Article June 17, 1911 Issue

THE CONCORDANCES

WILTON H. MC KERRAL.

In the Manual, Art. XIV, Sect. 1, Mrs. Eddy ordains the Bible and its commentary, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," to be the pastor of The Church of Christ, Scientist, since these books furnish a full exposition of Christian Science. It was our Leader's appreciation of this fact that determined the form of Sunday services used the Christian Science churches. A book becomes its own commentary when its various passages relating to the same topic are compared. These passages will be found mutually explanatory; and by their study in association the student may more nearly approximate the author's view-point and gain a more comprehensive perspective of the whole subject presented. To promote this method of study, our Leader early published a concordance to Science and Health. Satisfactory Bible concordances were already in existence.

The references supplied by the Christian Science Quarterly are designed to give direction to our search of the Scriptures and Science and Health, but not to fix limitations to this study. They should rather be a stimulus to such further investigation and study along these lines as may be prompted by the student's individual needs and interests. The desirable equipment for such study includes not only the Bible, the Christian Science text-book, the Quarterly, and a serviceable dictionary of the English language, which are essential, but also an unabridged Bible concordance, such as Young's or Cruden's, and the concordance to Science and Health. These greatly facilitate topical study by giving certainty and thoroughness to the search for related matter.

The Christian Science reading-rooms are much used for purposes of study by business men and women, who are thus able to spend most profitably the few leisure moments of the midday, and by traveling people and others who find here the best substitute for home conveniences. To these, and to those students who have not the advantage of such helps in their homes, the presence of the concordances upon the tables of our reading-rooms would be very welcome. Even where there seems to be no active demand for these works, their very availability will be found to be an incentive to their use.

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