Articles

How much do we love our church? How much healing is in our concept of it? Are we lifting our gaze beyond the externals— beyond the traditional steepled building, the impressive monument to religion that is pointed out to the city's visitor, beyond even the simple, small room that holds a few earnest worshipers? Are any of these truly "Church"? Natural and popular expressions, yes, but only symbols, nevertheless. Is there even one word describing any of these outward symbols in the definition of "Church" in the Christian Science textbook? Mrs.

The title of this article is perhaps misleading. Ideally the intellectual and the spiritual, the letter and the spirit, should complement each other.

Readers in Churches of Christ, Scientist, feel the challenge of tremendous opportunity. They read to expectant congregations messages that are spiritually radical in premise, revolutionary in promise, and both tender and persuasive in appeal.

Mortal existence might be likened to "chaos and old night. " To unenlightened thought, good often seems without foundation and subject to destruction and decay, while evil seems to predominate in almost every facet of experience.

Peter and John, the Scriptures relate, healed a man who was "lame from his mother's womb. " Acts 3:2; He had been born a cripple, but the disciples proved that the power of the Christ, Truth, is able to overcome a condition of lameness despite its long duration or supposed incurability.

Any attempt to understand the purpose and operation of the Church of Christ, Scientist, without studying what Mrs. Eddy says in the Manual of The Mother Church would be like seeking an understanding of Christian Science without reference to what she says in Science and Health.

Someone once wisely said, "It is not he who has little but he who wants more who is poor. " Not that there is any special virtue in having little.

In the one hundred years since the publication of Science and Health with key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the truth in this book has been forcing deep-seated materialism to surface. Evil exposed seems more active.

We are fortunate to possess some fruits from the period of Paul's captivity at Rome, the epistles to the Philippian, Ephesian, and Colossian churches and the brief note to Philemon. The members of the church at Philippi had been loyal and generous to Paul since his first stay at Corinth, when they supplied his needs.

I suppose every workman who is worth his salt cherishes his tools. He knows that if he would be successful he must choose quality tools and learn to use them expertly.