“…when God is acknowledged as the only power directing us”

Thanks for the opportunity to revisit an “old friend” in the form of the book A Century of Christian Science Healing. Thankfully I still have my copy (1966 edition). I think I read it once or twice many years ago, in the early days of my study of Christian Science. As I recall, I found the overwhelming “tide of healing” described in it really helped solidify my understanding of the power and scope of what Christian Science can really do. This was clear proof that Science can sweep away any and all claims of error when correctly applied and that it really is the Truth that makes us free. This was what I had been looking for since I was very young.

Today as I completed reading it again, I am experiencing many of the same thoughts and feelings that I had then. I have noticed, as I walk to and from my office each day, an enlarged view of all I see. The material objects don’t change much, but the context they now exist in has changed. It is more and more apparent that the picture that mortal mind is presenting is less important and powerful to affect us when God is acknowledged as the only power directing us.

I realize how important this changed outlook can be as we face the seemingly endless rancor and division that try to color almost every aspect of public life today. It is as if we are drowning in a sea of negativity and doubt, and only divine Science can show us the way out.

Choosing favorite healings from the large number of outstanding ones was not easy, except for one. It is the healing of Joseph Mann that occurred in 1886. (p. 25) I remember hearing about this healing either from fellow Christian Scientists or a lecturer in the early days of my study. The first time I heard it described, I found myself thinking this is really unequivocal proof that Christian Science is the truth. That healing provided such indisputable proof of what Mrs. Eddy had taught about Science and its power that it became a touchstone for me whenever circumstances caused me to doubt Science.

As for a second testimony, I found myself especially drawn to the later healings in the book that had been aired on the Radio series “How Christian Science Heals” in the late 50s, especially Ralph Burr’s. (pp. 27-29) This was a time before I had even started studying Christian Science, but I knew enough about it to believe that it was the truth that I was looking for. I only heard these broadcasts sporadically and never knew when I would run across one, but each time it happened I was filled with the feeling that these healings were without a doubt examples of God in operation in the lives of ordinary people, and that someday I would have the chance to study it myself.

Ralph Burr’s demonstration of Divine Mind’s ability to provide an answer to a perplexing technical question reminded me of an incident early in my teaching career when a colleague and I were teaching multiple sections of a biology lab in which the students were to determine the amount of protein in their cell cultures. They were using an assay method that had multiple steps and required use of several different reagents. This assay was the major work of that week’s labs, and the results would be used for further work that they would do. Unfortunately, the assay was not working properly, and a week’s worth of labs were in jeopardy. My colleague and I had spent hours trying to find the problem behind the failure but without success. We were facing having to cancel the lab for a large number of students if we could not find the solution.

We had come to what seemed like an insurmountable wall, and we looked at each other with no idea as to what to do next. I thought at that moment, “We have not tried everything; I should pray.” I suggested to my colleague that we take a few moments to clear our minds and see if new inspiration might come our way. I started my prayer from the standpoint of only one Mind being in charge; that everything that needs to be known is already known by God, and that we cannot be cut off from that knowledge. A feeling of certainty came over me, and, after a fairly brief interval, we both looked up simultaneously and said, “We must look at the technician’s notebook.” This is a record of how the tech prepared each of the solutions we had been using. Often this record is not kept current, but we quickly found the necessary page and immediately saw that one reagent had been prepared at a ten-fold higher concentration than it should have. The problem was solved, and the week’s labs were saved. God was clearly in charge of this situation, and it didn’t take long for us to realize it when we looked in the right direction.

In regard to your last question for the assignment, asking how we can be more active in healing ourselves and others through our understanding of Christian Science after reading this book, I can only say that it has given me a more expansive view of the applicability of Christian Science to all aspects of human existence.  

This was brought home to me very clearly in the final chapter, “The Horizon of Healing,” which provides a powerful overview of Christian Science in action in a number of different areas. The Christianity and Science section was particularly prescient in recognizing in 1966 the very issues still facing humanity today from “the total extinction of the human race” to “the indefinite prolongation of human life.” To me, this illustrates how all-encompassing this Science has been, and still is today, to address every single problem of humanity. Even when I feel overwhelmed with what appears to be the reality of all the world’s problems, and my faith in my ability to do anything about them wavers, all I have to do is return to this book for proof that the Science which Mrs. Eddy gave the world is still with us showing the pathway forward.