Writing between 1936 and 1944

I must admit that I always thought Thomas L. Leishman’s writing style was a bit dry. I’ve changed my mind. His articles are thorough, succinct, and engaging. 

I’ve gone back to the archives (of the Christian Science periodicals) and discovered that he first started contributing in 1936 with a brief article titled “The Greek of the New Testament”. Fourteen articles appeared over the next 8 years.

Here’s a list of those articles, written, perhaps not coincidentally, during the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler in Germany, when surely millions of people were turning to their Bibles for comfort, guidance and support –

1.      April 1936 – The Greek of the New Testament

2.      October 1938 – The Geographical Background of the Bible

3.      July 1940 – Preparation for the Gospel in the Graeco-Roman World

4.      September 1941 – Luke, and the book of Acts

5.      October 1941 – Means of Travel in New Testament Times

6.      November 1941 – The Background of Paul’s Letters

7.      December 1941 – Paul’s Earliest Epistles

8.      January 1942 – Paul’s Letters to the Galatians and to the Romans

9.      March 1942 – Letters of Paul’s First Roman Captivity

10.  April 1942 – The Distribution and Grouping of Paul’s Letters

11.  May 1942 – Paul’s Pastoral Epistles

12.  December 1942 – Dress in New Testament Times

13.   June 1944 – Women who aided the Pauline Ministry

 

From #1 I learned that the Greek of the New Testament was not the style used by “such classic authors as Euripides or Plato” but “was simply the … graphic, homely speech of everyday life”.

#2 suggests that “some knowledge of the physical features of the land of the Bible aids us in appreciating the vividness of the teachings”.

#3 indicates that Paul was well aware of the “elements of truth to be found in the religion or philosophy of his audience” in Athens, citing Ephimenides, Aratus, Virgil and Plato. Paul knew how to communicate to his listeners.

Of interest in #4 is a explanation from Bible scholar Alexander Cruden (1699–1770), who compiled the famous Cruden’s Concordance to the Bible, that “the beloved physician” (Col. 4: 14) probably means that Luke was a “healer of the mind” a  “comforter”.

#5 tells us that most New Testament people walked a lot. In “the East walking is considered no hardship”, says Mr. Leishman.

#6 is of particular interest to us this month. Leishman explains that Paul’s writings “may be justly regarded as representing the urgent correspondence of an exceedingly active missionary”.  [Note that more recent scholarship indicates that the only writings considered to be authentic to Paul are Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon.]

#7 helps us glimpse the situation on the ground with the church in Thessalonica. Leishman says that the “letter … provides clear evidence of the dangerous situation which prompted it”.

#8 explains that “Paul’s letters to the Galatians and to the Romans … both deal with the basic subject of the relation between Judaism and Christianity” and that “salvation awaits all mankind”.

#9 reminds us that Paul continued supporting his friends even while in semi-captivity, awaiting trial. See Acts 28: 30.

In article #10, Leishman quotes Eusebius, “that great Christian historian of the fourth century” who wrote that “Paul … who surpassed them all in vigour of expression and in richness of thought, committed to writing no more than the briefest epistles”. Here we learn that Paul’s letters were undoubtedly copied and passed around.

#11 gives us a picture of the early church, and in particular, of workers like Timothy and Titus.

Who hasn’t wondered what people were wearing in different periods of history. #12 gives a vivid account of the garments worn by John the Baptist and Jesus. We learn here about the difference between the “cloke” of Matthew 5: 40 (similar to a modern-day coat) and “cloke” of II Timothy 4: 13 (a circular travelling cape).

In #13, we are reminded of valuable early Christian women such as Lydia and Priscilla who featured in Paul’s ministry.

Each of the articles (all from The Christian Science Journal) are less than a page long! And yet packed with information that will help us read the Bible more understandingly.

Finally, an article title “Opportunity versus Time” was written for the July 13, 1940 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. It engages the reader at the outset with this sentence:

“In our busy world, there is perhaps no cry more insistent, no excuse more prevalent, than this, that the individual does not have sufficient time for constructive thinking or activity.”

Readers will be delighted to read on where Leishman shares Jesus’ parable of the labourers who all wanted to work and leaped at the opportunity to do so – and who all received a penny a day, no matter when and how long they worked.

Thank you, Mr. Leishman.

Julie Swannell

For all Bible students: Paul the missionary apostle

An announcement "for all Bible students" appeared in the October 10 1977 issue of The Christian Science Journal. Thomas Linton Leishman's fifth and final book in the Continuity of the Bible series, PAUL THE MISSIONARY APOSTLE had just been published. 

The short announcement then quoted from Leishman's foreword:  "The enormous contribution of Paul, that fearless pioneer Christian, can never be overestimated or overshadowed in the history of the Christian church." 

The other books in this series were: The Patriarchs, Joshua to Elisha, Prophetic Writings, and The Gospels. 

The articles from which all five books were compiled first appeared in The Christian Science Journal and are today available through the Bound Volumes found in many Christian Science Reading Rooms or via the indispensable website jsh-online.com. I did a search under Thomas Leishman which yielded great results.

For those interested in owning the book, a quick online search tells me that some copies of the original book are available to purchase. 

Writing in 2015, one reader's online response to the book is inspiring:

    "Love his books! Thomas Leishman has a remarkable Christian background and became an amazing theologian after moving to America from Scotland. He has done painstaking research of the Bible and its history; has studied the ancient languages in order to more accurately research his subjects. I own all of his books and find that his clear, concise writing style and understanding of the subject matter has enlightened my own understanding of the Bible and Christianity."

Julie Swannell

Church-building

I quote here, from the Manual of The Mother Church page 132, a section of the Deed of Trust Conveying Land for Church Edifice (referring to The Mother Church):

Said church building shall not be removed from said lot except for the purpose of rebuilding thereon a more expensive or a more convenient structure in which said doctrines of Christian Science only shall be preached and practised. (My emphasis)

I came upon this passage when pondering the definition of church in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, part of which says, “Church. The structure of Truth and Love.”  See p.583.

I reasoned that if church is the structure of Truth and Love, it must be the structure of God. Now Mrs. Eddy does not use the phrase, the structure of God. Indeed, most of the references to structure in her writings are about the material structure.

Back to the Manual provision, I find it remarkable that any rebuilding must be of a more expensive structure if the present one is removed.

Mrs. Eddy expected the best.

Any comments, dear readers?

Joyce Voysey

Ed. Thank you for inviting comments. Here's a thought: We know that members worldwide contributed unselfishly to the call for funds to build both the Original edifice and the Extension of The Mother Church. It was a mammoth task. Maybe the requirement for a more expensive building (should conditions require rebuilding at some point) infers the need for greater generosity, sacrifice, solidarity, and gratitude on the part of those incurring the costs, i.e. the current members of The Mother Church. 

As announced in the explanatory note...

I have been puzzling over the Church Manual's direction to Readers to "make the following announcement" : 

           As announced in the explanatory note, I shall now read correlative passages from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy". (See pp. 120-121.) 

This is required to be read by the First Reader after the Second Reader has read the Bible references of the first Section of the Bible Lesson. See Church Manual Appendix "Present Order of Services..." pp. 121, 125-6).

Why is this important, I asked myself.

Of course, we do need to know the name and author of the book from which the Reader is reading. But if that were the only reason for this statement, then the Reader could simply announce the name of the book and its author without referring to the explanatory note at all.

Let's examine the afore-mentioned explanatory note. It is found on the first leaf of the Christian Science Quarterly. (This periodical contains the citations for each week's Bible Lesson and Sunday sermon.) The explanatory note is profoundly important in establishing the credentials of our Pastor: the Bible and the Christian Science textbook. It explains to the listener that the sermon they are about to hear will comprise "Scriptural texts" (that is, passages from the Bible) "and their correlative passages from our denominational textbook" (that is, related or corresponding passages from the textbook of Christian Science).

The explanatory note then amplifies the import of this sermon. It explains that the biblical passages will be from "the canonical writings". The dictionary defines canonical as "accepted as being accurate and authoritative; included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine", i.e. not apocryphal. 

Mrs. Eddy mentions the word canonical once in her writings, i.e. 

           Have we misread the evangelical precepts and the canonical writings of the Fathers or must we have a new Bible and a new system of Christianity, originating not in God, but a creation of the schools - a material religion, proscriptive, intolerant, wantonly bereft of the Word of God. (Message to The Mother Church for 1901, Mary Baker Eddy. p. 34: 10)

The explanatory note then proceeds to inform us that "the word of our textbook" will be "corroborating" (confirming, giving support) and "explaining" (making clear by describing in more details or revealing relevant facts) the Bible texts (read by the Second Reader). Furthermore, these passages together carry a "spiritual import" (spiritual significance) and "application to all ages, past, present, and future" (practical use or relevance in every age). And they "constitute" (combine to form) a sermon that is "undivorced from truth" (not separated from truth), "uncontaminated" (pure) and "unfettered" (not confined or restricted) by "human hypotheses" * and "divinely authorised" (official permission).

*Eddy refers frequently to "human hypotheses" in her writings. For instance, in Retrospection and Introspection (p. 35: 14-15) she writes:

           Human hypotheses have darkened the glow and grandeur of evangelical religion.

And in her Message to The Mother Church for 1902 p. 5: 14-16:

            The ever-recurring human question and wonder, What is God? can never be answered satisfactorily by human hypotheses or philosophy.

Might it be then, that the requirement to read "As announced in the explanatory note..." will not only provide helpful continuity for the congregation but will also reiterate and be a reminder of the solemn import of the explanatory note.

One writer gratefully acknowledged the impact of the explanatory note on her first visit to a Christian Science church service:

           After dropping the girls off at the Sunday School, I decided to attend the church service. Soon after I sat down, I heard the words, "The canonical writings, together with the word of our textbook, corroborating and explaining the Bible texts in their spiritual import and application to all ages, past, present, and future, constitute a sermon undivorced from truth, uncontaminated and unfettered by human hypotheses, and divinely authorized. (See Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lessons, p. 2).

            I thought I would faint from relief. Having been exposed to nothing but human hypotheses my entire life, from pontificating relatives, teachers, and ministers - and being fed up with all of it - the words struck such a strong chord I eagerly waited for what was to follow. Just hearing those words - what I later discovered was part of the Explanatory Note preceding each Bible Lesson-Sermon - was enough to make me feel I had been given a new lease on life! (See The Christian Science Journal June 2010 "A revolutionary communication" by Milika Nevarez).

What an extraordinary way to introduce our Lesson Sermons to expectant listeners.

Julie Swannell

A "turnabout"

In an article from the August 1982 issue of The Christian Science Journal titled “The Structure of The Mother Church”*, authoritative Christian Science historian Robert Peel gives details of the times when the authority of the Manual of The Mother Church has been challenged.

Here’s some background on one of those instances.

A member of the Board of Directors had been dismissed by the Board and that person went to court. Folk interested in this difficult time for The Mother Church would find it enlightening. The man was John V. Dittemore. The court case was Dittemore v. Dickey. Dittemore lost his case.

In Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority, Peel tells us of Dittemore’s "final turnabout" over the matter in 1937, giving the text of his letter to The Christian Science Board of Directors:

As the result of experience over a period of years and a great deal of serious study devoted to the science of government, I have come to the humble conclusion that I made a great mistake in allowing personal differences of opinion and the feelings that developed therefrom to influence me to the extent which they evidently did after Mrs. Eddy passed on.

We were all greatly affected by her demise and held divergent views regarding the policies to be pursued when she was no longer here to direct us. And while I acted upon convictions which I regarded as right at the time, I have since been led to see, and am anxious to go on record as admitting it, that I was wrong in letting personal opinion and matters of policy induce me to depart from Principle.

God’s law does not divide and separate men, it unites them, enabling them to work together and perpetuates this unity. Personal differences that appear irreconcilable disappear as we grow in the understanding of His law and the ability to demonstrate it. Man is properly self-governed only as he enthrones this mighty law in his heart and mind. It annihilates everything unlike itself and I find it has destroyed all sense of personal animosity, all desire to justify self, and brought instead the sincere desire to acknowledge my mistake in organizing what was apparently regarded as an opposition movement, opposed to the Cause of Christian Science, to Mrs. Eddy and her teachings.

I recognise and revere her as having restored to humanity primitive Christian healing and acknowledge The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., as the first church in history to stand for the spiritual and scientific significance of the life of Christ.

I am happy to forward you this letter to us as you may see fit and to sincerely announce as my fervent desire that the Cause which you represent may continue to grow and prosper under your direction.

Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority. 509-510

In the above-mentioned Journal article, Peel wrote:

The Manual By-Laws are laws of limitation only to such qualities as self-will, rivalry, duplicity, sloth, pride, personal sense, and the self-deluded complacency that assumes it has already reached Christ Jesus' pinnacle of demonstrated spirituality.

Joyce Voysey

*Ed. Anyone wishing to read the Peel article is welcome to call their local Christian Science Reading Room. Subscribers to JSH-Online should be able to click the link. Anyone in Australia who would like a gift subscription should contact the Librarian at Christian Science Society Redcliffe.

Copies of Peel’s book Mary Baker Eddy: Years of Authority are available for purchase or borrowing from Christian Science Reading Rooms.

Discipline and healing

Article VIII in the Church Manual is titled Discipline. One might agree that every successful endeavour – in business, the arts, sport, relationships – has required some portion of discipline to reach its goal. It often requires self-sacrifice. Gosh!

According to the Oxford dictionary, discipline denotes self-control, self-government, orderliness, obedience, method, regulated activity, routine, regimen, training by exercise, instruction. It is closely related to the word disciple - student, follower, adherent, pupil. Jesus is recorded as saying "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord" (Matthew 10: 25).

The Readers Digest Word Finder explains that both disciple and discipline go back to the Latin discipulus, learner, from discere, to learn.

Thirty-one sections comprise Article VIII, which is sub-titled GUIDANCE FOR MEMBERS. The section titles are:

1.               A Rule for Motives and Acts
2.               To be Read in Church
3.               Christ Jesus the Ensample
4.               Daily Prayer
5.               Prayer in Church
6.               Alertness to Duty
7.               One Christ
8.               No Malpractice
9.               Formulas Forbidden
10.               No Adulterating Christian Science
11.               No Incorrect Literature
12.               Obnoxious Books
13.               Per Capita Tax
14.               Church Periodicals
15.               Church Organizations Ample
16.               Joining Another Society
17.               Forbidden Membership
18.               Officious Members
19.               Legal Titles
20.               Illegal Adoption
21.               Use of Initials “C.S.”
22.               Practitioners and Patients
23.               Duty to Patients
24.               Testimonials
25.               Charity to All
26.               Uncharitable Publications
27.               The Golden Rule
28.               Numbering the People
29.               Our Church Edifices
30.               No Monopoly
31.               Christian Science Nurse

It’s so interesting to see the by-law about the Christian Science Nurse in this Article. In the June 28, 1958 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel, Myrtis Holmes Selover’s article “The Nurse’s Important Work” is helpful. She writes

The nurse has the duty of lovingly caring for the patient, feeding and looking after the body, keeping it clean and comfortable. But she has also the more important duty of watching over human consciousness, feeding it with the Christ, Truth.

Ms. Selover offers the biblical story of Naaman and the prophet Elisha as an example.  See II Kings chapter 5. In this case, Naaman’s servants took on the role of the Christian Science nurse in encouraging him to yield to Elisha’s gentle request to wash in the river Jordan.

Further on, Myrtis writes:

Often one acts as his own nurse as well as his own practitioner. The qualities described by Mrs. Eddy as necessary in a nurse, particularly that of receptivity, expressed by the one seeking healing, help to bring it about… One must watch that ill-temper, deceitfulness, and a complaining attitude … find no place in one’s thinking. Human consciousness should be watched over, tended, and constantly nourished by the Christ, Truth, that the errors detected there may be cast out and destroyed.

Now I see why this section was included in the article on Discipline! Christian Science nursing is about the discipline of watching consciousness. This work is for every student of Christian Science to take up with joy and vigour. I’m resolving to start right now.

Julie Swannell

A precious guide | Principle-sustained

My current copy of the Manual of The Mother Church The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts is of the 89^th Edition. I see on page 1 (There are no page numbers on the first 5 pages of the book. Sometimes these introductory pages are numbered in Roman numerals – i, ii, iii, iv. v. Mrs. Eddy’s seminal work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, is numbered in this way, though the printed numbers do not appear till page vii.)

 

COPYRIGHT

I see on page 1 that copyright to the Manual was first taken out in 1895, so I suppose that was the first edition. Copyright has not been renewed since 1936. What does that mean?

The early sections of an article titled The Church in Action: From the Directors in the October 1981 issue of The Christian Science Journal is helpful. Some relevant headings include: Copyright of Science and Health—Mrs. Eddy's intent; Mrs. Eddy’s own concern and action; and Steps to keep Science undiluted.

[Ed. I like this sentiment from the article:

From beginning to end, [Mrs. Eddy’s] concern … was far more than a merely legal or commercial one. It sprang from her overwhelming desire to preserve the purity and wholeness of the revelation set forth in Science and Health. Again and again she spoke of the need for protecting her writings from misguided individuals who might attempt to take them over….She even laid down in the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. XXV, Sect. 7) certain moral conditions under which the textbook could be published or sold…]

Kevin Ness’ piece, Copyright Ethics, in The Christian Science Journal March 2012, includes the following:

Is it true that Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is no longer under copyright? 

That is true. Generally, under United States law, items first published before 1923 are in the “public domain,” which means that Mrs. Eddy’s original published writings in English are no longer under copyright. In the case of Science and Health, the copyright was extended beyond its normal duration by special legislation in 1971, but this legislation was later reversed by a court decision. However, most non-English translations of Science and Health and Mrs. Eddy’s other published writings still remain under copyright.

 

A PRECIOUS GUIDE: ORDER OF SERVICE

I have before me my second copy of the Manual of The Mother Church. The first one is still around but is somewhat worse for wear. It was a precious guide while I was a First Reader conducting Christian Science church services. It was with me on the desk. Why? Because it holds the Order of Service for those services. Of course, the Manual was also my guide for Wednesday Evening meetings and the Thanksgiving Day Order of Service. And it was by my side when I served as Sunday School Superintendent and as Second Reader.

A little story: There was an inspirational meeting. A certain man was given the task of speaking about the Manual of The Mother Church. The one point that has stayed with me over many, many years was when he said he had inherited a friend’s copy of the Manual. He compared it to his own copy. His was in almost pristine condition and his friend’s had obviously been well used.

Here is an interesting fact. On page 120 we have:

Present Order of Services in The Mother Church and Branch Churches 

Republished from the Sentinel

There is a helpful article titled Coda and Invitation: The Appendix of the Manual of The Mother Church in the December 2009 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

 

LEGAL TITLES

When we have occasion to write "The Mother Church" or "The First Church of Christ, Scientist", we are required to use a capital “T”. (Ed. Not so for the branches.)

Art. XXIII. Titles. Sect. 2. “The First Church of Christ, Scientist,” is the legal title of The Mother Church. Branch churches of The Mother Church may take the title of First Church of Christ, Scientist; Second Church of Christ, Scientist; and so on, where more than one church is established in the same place; but the article “The” must not be used before titles of branch churches, nor written on applications for membership in naming such churches.
(Manual of The Mother Church, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 70:21)

 

A GEM

And finally, a gem from page 226:14 of Mary Baker Eddy’s The First Church of Christ Scientist and Miscellany, not seemingly apropos of the topic but apropos of everything:

Withdraw God, divine Principle, from man and the universe, and man and the universe would no longer exist. But annihilate matter, and man and the universe would remain the forever fact…

The whole passage reads:

Withdraw God, divine Principle, from man and the universe, and man and the universe would no longer exist. But annihilate matter, and man and the universe would remain the forever fact, the spiritual “substance of things hoped for;” and the evidence of the immortality of man and the cosmos is sustained by the intelligent divine Principle, Love.

Joyce Voysey

Animosity? Personal attachment?

In an Extract from a letter in Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy (reprinted on the page preceding the Table of Contents in the Church Manual is this description of the value and necessity of its Rules and By-Laws:

           They ... [are] a help that must be supplied to maintain the dignity and defense of our Cause...

Students of Christian Science have given proof of those sentiments.

A recent article in the Christian Science Sentinel (October 28, 2024) shares a shift in focus away from a "personal sense of ourselves and others" (Discard the label, p. 7) -

...I held to the first sentence of the By-Law "A Rule for Motives and Acts" from the Manual of The Mother Church (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston): "Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church" (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 40).

The By-Law continues, "In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness."

The writer continues:

But I kept questioning whether my expression of this Love, if not motivated by a personal sense of affection, could be cold or unfeeling. The focus on me continued to be the stumbling block. I had been seeking to express God's love as though it were some possession to be acquired by me and then bestowed on another rather than basking in the divine Love that shines on all of God's children impartially -- like the sun.

This writer found their freedom as they realized that "unselfed love ... was never to be found in physical distancing but within..." 

Back in 1885, the writer of A Squirrel Story (The Christian Science Journal, May 1885) wrote about not getting on well with a squirrel, who was the “one blot on the summer morn.” A “most unchristian animosity” developed, and revenge ensued until “a vindictive little paw thrust itself quickly through the wires and scratched” the writer’s hand.

But a sweet friendship developed when amusement replaced animosity. “One can hardly be wrathful and amused at the same moment”. The article shares that “After I grew fond of the squirrel, I lost my fear of him” and he returned that loving fearlessness with gentleness and trust.

Julie Swannell

Micah prophesies "The Ruler from Bethlehem"

How wonderful is Micah’s prophecy about the Messiah’s connection with Bethlehem!

The heading in Micah, Chapter 5 (NRSV), is “The Ruler from Bethlehem.” This is where we find verse 2 --

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel…

This is repeated in Matthew 2.

The Notes at the bottom of the page in NRSV explain that --

Bethlehem, a small town five miles south of Jerusalem, assumed importance in the Christian era on account of its association with the birth of Jesus. David, a native of Bethlehem, was anointed there by Samuel (I Sam 16.1-13). Ephrathah is identical with Bethlehem. The relationship between Bethlehem and Ephrathah is unclear. Ephrathah may have been the ancient name for Bethlehem, or it may have been absorbed into Bethlehem. This undistinguished town was paradoxically to be the source of salvation. “me” refers to God.

Joyce Voysey

Musings on Micah and mothers

The name Micah means: “who is like the Lord”. The Introduction to Micah in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible tells me that this “is not a question but an exclamation underscoring the incomparability of the God of Israel.” Is not this a recurring theme of the Holy Book?

Micah’s relative proximity to the Christian era has me wondering about the state of thought that led up to the coming of the Messiah. The Introduction in the NRSV gives much history of the period. I find it rather dazzling.

Just lately I have been impressed by the inclusion of the name of the mothers of new kings, e.g. in 1^st and 2^nd Kings and 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles.

The first example is from I Kings 14:21 --

           And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

In like manner, we are given Moses’ mother’s name in Leviticus 24:11 --

           And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

Aha! Here we see not only the mother’s name but also the mother’s father’s name also, and sometimes that of his tribe; in Moses’ case the mother is Shelomith, and her father is Dibri of the tribe of Dan.

Now we have a clue here – “Dan” is found in the Glossary chapter of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 583:26) --

DAN (Jacob’s son). Animal magnetism; so-called mortal mind controlling mortal mind; error, working out the design of error; one belief preying upon another.

Not a good CV!

The entry at I Kings 14: 21 in Dummelow’s A Commentary on the Holy Bible gives me a healthy clue.

           His mother’s name] the name of the mother of each succeeding king (see I Kings 15:10, 22:42; 2 Kings 8:25 etc,) is expressly mentioned because of the position which the queen dowager occupied: see on 2:19.

And I Kings 2:19

Rose to meet her] the queen dowager occupied a very important position at the court of the kings of Israel: cp. I Kings 15:13 and Jeremiah 13:18.

Dummelow says at Jer. 13:1

The date of this prophecy is shown pretty clearly by the word ‘queen’ (v. 18), which means queen-mother, namely, Nehushta, mother of Jehoiachin. The queen-mother had always a high position, and in Jehoiachin’s case this would be specially so, owing to his tender years.

And Jer. 13:13,

...The kings practised polygamy; hence the high position taken by the queen-mother…

Relative Bible Lens from the Christian Science Bible Lesson for October 21-27, 2024, subject: Probation After Death --

The book of Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets (followed by the writings of Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). Minor doesn’t denote importance but rather brevity of content in contrast to the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel). A commentary notes that “each of these short books gives a glimpse into the spiritual landscape and history of Israel, challenging the status quo through prophets called to speak on God’s behalf.”

Joyce Voysey

Ed. I like the idea that the minor prophets offers  “a glimpse into the spiritual landscape”!

Is Micah relevant to us today?

This morning, after having read the seven short chapters of Micah from the King James Version of the Bible and done a little extra research in the pages of The Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinel, I asked myself: 

1. How well do you know the Bible? 

2. Can you distinguish between the prophets? 

3. Do you have a favourite passage in Micah?

The answer to the first question is: Day by day my hope is to learn something new and apply it in my daily experience. 

The answer to the second question is: Hmm. I've got some way to go before I can clearly distinguish between them.

The answer to the third question is not so easy. There are quite a few passages that capture my great interest.

I really like the concept of the "remnant". I think of a remnant of fabric. It can be shoved into a corner and forgotten, or it can be redeemed. With a little inner vision, we can see its potential for re-use. We can bring it into the light of day and regard it with fresh eyes and fresh possibilities. I've done it recently by creating pretty carry bags out of discarded fabric. What may seem old and no longer useful can be re-fashioned - perhaps a memory, a failing church, a missed education. Micah tells us that God says: "I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds! Your leader will break out and lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the enemy cities, back to your own land. Your king will lead you; the Lord himself will guide you" (Micah 2: 12-13, NLT). What a glorious promise.

Next, I like the analogy of mountain-top thinking which leads to peace. Here, "The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear" (Micah 4: 3-4, NLT). "Nothing to fear". Another glorious promise to lean on in our daily walk and conversations - no more cutting remarks, no more hard feelings, no more resentment (swords and spears). Instead, may we tend to the gardens of our own thought. 

Another remarkable passage comes from chapter 5 in Micah. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf" (Micah 5: 2 NLT). This "ruler of Israel" - and there had been many up to this point - was revealed in due time as Christ Jesus. The King James Version makes it clear that this ruler is and has always been present: "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5: 2).

Micah holds hidden treasure. Ready to be mined and put to use.

Julie Swannell

What's the mental atmosphere in your town?

 The prophet Micah lived around 700BC, was a contemporary of Isaiah, and prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. He lived near Jerusalem in Judah.

I've just read his short book from my beautiful pink-bound and tabbed New Living Translation version which I love using. I have also studied the first 8 paragraphs of Thomas Leishman's article about Micah titled "Micah: the peasant seer" from the September 1969 edition of The Christian Science Journal. It was part of the brilliant series The Continuity of the Bible which was later printed as a series of books. (Some Christian Science Reading Rooms may have copies of these books for interested readers.) 

Leishman speaks of Micah as comparing the downfall of Samaria to a contagion - a downward spiral created by rampant idolatry.

Micah also warns against the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and, with tongue in cheek, he identifies various places with their mental animus. Leishman quotes from Moffatt's Bible, and readers will surely enjoy his translation:

     "Weep tears at Teartown ... grovel in the dust at Dustown ... fare forth stripped, O Fairtown ...! Stirtown ... dare not stir" (Micah 1: 10 - 11).

It bears wondering if we today are alert to the mental atmosphere surrounding us. The Discoverer of Christian Science, uses the phrase "mental atmosphere" in her writings, e.g.

    Let no clouds of sin gather and fall in mist and showers from thine own mental atmosphere. (Miscellaneous Writings 1883--1896, p. 355: 26-28 Let)

and

    ... the reformer continues his lightning, thunder, and sunshine till the mental atmosphere is clear. (Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 9: 14-16)

But Micah's message was not all thunder and lightning, as we shall see as we read on.

Julie Swannell

Taking class instruction with Mary Baker Eddy

Ongoing work of The Mary Baker Eddy Library team includes publishing digitally all of Eddy's correspondence. 

Of course, Mrs. Eddy's vast correspondence was either hand-written or -- with the invention of the typewriter in 1870 -- typed by her secretaries, who over the years included her students such as Calvin Frye, Irving Tomlinson and Adam Dickey. Additionally, the faster method of telegraph was used when the matter was urgent. 

Some research reveals that letters were either hand delivered or sent via the United States Postal Service, which used trains to carry the mail at a distance. Interestingly, Benjamin Franklin was this institution's first Postmaster General, a position he had accepted in July 1775. At that time, George Washington had sought to champion "the free flow of information between citizens and their government as a cornerstone of freedom" (thoughtco.com article by Robert Longley, updated July 28, 2021).

While we might think that with tools such as email, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS available to us today, communication has become speedier, we might ponder the speed at which Mrs. Eddy responded and corresponded with two prospective students: Mrs. Ruth Ewing, wife of the US District Attorney for Illinois, and a Miss Willsi. Here is what the article "From the Papers: A letter that launched two careers" on the Mary Baker Eddy website reports:

Ellen Brown Linscott, who had taken Eddy’s Primary class in 1883 and Normal class in 1885, was actively healing and teaching in Chicago. On August 19, 1886, she wrote this in a letter to Eddy:

I think I wrote you about two ladies who wish to join your first class in Sept. One of them Mrs. Ruth or rather, Mrs. W. G. Ewing is the wife of the United States District Attorney for Illinois. Just such a woman as you want, one who is able to talk, write, and will make a fine healer too. The other is Miss. Willsi a lovely character, and both are people of social position: Will write you their addresses….1

The class Linscott referred to began on August 30, 1886—only 11 days later. Nevertheless, on the day the class began, both Ruth B. Ewing and Lucinda Willsie were in attendance. And they both went on to have significant careers that contributed much to the cause of Christian Science over the following four decades.

It seems these ladies were on fire and time disappeared in their quest to take forward steps in Christian Science.

"All God's servants are minute men and women." (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 158: 19 (only))

  Julie Swannell