Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
(The Bible KJV – Malachi 2: 10)
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness,to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty. Choke these errors in their early stages, if you would not cherish an army of conspirators against health, happiness, and success.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p405: 5)
God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p106)
Today, more than any other time, we have access to what feels like an infinite stream of information. YouTube videos are available to give us instructions on everything from tying our shoelaces to building a house. Opinions are proffered like facts. Influencers share their ‘wisdom’ on every aspect of life. Digital platforms with ideological agendas have the power to shape individual and public opinion. AI-generated content looks real, but isn’t, and misinformation can spread more easily than truth. Is there a reliable way to find truth, to discern which ideas have integrity and value and which don’t deserve our attention?
The statement: ‘The time for thinkers has come’ is from the opening page of the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. It was written 150 years ago by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Even back then Eddy recognised the need for us to show wisdom, to be discerning, to sift fact from fiction and opinion.
Christian Science provides an invaluable guide in this respect. It teaches that the term God means the rules that make life work harmoniously. It teaches that God is Love. If ideas and actions come from a place of kindness, respect, unselfishness, forgiveness then they are based in Love and deserve our attention and support because these are the qualities that make life worthwhile.
Christian Science also teaches that God is Principle. If ideas and actions promote lawfulness, justice, fairness, discipline, steadfastness, trustworthiness, diligence, efficiency, stability in ourselves and society, then these are ideas with integrity.
When we recognise God as infinite Mind then ideas and actions that represent the qualities of divine Mind have value. Intelligence, wisdom, understanding, perception, alertness, insight, innovation, curiosity, inventiveness are the qualities that add value to ourselves and our communities.
God is also known as Spirit. Are new ideas directing us towards consumerism and materiality or are they lifting thought towards more enlightened thinking? Do they give a sense of peace and joy?
Knowing God in these ways not only makes God relevant to everyday life but also gives us the ability to be critical thinkers, to sift through the daily avalanche of information, to recognise which ideas have integrity and deserve our attention, and which do not. This is how we become the thinkers that the world has need of.
This article was originally published in the January 22, 2026 issue of the Canberra Weekly. It was written by a member of the Christian Science community in Canberra.
The only power of evil is to destroy itself. It can never destroy one iota of good. Every attempt of evil to destroy good is a failure, and only aids in peremptorily punishing the evil-doer. If we concede the same reality to discord as to harmony, discord has as lasting a claim upon us as has harmony.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy 186:19)
The Christ itself is now, and always has been, present for everyone, individually and collectively, across cultures and centuries.
This article was written by Mary Beattie, a member of the Canberra Christian Science community. It was published in the 22 December 2025 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
In Australia, where I live, Christmas comes at a time when the weather is warm and the mental atmosphere generally upbeat. It’s the beginning of summer, and people are looking forward to a change in their schedules. As it is the end of the academic year, students are assessing their progress. Politicians often take a break, and the daily news is more optimistic, reflecting on reasons for hope in the world. Our Christmastime is generally characterized by people taking time to care for their community and the planet.
While this constructive activity is welcome, the ideal of how to care for the community was set almost two thousand years ago in the way Christ Jesus operated. The selflessness, intelligence, love, and joy so clearly seen in Jesus’ daily activities are more than humanistic traits; they are Christly qualities sourced in Spirit, God. Jesus is the one who most consistently expressed this Christliness, although Christly qualities existed before Jesus’ birth and continue today. The Christ itself is now, and always has been, present for everyone, individually and collectively, across cultures and centuries. Click here to continue reading or to listen this article
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