Probably at no time in history have people's lives been filled with more information about all kinds of subjects. Our age has been called an information age. And with the increase of computerized data bases, it's possible for a person to have access to a whole range of information that in earlier times was only available to research organizations with large staffs. Yet there are still questions, searching questions, that can be answered only "heart to heart"—questions about deep issues that touch our lives, our hopes, our thoughts about God.

In this continuing series, we share with readers answers to questions that have arisen in conversations, discussions, and correspondence about Christian Science.

From a talk to a Christian college

Question: What does God mean to you?

Answer: It's almost impossible to put into a few words how much God means to us. It seems to me that human intellect alone can't comprehend the infinite nature of God; it requires a deeper, spiritual sense to begin to understand Him. You probably feel very much the same way. Given that premise, let me say what I can. To us God is divine Spirit, all genuine power, ever present, always active. He is infinite good, without a vestige of evil. He is not vague, impersonal, or simply like fallible human beings, only bigger. He is our Father-Mother, infinitely near and dear and tenderly caring. At present we catch only glimpses of God's infinite nature, but we are praying and working to gain that immensely profound and full relationship to God that Christ Jesus lived and urged upon his followers.

From a letter to an academic inquirer

Question: Why don't Christian Scientists release membership statistics?

Answer: At a time when membership in this Church was growing by extraordinary leaps and bounds, its Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, introduced a rule that membership figures should not be made public. She felt strongly that numbers were not an accurate measure of genuine Christian purpose or spiritual vitality, and since then our Church has followed this rule.

While we haven't made membership figures available, there is a list of Christian Science churches and practitioners at the back of The Christian Science Journal, a magazine published by this Church. This provides, in effect, an easy way to count the number of churches, for anyone who needs this kind of information.

From a letter to an inquirer

Question: I read recently in a widely circulated newspaper that Christian Scientists don't celebrate birthdays. That sounds pretty unreasonable. Is it really true?

Answer: Obviously, the issue of celebrating birthdays is not a major issue for Christian Scientists! It's something that's decided entirely on an individual and family basis.

Behind what seems to be merely a trivial matter, there is a deeper point. Christian Scientists strive at their own individual pace to put aside anything that would tend to limit their capacities and interfere with discovering whom God has really made them to be. And frankly, focusing on one's material age often tends to be just such a stumbling block. How often is it assumed, solely on the basis of our age, that we can't take part in some activity? Or how often is it assumed that we must go through certain psychological phases and even physical illnesses because that's what is expected of people at a particular age?

We find that real joy and growth come as we shift our focus from material reference points—whether age, family history, the size of a bank account, or even thinking of oneself primarily as a physical body—to what God is revealing about our identity and His purpose for us. The point is for one's life to be more and more directly derived from God. And if rituals such as birthday parties are set aside, Christian Scientists find deeper and more satisfying ways of experiencing joy and sharing it with their families.

From a talk to a university theology class

Question: Do Christian Scientists take the Bible literally or figuratively?

Answer: I think your question is more complex than it might seem to be or than is often recognized in debates over Biblical inerrancy. There are very few, if any, groups that take every verse of the Bible literally. Certain Bible passages such as Jesus' statement "I am the door" simply wouldn't mean too much literally. On the other hand, to take the whole Bible figuratively would be to fly in the face of historical and textual evidence and to rob the Bible of its real power and meaning for our age. So the real question should be, Which parts of the Bible do you take literally and which figuratively? Without attempting to go through the Bible verse by verse, let me say that Christian Scientists regard the events recorded in the Gospels as literal, historical fact, as do most Christians.

We believe, however, that the story of Adam and Eve, for example, is an allegory with profound implications for our spiritual progress today.

We feel the real need is not to become consumed by debates over literalism but to approach the Bible in a way that will transform one's life. The Bible takes on more and more profound import, particularly as one tries to live its message moment by moment. Sometimes a passage that hasn't meant too much to us might take on new meaning at a time of need or a time of prayer. Overall I would say Christian Scientists take the Bible seriously; they study it daily and strive to live close to its teachings. To them, studying the Bible is a lifetime pursuit, in which the very meaning of the Bible—found in both its historical events and its parables—deepens as one grows; it's not so much a basis for dogmatic argument.

From a talk to a college class

Question: Isn't Christian Science healing really more a matter of human optimism than anything else?

Answer: I think that sometimes people who are not acquainted with Christian Science conjure up some image of it that really doesn't fit the way it feels to the Christian Scientist. Healing comes continually in the life of a Christian Scientist. He also sees it with his children; he sees it in his relationships with others; he sees it in major healings of serious, so-called fatal illness among his friends and fellow church members. There is a lot in these healings that draws us on, that compels us to feel that Christian Science is substantial, that it's real, that there's a Principle of being to be learned and to become committed to. Now, I don't think that anybody who has his wits about him is going to tell you that human existence is a bowl of cherries. Human experience is rough, and Christianity has known it was rough from the very beginning. The Bible says that the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. So it isn't on the basis of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses that Christian Scientists commit themselves to spiritual healing. They find that in Christian Science there is more than enough to draw them on and to give them a sense of being sustained and being deeply grateful to this power that has come into their lives.