One morning this past winter I was shadowing a twelve-year-old snowboarder boarder down the mountain. He was a blur of color and confidence as he sped down the slope. It was hard to decide which was more fun to watch: his ability and sheer athleticism, or his complete immersion in and obvious satisfaction with the snowboarder identity—from the baseball cap worn backward to the baggy pants to the overall aura of a preteen who knows he looks cooler than all the nearby teenagers eyeing him with envy.
But what if one is no longer twelve? And what if it’s not one’s place on a snowboard but on a corporate board, maybe with a corner office and access to the company jet, that largely shapes one’s identity? And then, poof, the job is gone. Or perhaps one has hung his or her identity not on a job but on a role like husband or wife or parent—and then unforeseen events suddenly disrupt the familiar routine. What then? … continue reading
By William Whittenbury from the February 2023 issue of The Christian Science Journal
The dream of exploring space was still many years away from being realized when Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, asked groundbreaking questions about the universe. Just as astronomers and astronauts reveal facts about the nature of our universe that challenge long-held human convictions, Mrs. Eddy’s own search for Truth led her to revolutionary discoveries about the nature of reality—discoveries that can be applied by anyone to break free from material limitations.
In my own life and career as an engineer working on the design of spacecraft and rockets, I’ve thought a lot about the relationship between Mrs. Eddy’s work and present-day efforts to explore and understand the universe. While some think there is an inherent conflict between science and spirituality, I’ve found just the opposite. Since both science and spirituality are concerned with the study of truth, if—as logic suggests—there is only one truth, then it is inevitable that the two will eventually arrive at the same answer.
Years before people launched satellites, orbited the Earth, and left footprints on the moon, Mrs. Eddy predicted humanity’s march to the stars. In her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she wrote, “The elements and functions of the physical body and of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes its beliefs. . . .
“. . . The astronomer will no longer look up to the stars,—he will look out from them upon the universe; . . .” (pp. 124–5). … Continue Reading
This article by Lyle Young was published in the January 2, 2022 issue of the the Christian Science Sentinel.
Over the centuries, political philosophers developed the theory that democracy is a social pact in which people, for their own good, submit themselves to collective decision-making. But even the strongest of democracies needs constant renewal. How can this be accomplished? … The book of First John in the Bible says that God is Love. … Since our origin, our Father-Mother, is divine Love and infinite Spirit, it’s our nature to be loving and spiritual. This means that the aggressive language sometimes used in politics, the virulent attacks, and the tendency to think of those whose policies we oppose as enemies, are not only profoundly anti-democratic but also profoundly alien to our true selves. (Read the full text)
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
Christian Science Canberra 