Article October 6, 1997 ISSUE

From pharmacology to environmental chemistry

Béatrice Labarthe

One year after I had graduated from the University of Pharmacy, I was given a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The timeless truths in this book were essential to me in overcoming a depressed state of mind. This book explains the Science of Christ. It highlights the link between theology and healing, and when this link becomes more precise in thought, it generates proofs that God is with us. These proofs, small or great, sustain us. Now, I no longer fear difficulties or become impatient when I cannot immediately see a way out. I no longer focus on the problem but lean on God to show me the way.

As I felt that this Science of the Christ was giving meaning to my life—and that this Science was true, although I grasped little of it—I saw that pharmacology was no longer compatible with it. Although the practice of pharmacy aims at healing (and this was one reason that I was attracted to it), it has as its premise the view that man is material, subject to illness. That view is the opposite of Christian Science, which teaches that man is spiritual and perfect and has always been in this condition. So I searched for a new activity to meet my financial needs.

I had been offered work dealing with pharmaceutical information (and not selling drugs or recommending them to patients). But I felt this was not a satisfying answer. I thought there should be a more appropriate place for me, and I tore up my letter accepting the job. A short time later, I happened to take from my bookshelf a brochure that described a new course in the field of environmental chemistry. When I called the next day, the course had just started and there was one place left. My pharmacy diploma was one among those accepted for the course. As a result of this study, I was able to work for many years for an international organization involved in environmental chemistry.

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