Article July 19, 1947 Issue

Sunday School

The Content Of The Lessons

Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, wisely made specific provision for the instruction of the children in the Christian Science Sunday School. Rules for teaching are found in Sections 2 and 3 of Article XX of the Church Manual. First of all, Section 2 requires that "the Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught." It is obvious then that the children can be taught anything in the Scriptures or anything in Christian Science that they can understand, so long as the instruction is presented from the standpoint of the lessons as specified in Section 3.

Section 3 provides for the first lessons of the children and for the lessons that are to follow. The first lessons, which are the Commandments, the Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation by Mary Baker Eddy, and the Beatitudes, are basic. The truths of these lessons underlie all the teachings of Christian Science. Hence, the next lessons, consisting of questions and answers suitable for youth, which may be found in the Quarterly Bible Lessons, are virtually a continuation or an unfoldment of the first lessons.

Under the Manual provisions the Sunday School children should become well acquainted with the Scriptures. While there is no provision for teaching a chronological course in Bible history in Sunday School, events and episodes in Biblical history have an important place in illustrating the lessons. As Mrs. Eddy points out in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 139), "From beginning to end, the Scriptures are full of accounts of the triumph of Spirit, Mind, over matter." Children should become familiar with the great characters of the Bible who through the cultivation of Godlike qualities have furnished outstanding examples of man's God-given dominion, examples of the operation of divine law in human affairs. The teacher need not wait for certain Scriptural references to occur in the Lesson-Sermon. Anything in the Bible may be presented whenever it will serve the teaching of the lesson. And it is entirely proper that a Biblical narrative be presented with some regard to its chronological place in history. Besides the narratives, such Bible passages as parables, proverbs, prophecies, and psalms may be used effectively.

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