Science and Health: A powerful preacher
Sharing Christian Science and its remarkable textbook is a divinely impelled act of love.
A few years ago, I served as a volunteer chaplain at a United States Navy training base. On Sundays, in a large chapel building, recruits could visit with clergy and volunteers from 17 different faiths.
For many of those who came to me as the Christian Science volunteer, it was their first exposure to the religion, and I knew it was important to clearly and accurately convey the fundamentals of Christian Science and its benefits to mankind. I also felt it would be helpful to give an overview of its history, including its Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy. My purpose was to provide something tangible that could help guide and support those young men and women during their training and beyond. Many of them were away from home for the first time, and they often expressed fear that the training would prove overwhelming.
In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mrs. Eddy writes, “God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love” (p. 465). I found these seven synonyms for God a great starting point for introducing Christian Science, and on Sundays, we talked about how each synonym helps us understand God’s nature and our relationship to Him. As part of each session, I would read Bible passages describing how God supplies us with strength, courage, intelligence, and protection. I would then read correlative passages from Science and Health that explain and reinforce those powerful concepts.
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