Dialogue With The World August 8, 2016 Issue

"From the Critic, a publication at Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand" and "From the Facebook page of Bloomberg Pursuits"

from the Office of Committee on Publication

In a world fraught with religious strife and division, genuine understanding between people of differing faiths and backgrounds sometimes seems as rare as it is vital. Stereotypes abound. Religious believers often find it hard to see past their differences. Secular commentators often lump all faiths together as if they were the same.

Similar obstacles are equally common in public perceptions of Christian Science. The first step toward greater understanding, as a church publication titled Dialogue with the World pointed out several decades ago, is often the “clearing away of a tangled underbrush of misconceptions” (The Christian Science Board of Directors, 1972).

Christian Science Committees on Publication have been in dialogue with the world since the early years of the denomination. The clearing away of misconceptions of Christian Science that would obstruct genuine understanding is at the heart of their work. In establishing the Committee Office, the Church’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, instructed that this work be carried out “in a Christian manner” (Church Manual, p. 97). The purpose is not spin or the promotion of a public image, but to bear witness to truth. The spirit is that of healing, not criticism of those who disagree.

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