Open the book for inspiration

My method of engaging with the book, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Discovery, at present is to simply open it, find something that inspires me to develop further in my thought and add something to the blog about it.

Battles*

Speaking of the battles between science and religion in the 1800s, Peel says “… Christian Science from the start occupied ground in full view of both contending armies” (page xv)—and that strong combo brings healing.

Freedom

The record of Mary Baker Eddy’s life seems to tell us that she spent the first half of it as a prisoner in matter—the universal belief that matter is all.

Considering Mary’s telling references to freedom, one could say that, for 45 years she was imprisoned in the false belief that matter was both the cause of her problems as well as the cure.  Her great discovery dates from 1866 the year after the end of the American Civil War. In Science and Health’s chapter Footsteps of Truth she has written at length about freedom from slavery being gained first by the slaves and then Mary herself. She discovered that all men are free in the Kingdom of God. See Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 225:14‒227:29.

Hear this from the last paragraph:

“Christian Science raises the standard of liberty and cries: “Follow me!  Escape from the bondage of sickness, sin, and death!”  Jesus marked out the way. Citizens of the world, accept the “glorious liberty of the children of God,” and be free!  This is your divine right.”

Dissection of thought

Interesting idea: Mary Baker Eddy had the task of dissecting mortal mind like a student surgeon dissects a cadaver to uncover the process of how the matter body works: the “brain, blood, bones, and other material elements” which Science and Health (p. 475) proclaims do not constitute man.

The surgeon can never dissect mind. It does not exist in matter. Science and Health tells us about anatomy and dissecting thoughts on page 462:20‒463:4.

Resistance

I wonder: Is Christian Science resisted because of its simplicity? Its basic truths are that God is good and God is infinite All, a correlative to “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1: 31 (to 1^st .)). Simple and profound.  So simple a child can demonstrate it through healing; profound, as demonstrated by the very book we are thinking about. 

What a profound thinker Peel was. 

I find that the phrase “simple and profound” has come to me through Science and Health: ““Love one another” (I John, iii.23) is the most simple and profound counsel of the inspired writer” (p. 572: 6-8). The “inspired writer” was the disciple John.)

Profound: Strong, powerful, intense, fierce, deep.(Seems to have to do with emotions, deep feelings of the heart.)Intellectually deep; that enters deeply into subjects, not superficial or obvious to the mind, e.g. profound reasoning

A thinker

Don’t we love the story of a very young Mary saying: “Oh I wish I could but off my thinker.”  We thank God that she never did (page 20).

Etiquette

OH!  What would Mary think of today’s carelessness of speech and lack of etiquette in this fast communication age (see page 41 middle)? She even insisted on the etiquette of Christian Science, along with its morals and Christianity (ibid).

Immortal life now

One of the impressions that slowly came from reading this book is that I had been taking into account the influence of the belief amongst Christians that immortal life will be obtained after death and eternal life will be the reward of living a good Christian life in this earthly existence. I tried to consult the internet on this subject but couldn’t cope with the answers, which were very confusing to this student of Christian Science which teaches that Life is eternal now. 

Joyce Voysey

* Ed. On the topic of battles, Peel wrote the following passage in an article for The Christian Science Journal:

The challenge came in communicating to the world what she was discovering, for the whole entrenched belief of life in matter seemed to concentrate itself in outraged opposition to the message and the messenger. While those who were healed were grateful and even enthusiastic, they all too often took alarm as gradually they realized the demands the new teaching made on them.

MARY BAKER EDDY: DISCOVERER by ROBERT PEEL, From the February 1966 issue of The Christian Science Journal