These readings are from the Bible (KJV) and from the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy and are an attempt to answer the question: Who are we really?
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Reality is spiritual, harmonious, immutable, immortal, divine, eternal. Nothing unspiritual can be real, harmonious, or eternal.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p335: 27-29)
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra offered this proof of the healing power of prayer.
In 2017 a sore appeared on my forehead and would not heal. Sometimes it was soft and moist and other times hard and scaly.
I became concerned because of all the discussion in the media and more generally about skin cancer.
I’ve had many healings by praying as I’ve been taught in Christian Science and wanted to rely on prayer for healing in this case.
In the Christian Science textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, she writes on page 476 When speaking of God’s children, not the children of men, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you;” that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God’s image is unfallen and eternal. 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.
I prayed to get a better understanding of this perfect man and his purity and holiness. However, the idea kept coming to me that I also needed to read Science and Health from cover to cover, as many people have been healed by doing this. I kept praying, but delaying reading Science and Health and the sore did not heal.
During a 2023 holiday in South Africa, I decided that I needed to have this sore seen to. So, when I returned to Canberra I went to see a doctor. The doctor said it was a skin cancer and needed to be cut out, and because of the position on my forehead I would need plastic surgery. I decided that I did not want to go down this path but wanted a healing through prayer, so I began to read Science and Health, and sometime in early 2024 the sore disappeared.
I’m very grateful for this healing and to Mary Baker Eddy for Science and Health and this wonderful healing religion – Christian Science.
All during my childhood and into my adult life I suffered terribly from allergies. There were many things in the environment that seemed to trigger reactions but the thing that upset me the most was my reaction to cats. I loved cats but to be even in a house where one had been caused me hours of distress. I grew up in a Christian Science family and through my parents’ prayers, I avoided, or recovered quickly from, many childhood illnesses. Somehow the allergies persisted.
As an adult, I joined the Christian Science church and gained much comfort from the teachings, based in the example of Jesus Christ, but I also sought medical help for the allergies. There was never any pressure on me not to do this, but after trying many remedies I still had no relief. Sometimes the side effects of the medication were worse than the condition so I stopped and just tried to manage the situation by avoiding as many of the irritants as I could.
On one occasion I travelled to the coast to stay with my parents for a few days. When I arrived I found that they were minding my sister’s cat. When I went to bed that night I found this large fluffy cat asleep on my pillow. Within a few minutes, I was in great distress. I struggled to stay calm. Though I knew they weren’t of God, recriminating thoughts flooded in as I tried to make sense of my continued suffering. I felt beaten.
But in that moment, as a result of my prayers, I also began to feel the touch of God’s love and grace. I realised, that as much as this condition had been part of my life for many years, it did not define me. Christian Science had been teaching me all along that my true identity is more than my body – as the Bible teaches, it is spiritual and good; that I am the image of God who is Love. In deep humility I accepted this with all my heart, and I felt a great sense of peace and of being loved. I fell asleep. I slept soundly till morning and woke completely well. Since that day I have never had an allergic reaction and for many years now I have lived happily with cats! This healing has encouraged me to find out more about my spiritual identity and how this understanding brings healing.
This article was originally published in the July 16 issue of the Canberra Weekly.
A Sentinel Watch Podcast with Deborah Packer
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If you’ve ever felt far away from God, this podcast is for you. Deborah Packer, shares what she’s learned from Jesus’ teachings, and her own experiences, about how close we actually always are with God. And how understanding this oneness better can bring us healing and help us heal others, too. Click here to listen.
These readings are from the Bible (KJV) and from the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy and explore the idea of Our inseparability with God.
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O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,
(The Bible – Psalm 139: 1-3, 7-10)
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We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p18: 28)
This article by Deirdre Kindthistle was first published in the March 2026 issue of The Christian Science Journal.
… For most of my life I had not given much consideration to age. But some time ago I realized that thoughts of aging had crept into my consciousness, eating away at my sense of self and my capacity for enjoying many physical activities. Suddenly my joints were stiff. I was tired all the time. My movements had become clumsy. If friends proposed a hike in the mountains, I hesitated to join them, for when I did, I ended up grunting along, trailing behind the others. If a day’s outing was suggested, I weighed it against enjoying my usual twice-daily naps.
To read the full article click here.
Interesting question! When I first came across this question, my initial thought was to try to pick a number – an age that I would like to be – and to think of myself as that age. Then I realised that I didn’t want to be the me that I was back then. I’ve learned too much in meantime. The next question that occurred to me was: What if I didn’t attribute a number to myself at all? How would I feel if I thought of myself as ageless? That’s a very freeing concept!
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, wrote in her textbook on spiritual healing, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p246):
Never record ages. Chronological data are no part of the vast forever. Time-tables of birth and death are so many conspiracies against manhood and womanhood. Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise.
This is interesting to think through and liberating to put into practice. Christian Science helps me to do this.
Christian Science is based on the Bible. It provides important truths that help us live harmonious and productive lives. In the book of Genesis we are told that man is made in the image of God – that we are God’s likeness. God, we are also told, is Spirit – not a material being. This means that man’s true nature is spiritual. Spirit doesn’t age.
Our society gives common consent to ageing. We are conditioned to expect to slow down as the years go by, to be physically less able. How often do we hear people say when they have aches and pains: What can you expect at my age? We can take back this permission by claiming our agelessness – ageless because we are spiritual, the image of God who never ages, never tires, never wears out.
I have proved this often. Once, after not having been on a horse for many decades, I did an eight-hour day of horse riding. I was allocated a large frisky mount that challenged my strength all day. By the end of the ride every muscle in my body screamed and ached, and I could hardly move. As I lay moaning I realised that I had given myself permission to be affected by this. So, I mentally took back permission by reminding myself that as the likeness of God, Spirit, I could say ‘No’ to this situation. I dwelt on this and trusted these thoughts. Within half an hour all pain and tiredness had left. I participated fully in the evening’s activities and remained completely free.
Nowadays when people ask me how old I am, I reply that I try not to have a number. Without a number, I can be the ageless me – free and healthy.
This article, submitted by a member of the Canberra Christian Science community, was first published in the 21 May issue of the Canberra Weekly.
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The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p70:12-13)
The true meaning of Easter is wondrous! Its message promises blessings to each one of us and to our world. To hide it behind bunnies and eggs, secularism and skepticism, is saddening.
Jesus was crucified by the materialistic world’s hatred of his goodness. The world tried to silence his holy message of love. But how he reacted to such evil intent was an example to us all. He responded with the lovingkindness, calmness and confidence that could only come from the deepest understanding that evil cannot conquer goodness any more than darkness can conquer light.
For three days it seemed like evil had won. Then, when even the disciples had given up hope, Jesus emerged from the tomb alive.
In the resurrection, Jesus proved that there is life beyond what we see, like someone journeying on after they have sailed out of our sight. It’s like writing a number fact on a page, say 2+2=4. If we destroy the page, the truth that the fact expresses is not destroyed. It is eternally true and untouched. Jesus showed us that each one of us has just such an eternally true identity, something that the outward appearance only hints at, something that never dies. What a glorious message.
Jesus also showed that to react with love instead of hate or anger, disempowers evil. Hatred and evil, being a lack of love, can no more stand in the face of divine Love than the darkest night can stand in the presence of the light of the dawn. Not responding to evil with evil stops evil from spreading. That’s why Jesus countered an ‘eye for an eye’ with ‘turn the other cheek’. Is this not a message the world needs to remember and live by? Is this not a message that could bring peace to our world? Is this not the ‘Golden Rule’ – ‘do to others as you would have them do to you’?
The true meaning of Easter is of the utmost importance to our own lives and to the world. If we remember it in our hearts and live it in our lives, then that precious sacrifice made by Jesus will not be lost sight of, but remain as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.
This article was published in the 26 March issue of the Canberra Weekly.
Christian Science Canberra 