Articles

Public opening of The Mother Church Bible Collection On November 13 and 14, 1991, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, hosted an early celebration of National Bible Week (November 24-December 1). Scholars, curators, community leaders, and employees of The Mother Church were present at the opening of the Church's historical Bible Collection.

When we are healed by turning to God through prayer, our gratitude is immeasurable. In fact, we may find ourselves thanking God many times.

At a time when we are confronted daily with decisions by governments of different types around the world, and at a time when it appears that even well-intentioned government decisions can hurt the citizens, it is important to ask: Which laws are we subject to? Whose laws protect and take care of us? For many years I lived under a communist regime that did not allow freedom of worship or open dissent from official government policies. This, of course, was in conflict with my most conscientious thoughts about God.

A friend of mine commented recently, "Church work isn't hardware, as most people think; it's all software!" What my friend was pointing out was that the primary key to our success as a Church does not merely depend upon the building, the paperwork, or committee meetings. Rather, the success of our Church hinges upon the inward purification and regeneration of our own individual thought and lives, and the willingness to bring those fruits to bear on all that we do.

What an experience to catch the vision of spiritual truth for the first time! It changes our lives. We don't feel the same about things and other people.

My father was a jocund man, sparkling with good humor and wit, adept at telling funny stories. He was a pharmacist, and one of his stores was in the poorer section of town.

A young family, quite new to my country and to the activity of roller-skating, was trying for the first time to learn to skate. It was one fall after another, accompanied by much laughter—laughter that eventually gave way to frustration.

We know that a lie is the opposite of truth and that truth is that which is actual. But are we aware of the necessity of determining constantly within our own consciousness what is true and what is a lie in order to live a truly Christian life? Are we aware of the spiritual power we exercise when we distinguish lies from the truth and refuse to agree with lies? Are we aware of the Christian necessity never to consent to a lie? The demand upon every Christian is to deal with his own character and to grow daily in Christian grace and living.

The commitment to be a serious student of Christian Science includes alertness to resist being distracted. A deeply felt conviction of God's omnipotence and of man's genuine, spiritual nature come only as we stick with the study and prayer we've started.

In Jesus' time the Pharisees were the dominant religious influence in Judaism. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus tells us that they had great "power over the multitude" and were generally supposed to "excel others" as authoritative interpreters of the Jewish law (The Works of Josephus: New Updated Edition).