Article August 23, 2010 ISSUE

The Bible as a bridge

BY MARYL WALTERS

MANY YEARS AGO I stepped outside a social event to get a breath of fresh air. Another woman had done the same thing, and we started talking. I think she'd heard that I was a Christian Scientist, so that was how the subject came up. Mainly her comment was: "Do you really believe that stuff?"

My response was to share a little of why Christian Science means so much to me. We found we had mutual interests, including a deep interest in spirituality, and began to get together occasionally. Every time we saw each other, the subject of Christian Science would come up. I showed her the Christian Science Bible Lesson that I read every day. Her comment was: "It's really not fair to read the Bible the way you do—picking and choosing only what you want to read about—what works for you." As I recall, I didn't argue with her about it; I just kept sharing a passage or an idea that I had read in the Bible Lesson whenever we were together.