Editorial July 25, 2016 Issue

‘The “male and female” of God’s creating’

Barbara Vining

The divine Science of Christ, discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, has demanded of me that I make a fundamental change in the way I look for and find answers to challenges—the challenges we all face in one way or another. Take the issue of gender, for example. It’s such an intimate and personal thing, having to do with how we feel about ourselves, how we act, how we relate to others, and how they relate to us. While society has often been inclined to make rash judgments concerning what is right or wrong, and while individuals have often been inclined to try to get others to see things a certain way, it’s been helpful to me to leave the court of error—of reasoning and judging on the basis of physical personality—and to develop within myself a spiritual view of existence from which to understand myself and others.

On all issues, including the issue of gender identity, I find it essential to start by turning to God, Spirit, the all-knowing Mind for guidance—for, as the prophet Isaiah observed, God is saying, “Before they call, I will answer” (65:24). It’s comforting to me to realize that God has already supplied the fundamental truths I need, and that He has given all of us the spiritual sense to discern these truths. Whenever I turn to Him with an open mind and an open heart, satisfying answers come; I find a sense of peace concerning my own identity, and the grace, compassion, and wisdom to respond to others in loving and helpful ways.

For example, the very first chapter of the Bible turns me directly to God. It says, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). To understand the nature of God’s image, of course, one needs to understand God’s nature. But as humans we have generally tried to understand God through the material senses. Observing the physical personality, we’ve reasoned that God must be like a human being, and this has left us with a manlike God, instead of a Godlike man—and with so many unanswered questions.

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