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 on the topic of God as intelligence.
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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.
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 on the topic of Overcoming Evil with Good.
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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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And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
(The Bible KJV – Isaiah 54: 13)
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 on the topic of Gratitude.
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To keep the commandments of our Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has done. Outward worship is not of itself sufficient to express loyal and heartfelt gratitude, since he has said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p4:5)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
(The Bible KJV – John 14: 12)
Jesus established his church and maintained his mission on a spiritual foundation of Christ-healing. He taught his followers that his religion had a divine Principle, which would cast out error and heal both the sick and the sinning.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p136)
These readings from the Bible (KJV) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy are inspired by the command to love God.
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Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(The Bible – Deuteronomy 6: 4, 5)
God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p465: 9)
These readings are from the Bible (KJV) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. They are on the topic of: Thy Will Be Done.
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I love Thy way of freedom, Lord,
To serve Thee is my choice,
In Thy clear light of Truth I rise
And, listening for Thy voice,
I hear Thy promise old and new,
That bids all fear to cease:
My presence still shall go with thee
And I will give thee peace.
(Christian Science Hymnal 136 – V1)
To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
(The Bible KJV – Romans 8: 6)
Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p264: 24)
Christian Science Canberra 