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Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p192:27)
Author Archive
The Power of Selflessness Leave a comment
Let There Be Peace … and Let it Begin with Me 5 comments
Already it’s 2025! Sometimes a new year will cause us to reflect on the year just gone and consider whether we made the most of the opportunities it presented; whether we learned from the challenges; whether we progressed in some way. More likely we will be thinking ahead. Will this be the year I lose weight, exercise more, find a better job? We may even set goals for ourselves.
If we are honest, we must admit that most of our goals are personal ones aren’t they? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a better version of ourselves in some way, but what if our goals were larger? What would the world be like if we all decided to contribute to making the world a better, more peaceful place? Traditional Christmas carols express hope for ‘peace on earth, good will toward men’. What if this desire was not just a line in a song but our personal goal?
You might ask: How can I make a difference? The world is in such a difficult state – there is poverty, and there are wars, and terrible injustices. How can I help with that, you ask? Every thought and every action contribute to the mental atmosphere of our environment. Are we contributing to a more peaceful environment in our daily interactions? Are we patient and supportive when the person behind the counter is new at their job? Are we gracious in traffic when someone inadvertently cuts us off? Are we forgiving when a waiter makes an error in our order? Are we generous to those less fortunate than ourselves? Every one of these actions contributes to your own and others’ feeling of being loved and valued. Isn’t that what we all need? Isn’t this what really makes life work right?
The Golden Rule: ‘ Treat others as you would want to be treated’, isn’t just a Christian saying. A quick Google search reveals that it is a core demand of every major religion and school of thought. The world knows that it is love that makes things work right. This time next year when we look back on 2025, let’s hope we can all say that we contributed to the peace of the world. Starting right here with our everyday actions we can do our part in building peace.
This article was contributed by Deborah Packer, a member of the Canberra Christian Science community.
Towards a Higher Sense of Self Leave a comment
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Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
When man is spoken of as made in God’s image, it is not sinful and sickly mortal man who is referred to, but the ideal man, reflecting God’s likeness. (Science and Health p346: 2)
Man’s genuine selfhood is recognizable only in what is good and true. Man is neither self-made nor made by mortals. God created man. (Science and Health p294:25)
Moving into the New Year Leave a comment
Christmas Time Goodwill … Always Leave a comment
This article, by Suzanne Riedel, was first published in the December 16, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
For ages, many have acknowledged that practicing peace and goodwill is fundamental to human life. A few examples of this come to mind, such as the 2023 Academy Award-winning short animated film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (based on a book by Charlie Mackesy). In the film, the mole asks the boy what he wants to be when he grows up. The boy’s immediate answer is “Kind.”
Human gravitation toward goodwill, or benevolence, is also explored in Charles Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol. In it, Ebenezer Scrooge’s hardened rejection of good is transformed as he eventually feels the true spirit of Christmas. In such tales, the takeaway is often that kindness and goodwill are innate to the human heart and prevail even when people’s opinions and beliefs are threatened. They are qualities that are basic to a peaceful, thriving society.
Click here to read (or listen) to the rest of this article where Suzanne proves that Love is not just a feeling but a divine force that heals both physical and relationship problems at Christmas time and always.
Real Christmas – It’s All About Love 1 comment
Christmas – one of the most important events in human history. This is a big statement to make. It’s a big statement because its message relates to us all – everyone. It’s relevant all year round, not just on one day. But what’s so big and important and relevant about Christmas?
The importance is the underlying message that Jesus’ birth ushered into the world. Yes, the details of the story are important, but it’s the underlying message that’s of the greatest importance, both then and today. It’s important because it was the beginning of a life lived with such love and dominion that it so transformed the experience of the people around him, that its legacy is still felt and celebrated over 2000 years later.
Jesus’ mission was to show us what makes life work right for us. We can see this by the effect he had on the people around him. He turned poverty into overflowing abundance; ill health into full health; even bad sinful behaviour into good honest characters. His life was entirely motivated by love – love for God and love for his fellowman.
Jesus was revealing a different, dynamic aspect to life that was not obvious to the senses but one that could bring practical healing solutions to life’s problems. He understood the tangible power of spirituality.
Spirituality relates to things of the spirit, or the non-physical. It’s all those qualities of thought that are good and true. It’s ideas that make life work right for us, like kindness, honesty, trustworthiness, intelligence, creativity, happiness. Spiritual thinking cares for all, never harming man nor beast nor the environment. It’s a living principle. If we think these are human qualities, they’re liable to human frailty and failure. Jesus showed us that these spiritual ideas and qualities have a divine source, not human. They’re sourced in God and so have divine authority and power.
Jesus continually turned to the divine, not anything material. He revealed to the world a non-physical power; a spiritual force for good, that could and did solve human need. He revealed to us that the true harmonising power underpinning our experience was God, but he showed us an entirely different way of thinking about that term God. He showed that the true concept of God was Love, as the Bible defines. He showed us that the true power, or Principle, in our lives and in our world, making existence harmonious, well and peaceful was Love, divine Love.
At Christmas, and all year round, don’t we all know that it is Love that makes the world go round. It’s Love that makes life worth living, it is Love and only Love that can bring ‘on earth peace, good will to men.’
This article was contributed by Beth Packer a member of the Wollongong Christian Science community.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers 1 comment
Wednesday Testimony Meeting readings from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
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Come, O fount of every vision, / Lift our eyes to what will come. / See the lion and the young lamb / Dwell together in Your home. / Hear the cries of war fall silent, / Feel our love glow like the sun, / When we all serve one another, / Then our heaven is begun.
(Hymn 460 v2 – Christian Science Hymnal)
Miracles – God’s Law in Action Leave a comment
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Readings from the Bible (KJV) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy on the topic of miracles. Rather than being a supernatural occurrence, miracles are in fact God’s law of harmony in action.
Love – the Only Response to Conflict Leave a comment
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For those who seek to know how to think and pray about conflict take comfort in these readings from the Bible (KJV) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy on the topic: Love – the Only Response to Conflict.
The Path Out of Hatred Leave a comment
by Deborah Huebsch published in the September 16, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
Because everyone is God-created, it is possible to see that each individual is worthy of—and able to—love.
Burning, white-hot hatred. We know it when we see it—fueling wars, spawning deep political divisions. Most of us yearn to see hatred give way at least to tolerance—and certainly love would be the ideal. But how do we get there?
You might be thinking, “I don’t hate.” Or, “I don’t personally deal with hatred.” But as we take a closer look, we may recognize ways we do feel dislike, animosity, or even hostility. For example, are we neutral when it comes to politics? We might even find ourselves rationalizing these feelings because, after all, there seem to be reasons for them. …
Click here to continue reading, or to listen to, Deborah’s article. In it she describes how she managed to overcome a long-term hatred and how she now uses this understanding to help her bring a sense of peace to other areas of her life.
Christian Science Canberra 