Articles

The recent court cases against Christian Scientist parents have caused wide public comment. Some newspaper editorials have expressed genuine support both for these parents and for the freedom to practice spiritual healing but there has also been considerable inaccurate reporting in the media and much condemnation of Christian Scientists' reliance on prayer for healing.

It's easy to see why people with unusual talents, backgrounds, or interests seem to have a special "calling" that sets them apart from others. But what's the basis of this uniqueness? Does everybody have some version of it? Is everyone "called," or does a sense of mission and purpose in life belong only to a few "chosen" individuals—the prophets described in the Old Testament, for example? One has to admire those ancient prophets.

" Ye are the light of the world," Christ Jesus told his followers. Is that how today's Christians see themselves? Many of us have made a basic commitment to be Christians and to follow him.

The healing practiced in Christian Science is based not on a blind belief or positive thinking or "I sure hope it works this time" but on a deeper understanding of God and of man's relationship to Him. We learn in Christian Science that even healings of so-called incurable ailments are not miraculous or supernatural.

Suppose I were to mention someone you know very well and ask you to tell me what he is like. You would probably describe his physical features.

Stephen W. Hawking, the celebrated professor at Cambridge, recently stated, "If we find the answer to [why we and the universe exist], it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason—for then we would know the mind of God.

A glimpse of the life of the Church's Founder, Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy was reared in a strict Congregational atmosphere, and in her early years she was exposed to all the current theological arguments. As a teenager she rejected the Calvinist notion that some people were foreordained to the hell of what was then orthodox theology.

My wife and I were visiting with new friends in Argentina. Our few words of Spanish and their efforts at English enabled us to begin learning more about each other.

One way to answer Christ Jesus' command—"Go ye into all the world"—is to become a Mother Church member. Uniting with the Church of Christ, Scientist, is committing yourself to practice Christian healing in the way Christ Jesus taught.

Extracts from letters of listeners to shortwave broadcasts The World Service of The Christian Science Monitor I thoroughly enjoy your programmes and tune in to your news broadcasts because you seem to have the best news show around. I also enjoy your spiritual messages and Bible passages.