SENTINEL WATCH November 16, 2009 Issue

TRULY UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

JOHN TAYLOR

UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE. Would it be an understatement to say that the phrase is bound to have an opinion attached to it? It's a hot topic in the US, and just about everyone wants a say because there's a conviction that whatever runs counter to one's personal opinion is something dangerously close to radical. Mary Baker Eddy, writing in Science and Health well over a 100 years ago, had her say, too—and it could be called beyond radical: "In Christian Science mere opinion is valueless" (p. 341).

At first hearing, those few words could sound dismissive or even out of touch. But Mrs. Eddy was known for her abiding love for all of humanity, so something far deeper was at work. Her bold statement was never intended to leave anybody out in the cold—the truth is, she was bringing humanity in from the cold.

It is an invitation for us no longer to be slaves to "by the book" reasoning about what life is. To see that perhaps by questioning our previously held assumptions—as well as the assumptions of others—we could set ourselves free to discover the infinite dimensions of Life, God. And in so doing, launch ourselves on a journey of discovery.