"It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony."
- Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 390
To restore harmony, or heal, any situation, a better understanding of God is required. How do we learn more about God? The Bible is a good place to start. It lists many characteristics of Him, such as Creator, Lawgiver, Father, Spirit, Love. Christ Jesus says that to know him is to know God. So, a thorough study of Jesus' teachings would also contribute to knowing more about God. Then, as we understand more about God, we know more about ourselves as His perfect children. This understanding heals, restores harmony.
Added July 21, 2008.
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:38, 39
William Hendriksen in his commentary on Romans (1982) interpreted Chapter 8 as poetry. These two verses are presented as follows:
Not death and not life and not angels above
Can ever exclude us from God's lasting love.
Nor present nor future can ever avail
To cause that great love for his dear ones to fail.
Not demons or powers, not depth and not height
Can weaken its glow or diminish its might
No creature can part us, whatever the sort,
From God's love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The entire poem can be found here: http://www.calvarydevoted.org/Public/studies/romans/Rom8Poem.pdf
Added July 16, 2008.
"The terms Divine Science, Spiritual Science, Christ Science or Christian Science, or Science alone, she employs interchangeably, according to the requirements of the context. These synonymous terms stand for everything relating to God, the infinite, supreme, eternal Mind. It may be said, however, that the term Christian Science relates especially to Science as applied to humanity. "
- Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 127
When reading "Science and Health", the meaning is sometimes clearer when the sentences are examined grammatically and rearranged according to the grammar use by Mrs. Eddy. In the first two sentences, Science and its synonyms are defined to "stand for everything relating to God." The last sentence could be considered to say, then, "...the term Christian Science relates especially to everything relating to God as applied to humanity." That is just what Christian Science practice is - applying the truths about God to humanity's issues and healing them.
Added June 24, 2008.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork."
- Psalms 19:1
I love thinking about being in the desert or the mountains and looking at all the stars in the sky and thinking about how they "declare the glory of God." You can see beauty, order, and activity. With a pair of binoculars, even more is discovered - the fuzziness of distant galaxies, moons around Jupiter and rings around Saturn, perhaps even a comet. This points to the infinitude, beauty, orderliness, and infinite variety of God's creation. Rejoice in it and discover how you are declaring God's glory and showing His creation.
Added June 19, 2008.
"In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry...Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being."
- Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 63
This passage declares unequivocally that God, Spirit, is our Father. Man is not material and doesn't have a material origin. This means that we don't have to accept human beliefs about heredity as being applicable to ourselves or others. Our heritage is only from God and we are like Him. Putting these ideas into practice will heal anything inharmonious that might be associated with human parentage.
Added June 17, 2008.
"I am the Lord your God...And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
- Leviticus 26:1 I am, 12
What comfort! God declares that he is our God, reinforcing the First Commandment. Then, He promises to be with us always and that we are His. Whenever things seem less than harmonious in your life, remember these verses. God is aways with you, walking with you and leading the way. He will guide you to the harmonious resolution of every circumstance.
Added April 15, 2008.
"Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy."
- Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 476-477
This excerpt from Science and Health explains how Jesus healed and is an example of how we can heal, too. He saw "God's own likeness." That's what the truth about you is - you are God's own likeness. You are intact, not subject to deterioration or decay. By striving to see yourself as God's likeness, you are praying in the same way that Jesus did and healing will result.
Added April 9, 2008.
