In his 2008 book Outliers, the popular social psychologist Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly de-emphasized the idea that we’re born with talent (defined as the capacity for success) for the more utilitarian and pragmatic theory that genius is earned. In 2011, David Shenk followed suit with an equally convincing exposé on talent in The Genius in All of Us. Both of these books crystallized my belief that every individual is innately talented and capable, and that love and hard work are the primary components in activating that “God-given” talent. This certainly was the viewpoint of Mary Baker Eddy, the industrious New Englander who discovered the Science of Christianity. She wrote, “Success in life depends upon persistent effort, upon the improvement of moments more than upon any other one thing”. ² That “any other one thing” could certainly include genetic gifts or physical aptitude.

In 2004, I had a real breakthrough in my own understanding of ability and talent. Let me set the scene: I was attending the first day of an African drumming class at Mount Holyoke College. The rhythm-type to be studied was Ewe—one of the most metrically and percussively complex in the world. As I waited for our teacher to arrive, I watched with bewildered eyes. Hordes of students entered the class who had no previous musical training. They weren’t music majors and they certainly weren’t born with rhythm. They began whacking on the drums like rambunctious school children. I thought, “There is no way these people will learn to play this music!” And I had the same thought about myself.

Then our instructor walked into the room and taught me a lesson I will never forget. With beaming eyes, she explained: “Music is a language. You don’t ask a child whether he or she can learn English or not. We all can learn it if we’re willing.” She continued, “The same applies to drumming. It’s just communication.”

With this new concept in mind, I observed with humility as students dismissed the idea that they were nonmusical and, in a matter of a few weeks, acquired real talent for drumming. And I was one of them! In proportion as I laid aside an incorrect conception of myself as “rhythmless” and accepted that I could play well, I progressed. My love for the music propelled me, and I eventually became the only student lead drummer, as well as the teaching assistant for the following two terms.

This occurred while I was simultaneously discovering Christian Science, as explained by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health. That book was realigning my thought with a parallel lesson. All my life I believed that I just wasn’t spiritual. My best friend growing up was the son of preacher and, in my eyes, gifted spiritually—one blessed to experience God. But I just didn’t think I met the criteria. My family wasn’t religious, I had been to church only a few times, and I didn’t hear God talking to me.

Fortunately, the ideas in Science and Health broke through this barrier. They taught me that anyone can learn what it means to be spiritual, to be Christian. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t born into a particular religion. In fact, Christian Science went even further: It explained that “man is . . . always spiritual” ³and that there is a scientific, knowable relationship between God and every individual. ⁴

Oh, how those ideas spoke to my heart! It was as if the author, Eddy, gave me permission to be the person I always wanted to be, the individual that the world said I wasn’t. Christian Science also showed me step by step how to put off the limited beliefs of “the old man” and “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”. ⁵ As I began to study Christian Science, this process of spiritual purification resulted in an array of immediate healings, including a long-standing shoulder injury and food poisoning.

There is a phrase in the reminiscence of one of Mary Baker Eddy’s household workers that says: “I Can is the Son of I Am” (Reminiscence of Harriet Betts, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection, The Mary Baker Eddy Library). I now hold on to this idea like a castaway to his life raft. The idea that I was born with just a spoonful of talent has been replaced with the idea that I can learn and succeed in any area of life. It’s just a matter of understanding more about God. God, the source of all intelligence and Life, does not give to one and not another, or bless one and not another. As the complete expression of God, we can reflect God’s infinite ability in any area of our life. Thinking this way causes me to break out of self-imposed limitations. It helps me not only to improve in activities that come naturally to me, but to learn and master new ones.

What Jesus said is true for all of us: “To those who use well what they are given,”—God’s qualities and abilities—“even more will be given, and they will have an abundance”. ⁶

Phil Davis says: It seems that the past brings dire predictions. How many times have we heard someone say, “This will affect you for the rest of your life!” Yikes!! To be honest, I’ve felt this way many times. Actually, there was a time many years ago, when I did a lot of dwelling on the past. Bad things that happened to me or mistakes I made seemed to haunt me endlessly.

I prayed and eventually found a way out.

I’m not saying I’m an expert at this or that I never dwell on the past anymore, but I’ve made a lot of progress and it doesn’t consume me nearly like it did. One of the first insights I had was that God is my judge. That means that others don’t have the right to judge, criticize or condemn me. And then I realized that I don’t even have the right to judge me! Only God does.

And if God is my sole judge, then I also have to be humble to Him and not to others. (Obviously, I can’t do God’s will if I’m trying to do my will at the same time!) I need to look to Him, rely on Him and really trust His judgment. His way is always a way forward. Even His rebuke is a blessing, if I’m really willing to change and be directed by Him.

I know there’s another aspect here we need to confront–that even if we don’t dwell on the past, others will and they will stand in our way. But others are subject to God’s law just like you are. Other people don’t govern you, God does. And after all, doesn’t it just makes sense that if you start living more in the present, that others will see you that way too?

Mary Baker Eddy says, “The human history needs to be revised, and the material record expunged.” ¹ Isn’t it time for your human history to be revised and your human record expunged?” Let God do it, through His law, His will, His way. I think you’ll find that’s a path you can walk today!

Phil is a Christian Science practitioner and authorized teacher of Christian Science from the Chicago, IL area.

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But reports say that the effects of this experience will be with them forever. Certainly the details emerging about the horrors of their captivity make it clear that what they’ve endured is beyond what most of us can even comprehend. These women will need all the love and support they can get—even from us, from strangers.

As I’ve prayed about these women from Cleveland, I’ve found myself returning to an experience my own family faced that involved the abuse of a woman. In college, my sister was raped. The news shattered us. I didn’t even know where to begin praying. I was angry, devastated, and deeply concerned about my sister’s well-being.

I felt like I kept asking God one question: How could this happen? I think it’s a question a lot of us have wrestled with, especially in the face of unspeakable horror. Now, I’m not comparing my sister’s experience to what these three women endured. I’m only saying that I understand how it can be hard to reconcile excruciating situations with the idea of a loving, caring, all-powerful God.

Through this experience with my sister, though, I did come to see more clearly that God does love us—that He, that She, loves each of Her dear children with a depth and breadth that’s as beautiful as it is powerful. I know this because I experienced that love, and my sister experienced it. It came in the form of ideas and reassurances that, gradually, broke through the horror of what she’d been through.

It wasn’t easy to agree with these spiritual messages at first. I felt like I was being asked to see that in spite of what seemed to have happened, this was a misperception about God and His creation. God was showing me that He has an unbreakable, inviolate relationship with each of His children. God was reassuring me that this relationship prevents any harm from ever coming to us. Ever. And God was telling me, with relentless but tender persistence, that my sister was intact, loved, whole.

For me, turning away from the rape and turning toward God wasn’t about putting my fingers in my ears and pretending that nothing had happened. It was about following Jesus’ example—an example that showed us that we can experience the kingdom of heaven, right here and right now, no matter what we’ve been through or what the five physical senses tell us about our life and identity. God’s version of events isn’t just the most compelling version; in fact, it’s the only reality. To the degree that we accept that reality, we experience it. To the degree that we embrace it, scars disappear, pain vanishes, Love reigns.

Slowly, I did accept these facts of creation and they took root in my heart. And one day, a day I’ll never forget, a conviction of my sister’s wholeness dawned on me. I knew, in a way I’ve never known anything before, that she was intact, untouched, and beloved. Shortly after that, I learned that she was feeling like herself again and able to move forward with her life—unscarred.

As I think about Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, I’m convinced that the same facts of spiritual existence—our one true and only existence—are true for these women as well. Let’s join together and hold them up in our prayers. Let’s ask God to show us how She is loving them, how She has always loved them.

And most of all, let’s commit to seeing them as they deserve to be seen: Unscarred, untouched. Yes, whole.

Colleen Douglass says: Relying solely on Christian Science for physical healing is not at all unreasonable! In fact, healing of all types—physical, financial, relationships—is germane to the practice of Christian Science. It’s the by-product of thought that increases in spirituality through a greater understanding of God as Spirit, Love, divine Mind. Christian Science has proven extremely reliable for scores of people throughout the more than 135 years since discovered by Mary Baker Eddy. She devoted the last 100 pages of her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, to specific examples of those healed by reading her book and being receptive to the change of thought that fosters. As a life-long student of Christian Science and a public practitioner for twenty-five years, I’ve seen lots of healing, including such dreaded diseases as cancer, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. I’ve also seen broken bones mended in twenty-four hours, a life restored after a bullet pierced a lung, asthma healed, a mangled hand recovered, and skin diseases dissolved. Throughout my entire life, I’ve depended solely on Christian Science to meet my own health needs.

Several fundamental differences between relying on Christian Science and turning to medicine for treatment are worth noting. Medicine focuses on matter to heal matter, whereas Christian Science acknowledges the power and presence of Spirit, God, as the source of healing. Medicine looks to material conditions or history for a cause, whereas Christian Science recognizes God as the only cause. Since the two systems start in diametrically different places, a mixture of the two often leads to confusion rather than to the spiritual clarity that brings about decisive healing. Christian Science treatment is a scientific form of prayer that heeds the prophet Isaiah’s admonition to declare “the end from the beginning,” that is, to begin where one wants to end up ¹. Starting with a perfect Principle, God, that maintains the sum total of His infinite creation in perfect order. The understanding of this Principle—its supreme power and presence—acts as an alterative to adjust or harmonize whatever is out-of-order.

Colleen is a Christian Science practitioner and authorized teacher of Christian Science who lives in Los Angeles, California.

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While waiting for Dad’s friend to arrive, my mom said she had been praying with a few verses from in the Bible. We discussed the comfort, assurance, power, and presence of God that these verses brought out: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” ¹. Mom and I agreed to keep in touch throughout this rescue mission.

On the way to the boat ramp, Dad explained that since my brother’s cellphone battery was low we would not be contacting him until we were out in the ocean.

I could see the powerful effects of prayer at work when we launched. The boat engines started right up and ran better than ever, no stalling, spitting, or sputtering. They were in sync and very responsive to throttle control, which is an important factor to maintain control through inlet currents. My dad’s friend (the skipper) was very impressed.

We reached the ocean after midnight, and my dad phoned my brother, but it went right to service. After repeated attempts it became obvious that his phone was out. I called my mom and explained the situation. We reaffirmed the Psalmist’s message of God’s ever-presence 
 and saving grace, and Mom said she would continue praying. My dad said that when he spoke to my brother a couple of hours before, they were south of the inlet and within a mile of the shore. They also said they would be flashing the boat lights so we could spot them.

The prospect of finding my brother and his friends became grim, but Mom and I were working metaphysically, beyond human reasoning. My dad and the skipper plotted a search pattern and began tacking, redirecting the boat. I looked out into the wavy ocean and there just seemed to be a thousand blinking lights everywhere I looked. Every wave was reflecting starlight, city lights, and our own boat lights. But I got still and prayed while dad and the skipper were doing their thing.

I put out of my thinking the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that was trying to suggest this rescue mission could fail and my brother and his companion would be left in danger. These false suggestions were replaced with the peaceful assurance of God’s ever-presence and care, as the Psalmist so beautifully described.

After a while, I did notice a more distinct blinking among the rest. I pointed to it, but no one else could see it, so the skipper just followed my directing. As we got closer, the silhouette of a boat began to appear, and it was them. As we maneuvered close enough to communicate, I said to my brother’s friend: “Good thing you were flashing your lights.” He responded, “I haven’t flashed the lights for hours, I was afraid it would kill the battery.” Wow, the Psalmist was right, “even the night shall be light about me.”

We found my brother curled up on the floor, shivering, barely able to speak. He had fallen overboard, which also explained the loss of phone contact. The sea was a little rough, but we managed to get my brother into my boat, get him warmed up, and give gas cans to his friend. We got under way with both boats headed for shore, and I phoned my mom with the good news. The Psalmist was right, nothing can hide us from God, not even a dark sea. We were all very grateful. Through her writings, Mary Baker Eddy has shared the power of the Scriptures to meet every human need. My study of Christian Science has inspired a great love for the Bible and has given me a spiritual understanding that enables me to apply laws of Truth, Life, and Love that is God in my daily experience.

In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives the reader courage to navigate through life: “Acquaintance with the original texts, and willingness to give up human beliefs (established by hierarchies, and instigated sometimes by the worst passions of men), open the way for Christian Science to be understood, and make the Bible the chart of life, where the buoys and healing currents of Truth are pointed out”. ²Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 24 ³ Next to this passage is the marginal heading “Life’s healing currents.” I am so grateful to be learning and proving this blessed truth.

Dawn-Marie Cornett says: In my experience, I’ve found that there are two main reasons that people don’t share what they know of Christian Science. One is that they don’t want to impose their concept of the universe on individuals who may not want it—or who may find it strange. The second is discomfort in presenting ideas they are still learning about. It’s this second reason that seems hardest to overcome.

If you were learning how to play the piano, and you went excitedly to your friends and told them of this new activity, they would likely cheer you on. However, if you thought they’d demand that you show them what you’d learned so far, maybe even ask you to play something way beyond your current ability, you might be less likely to share what you were doing.

This is what happens sometimes when Christian Scientists try to talk about their faith practice. Sometimes, questions come up that are hard to answer. Most religions have a set of rules, a doctrine that is memorized and capable of being verbalized the same way by everyone in that religion. Although Christian Science has tenets, even these statements require some explanation—and proof.

People involved in Christian Science are students, seeking universal Truth, trying the methods and meeting with both failure and success. In the standard world of religion, that’s odd. However, in the world of science, it’s normal. Individuals studying the physical sciences are constantly in the process of learning, trying, reworking, trying again, and no one thinks anything of their process, except that it’s perfectly normal. Christian Science takes the teachings and acts of Christ Jesus, explains them in terms of universal Principle, and goes about the task of proving the rule, just like physical scientists. The difference is that Christian Science deals wholly with metaphysics, with God and all things spiritual.

Any learner may find it challenging to express even the fundamental ideas of what they are learning, especially if put on the spot. Christian Scientists are no different. Yet those who embrace their definition as a learner or student, and are less afraid of letting others know that there may be something they don’t know yet, or can’t yet prove, will be the most comfortable in sharing. For everyone else, let’s allow them love-filled and patient space in which to learn and grow, and understand their process as perfectly normal.

Dawn-Marie is a Christian Science practitioner who lives in Natick, MA with her husband, 3 kids, and a variety of animals.

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There has been a tremendous reawakening of spiritual healing on our campuses, particularly in Cross River State College of Health Technology, and at the University of Calabar. For instance, an understanding of Christian Science precepts is a sound basis for health care at the individual level. The daily perusal and mastery of its fundamentals, adeptly explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, has healed many students. This study also improves their academic performance, as well as benefitting their social interactions within and outside the campus.

Two recent lectures, sponsored by the CSO and held on February 13 and 14, 2013, at the College of Health Technology, Calabar, and University of Calabar respectively, have had a huge impact. The lectures gave listeners a new sense of the spiritual power they have to live right radically and laid a solid foundation for students to reach out and strive for spiritual meaning and purpose in life.

Many staff and students of the universities feel that CSO activities are rich sources of inspiration for all classes of people and that Christian Science encompasses the whole good quality of life, providing insights into eternal Truth and divine Love that are greatly needed in our society.

As a result our CSO’s activity has started playing a major role on our universities’ campuses, bringing a new concept that is essential to the satisfaction of basic human needs and to an improved quality of campus life.

Recently, a broader concept of Christian Science healing was integrated into the university campus to change students’ mentality and living condition. Its effects are emerging in the form of improvements in the quality of campus life. One of the things we’ve done is to encourage the living of Radical Acts as an essential component of a more spiritual life and a way to follow Jesus toughest teaching.  On the Radical Acts website, there’s a poster that gives a list of 20 ways that we can challenge ourselves (http://time4thinkers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/radical-acts-poster.pdf). We’ve adopted these goals as our own.

We feel that by doing this our CSO activities can expand the understanding of Christian Science into every nook and cranny of our university’s communities. Our meetings, which are held every Thursday, focus on the fact that deed and not word is the sound proof of living as a follower of Christ Jesus.

The lives of CSO members have improved by striving to follow this agenda. Other students have learned how important studying and practicing God’s law continually can be in enabling one to understand His spiritual principles and put them into operation in the community.

Above all, our recent activities are one way to see that all men and women are equal before God. And any individuals can learn to think right, do right, and lead a spiritually, productive life because the spiritual reflection of divine Love is available to all of God’s creation.

Curtis Edge says: Short answer: No. What may be most helpful in answering this question, though, is an understanding of the roles of both Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy.

Jesus was the best healer ever. EVER. He demonstrated the laws of God, and their power to save us from any conceivable problem or circumstance, better than any person has ever demonstrated them. Jesus is the ultimate human model—meaning he was as perfect as can be expressed humanly. Jesus is also the example—the example of how we should act, and the way we should live our lives every moment of every day.

Mary Baker Eddy was a 19th-century pioneer of spiritual ideas. Through her study of the Bible, she gained a clear understanding of how Jesus healed; she discovered, and articulated, the laws of God, and she named her discovery Christian Science. These laws of God had existed forever, and will exist forever. And Mary Baker Eddy discovered that when these laws were applied to any situation, healing occurred. In other words, Jesus was Mary Baker Eddy’s example and inspiration, and he is ours, too.

When speaking about Jesus or Mrs. Eddy, I have found it important to not talk about their personality, but about what they did. The Bible says, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” ¹ In other words, we can put both Jesus and Mrs. Eddy in their proper place by looking at their works. Mrs. Eddy herself told her church members to follow her “only so far as she follows Christ.” ² As we do this, we can appreciate both Jesus’ example, and Mary Baker Eddy’s. But we can also see how they are not equivalent in importance.

Jesus demonstrated the laws of God naturally. He was instructed through his communion with God, and acted as he was inspired. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mrs. Eddy wrote of Jesus, “He was inspired by God, by Truth and Love, in all that he said and did.” ³ Mrs. Eddy also strived to live her life this way, and as fellow followers of Christ, so can we.

Curtis is a Christian Science practitioner living in Tiverton, RI.

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