Article August 4, 1917 Issue

Scientific Teaching in the Sunday School

LUCY HAYS REYNOLDS

Scientifically speaking, Christian instruction consists not alone of a correct statement of the letter; it must always be accompanied by the impartation of spiritualized consciousness. The Sunday school teacher can no more teach scientifically without depending upon the Christ-idea, than the practitioner can heal without this dependence. To suppose that Christian Science can be learned after the manner in which the learning of the schools is acquired is a grave mistake. We cannot gain any true understanding of Christian Science through merely reading and studying Science and Health; it is through the perpetual effort to live in accord with its teachings, and to apply them, that one attains a spiritual understanding and is able to impart to others the grand truths of Science.

Do we not by our very presence exhale the mental essence of our lives, regardless of spoken or unspoken words? Do we not impart the quality of the consciousness in which we are dwelling? If we are in a state of worry, sadness, resentment, or any kind of friction, we can hardly escape breathing it into the mental atmosphere of those around us, unless in our struggle against it we are bringing enough good to bear upon the error to counteract its hidden activities. On the other hand, if we are dwelling in a state of uplifted consciousness,—in faith, joy, and peace,—we shall impart a spiritual aroma that awakens receptivity, calls forth hidden spirituality, and brings out the very best in the pupil.

As Christian Scientists we are daily striving to take on this Christly essence and to surrender all that is mortal. To the degree that we succeed, we consciously and unconsciously impart the same spiritual aroma that healed the woman who touched the Master's garment. Without this spirit, no matter how clearly we may state the letter of Science, we have only the essence of human nature to impart, which though humanly worthy has not the power to heal or to inspire. Greatly do we need that rarefaction of thought which awakens the consciousness of every child to the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. That we dwell in a spiritualized state of consciousness is even more important than that we bring out the lesson, for the latter will unfold naturally and spontaneously when we get material sense out of the way. If the teacher but realizes the presence of the Christ-idea in his own consciousness, discouragement and self-depreciation will not tempt him, for he will depend upon this Christly presence to feed the children with all its simplicity and joy.

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