a worthless coin.

Several years ago, on a cold night a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was working the night shift at a convenience store, when I noticed a car backing into the parking spot next to the front door. Several things raised alarms in my mind.

Something special happens when people gather together to explore their relationship to God and church. As they draw closer to divine Love, God, and share inspiration, they find themselves drawing closer to each other, too.

Guy Gilbert is a French Catholic priest who is well known for his commitment to underprivileged populations. He’s a student of the Bible and said something a few years ago that touched me: “Live in such a way that your way of living causes people to think it is impossible for God not to exist.

Appearances can be deceptive. And sometimes deception can lead to mistaken conclusions about the condition or value of something you care about—your church, for example.

Even when someone has fully embraced the concept of God as infinite Love (a concept I have so cherished from my lifelong study of Christian Science), it may still be hard for them to recognize when they are subtly falling for common, incorrect views about divine wrath and punishment. This mistaken sense of God can creep up as something benign, like, “Well, you made a mistake, so now you must pay the penalty.

I’ve worked full time as a librarian of a Christian Science Reading Room for many years. It’s a unique position, one I’ve found to be just as important and rewarding as other positions within the church organization.