The general indifference toward religion today stems largely from a misunderstanding of what religion really is. Clothed in traditional forms of ceremony, creed, and doctrine, religion does indeed appear irrelevant in this modern age. To many, the Bible remains a closed book, rendered impracticable by archaic language and conflicting statements.

It is small wonder, then, that many people regard religion and daily living as incompatible. To them, God is relevant to the religious world but totally alien to the ordinary daily round and its many problems.

A number of Christian churches are making a sincere effort to overcome this dilemma by making religion more attractive to the dissidents. For example, in some churches popular music has been occasionally introduced to attract young people. It is becoming recognized that the increased sensitivity of this younger generation, including its rebellious intolerance of hypocrisy and self-righteousness, is uncovering the need for genuine Christian living rather than for formal worship. Religious practices, such as coldness, partiality, or exclusiveness, are becoming outmoded, and efforts are being made to adopt attitudes more in keeping with the times. And, perhaps most significantly of all, the possibilities of spiritual healing and of the power of prayer are being explored. These and other emerging signs indicate an increasing demand for practical religion thoroughly pertinent to this age.

The discover)' of Christian Science by Mrs. Eddy just over a century ago resulted from her deep desire to show mankind that the teachings of Christ Jesus are as practical and relevant today as when the Master uttered them. She saw that had Jesus' teachings been merely theoretical, unprovable, they would soon have become dated and extinct. But his teachings were intensely practical. He ministered to the most universal and intimate needs of the people, destroying sin and poverty, healing disease, and raising the dead.

Mrs. Eddy realized that these works evidenced the invisible power of God, for did not Jesus say, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works"? ^{John 14:10} She then reasoned that since the power of God must be as everlasting as God Himself, it naturally followed that the essential needs of mankind could always be resolved by that same divine power.

Mrs. Eddy refers to the timeless nature of Jesus' mission in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, where she writes: "The purpose of his great life-work extends through time and includes universal humanity. Its Principle is infinite, reaching beyond the pale of a single period or of a limited following." ^{Science and Health, pp. 328,329}

The Saviour stated his mission unequivocally: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." ^{John 10:10}

Jesus' great gift to mankind was not so much a religion as a way of life. What, then, is this abundant life to which Jesus referred? How does it differ from ordinary human life? Christian Science shows us that the kind of life to which Jesus referred elevates, enlarges, and purifies one's human sense of life. Abundant living is deeply joyous living. It is God-centered rather than self-centered. It is learning to live in harmony with God.

But someone may ask, "How can I live in harmony with God without knowing something of the nature of God?"

Through Christian Science, instead of visualizing a faraway Deity, one begins to understand God as divine Spirit, filling all space, and as divine Love, tenderly caring for His creation, man and the universe.

If God is Spirit and Love, and is everywhere, how does one account for the material world and its millions of mortals, its discords and catastrophies, its sin, disease, and death? Here Christian Science reiterates the Bible statement that man was made in God's image and likeness, and it makes clear that this original man, the child of God, spiritual and perfect, has always constituted one's real identity. The outward, fleshly appearance of men, Science teaches, is but a false representation of God's man produced by the material senses. And as one learns to look beyond the false, material sense of existence, he will gradually "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." ^{Col. 3:10} From this viewpoint one begins to see that only good is real and God-created and that evil is an illusion of the false, material sense of creation.

By putting on the new man, that is, by giving human expression to the qualities of Love, such as justice, mercy, and compassion, one finds a greater measure of harmony and well-being. As self-will and egotism give way to patience and humility, one gains a sense of quiet poise and dominion. Fear, tension, and anxiety disappear as one learns to trust in God's loving care, protection, and guidance. This is practicing relevant religion, the religion of Love.

Thus, through Christian Science, one can find a growing appreciation of God's intimate influence in his daily life. He can begin to experience the more abundant life that Jesus promised. And he can prove for himself that God's ever-present healing power is as relevant today as it was centuries ago.

Mrs. Eddy says, "The highest earthly representative of God, speaking of human ability to reflect divine power, prophetically said to his disciples, speaking not for their day only but for all time: 'He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;' and 'These signs shall follow them that believe.'" ^{Science and Health, p. 52}