Article September 29, 1962 Issue

Teaching the Scriptures

[This is the first of four addresses given at the meeting in the Extension of The Mother Church on June 6, 1962. Another address will appear next week].

By Mrs. Alice Davis Bundy,—Boston, Massachusetts

Some time ago a lad in the Sunday School of one of our branch churches wanted to know why the Key to the Scriptures part of our textbook is so much smaller than the Bible. Another little fellow in the class replied, "Well, the door is always bigger than the key." Every one of us here knows that the Bible is the door to an understanding of God and that in the writings of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, particularly in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," we have the key that unlocks that door. It opens wide as we live the Science of Christianity, found in the Bible.

The vital importance of the Scriptures is highlighted by Mrs. Eddy many times in her writings. She emphasizes that a spiritual apprehension of the Scriptures reveals their marked agreement with our textbook. For example, she points out in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 37), "Even the Scriptures gave no direct interpretation of the scientific basis for demonstrating the spiritual Principle of healing, until our heavenly Father saw fit, through the Key to the Scriptures, in Science and Health, to unlock this 'mystery of godliness.'" She makes it very plain that the Bible is the chart of life, whereby all people everywhere may gain the understanding of divine law or healing power.

It is no wonder, then, that Mrs. Eddy made provision in the Manual of The Mother Church for the teaching of the Scriptures in the Sunday School. There could be no more important reason for our making every effort to stimulate penetrating instruction of the Scriptures in our Sunday Schools than her recognition that the Bible is the basis of teaching the healing power of Christian Science. Effective teaching of the Scriptures to our children on a practical basis is the imperative demand of our Leader.

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