REMOVED "CROSS AND CROWN"

I noticed recently that the Cross and Crown seal is no longer printed on the cover of the Sentinel. Why was it removed?

Joel Magnes New York, New York

Editor's reply: In August of 1906, the founder of this magazine, Mary Baker Eddy, sent a letter to the Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society requesting specifically that the Cross and Crown seal be removed from the cover of the Sentinel "for artistic reasons." In 1917, several years after Mrs. Eddy's passing, the seal was returned to the cover, although there is no record why this decision was made by the Publishing Society. In keeping with the founder's original request, we have removed the seal from the cover, but will continue to display it prominently on the masthead page inside the magazine.

INSIGHT ON MILLENNIUM

The millennium is something I have been thinking about for a few years now. The Sentinel feature ("News & Commentary," Dec. 23, 1996) did a nice job of genteelly eliminating a false concern, clearing some misperceptions, and educating me.

Dr. Stock brought out that the millennium celebration concerns itself with the coming of the Christ to human consciousness, not the death of Jesus.

Don Woodall Wyoming, Michigan

A CONTRIBUTOR COMMENTS

Recently I received a letter you wrote to regular contributors to the Sentinel sharing some radical ideas. Radical only in the sense that they did not conform to my preconceived perceptions about writing for the Sentinel. The length of an article, for instance, has no set number of words but should suit the message. The clothing of an idea should not weigh down the form so much that the impact is blunted by heavy explanation or stereotyped vocabulary.

A wonderful growing point is implicit in this approach. At the risk of using another's words, I think a terse statement by Mrs. Eddy crystallizes what has been said: "Truth cannot be stereotyped; it unfoldeth forever" (No and Yes, p. 45).

John Hay Scott Stirling, Scotland

GENESIS DISCUSSION

I am writing to express my gratitude for the "Genesis—a roundtable discussion" series that appeared in the Sentinel. Reading this series renewed my hope that there is always more to learn and discover in the Bible and in its continuing relevancy to every age. New ways of viewing the chapter of Genesis were opened up to me, which made me realise that it's not etched in stone—something static that we have to take fundamentally at face value, literally word for word. Doing so causes it to become dull and lifeless—very limited and without much cause for joy in discovering something new.

The words on the page are really just the clothing or human expression of the spiritual meaning of the Word. And just like it is with the way we all wear different clothing to express our own individual uniqueness yet we are all the same underneath, so it is with God's Word, which is forever the same, infinite and eternal (after all, nothing can be new to God, who knows all), yet it is forever unfolding to humanity in new and exciting ways.

I am truly thankful for being reinvigorated and inspired to keep searching the Scriptures as our Master commanded, to find the spiritual meaning of the Word, which gives us the answers we need for today to bring healing to our famished world!

Thank you for all you are doing to help "... hold guard over Truth, Life, and Love" (Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 353).

Philip Noone Chatswood, Australia

The Sentinel invites your comments and questions. Please include your name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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