Why Christian Science?

Why I Became a Christian Scientist?
      Well, where to begin?  I grew up in the United Methodist church.  Mom and dad took my brother and I to church every Sunday.  Our minister was very dynamic, kind and a great example to follow.  It was a wonderful experience, but I didn’t hear answers to the hard questions and was too shy to ask.  What is God?  Where do we go when we die?  Do you think “so-and-so” will go to heaven?  Where is heaven?  My mom tried to answer questions for me sometimes or shared her opinion, but she admitted that she didn’t really know either. 
     When I went to college I would go to various churches on Sunday, trying them out to see what they were like.  I’d made several visits to the United Methodist church.  The minister gave wonderful sermons.  It was like listening to Andy Griffith (“Mayberry” TV show) tell stories.  He was wonderful.  Then one Sunday, he wasn’t there.  I asked about him and was told that he had run off with a woman in the church.  That didn’t sound so great, but I learned something.  Church shouldn’t be about the minister.  You can’t let another person be your idea of church.  There is more to church than a person.
     Then shortly after I got married I met a co-worker of my husband’s and she invited me to come to church, a Christian Science church.  I’d never heard of it and didn’t know anything about it.  I went and enjoyed it.  Our drives back and forth to church were my classroom.  I could ask her anything and she would have an answer.  I was supplied with “Christian Science Sentinels” which showed me how people used Christian Science in their daily lives.  I also started reading the Bible Lesson from which I was learning more about God and how I could better express Him/Her.  A whole new world of understanding opened up to me.
     I became aware of Christian Science practitioners.  Practitioners pray with us and help us see what is real about any situation that may be troubling us.  You can find them listed in the “Christian Science Journal” and now on the Internet.  I remember my first healing.  I wasn’t feeling well.  It seemed to be flu.  I called a practitioner to help me pray.  I was so new at this; I didn’t know what to do.  The practitioner gave me some ideas about my relationship to God and maybe something to read in the Bible or Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  As I pondered these ideas, it suddenly became clear to me that I was God’s child and that he hadn’t made this illness.  I was completely well and enjoyed the rest of the day in complete freedom from the symptoms I had experienced.
     I’ve learned a lot from Christian Science about God and his love for me --everyone.  I’ve also learned about my responsibilities as God’s child.  Even though I’ve felt like a beginner for a long time, I am now starting to see that God guides me each step of the way.  I feel like I’ve been lead to this path.  I continue to grow in my understanding of what I need, how I can better follow Jesus’ teachings, how I can help others, and how God will reveal this to each one of us.  I see that God is in charge of all things. - Cindy H., Wilmington

            I was pretty sure growing up that I would not be a Christian Scientist. My mother and her mother before her were Christian Scientists and I was too independent to be tricked into believing something I did not understand for myself!

            Let me explain. As an infant, my mother was released from hospital as an “incurable” blue baby. In kindness, she was returned home for final comforting. Her mother was understandably so challenged by this that she turned to an alternative help, the controversial religion Christian Science. I was told that she had seen Christian Scientists as they walked past her home each Sunday and that they seemed a pretty happy group. In any case, she turned to God with Christian Science help and the end of the story is plain. Here I stand as a child of that baby!

            Growing up in Christian Science Sunday Schools, being loved and cared for by a terrific Christian Science mother, and witnessing many healings did not make me a Christian Scientist.

            Christian Science goes right to the root of who we are and what constitutes the world we see. It challenges conventional science and maintains that everything is NOT as it seems. It bases this on what Jesus showed us and what he taught others to do. This included healing, walking on water, and a long long list of other “miracles”.

            I decided to use my college educational opportunity to get right to the heart of the “miracles” issue and make a final conclusion about the religion of my upbringing. I majored in physics and focused on the true scientific basis what physical matter really is.  Really, how could Jesus walk on water? How could there be instantaneous healing of various maladies? Here is what I concluded. 

            The current theories broke matter down beyond particles to sort of a “probability theory” regarding the location of energy. Lots of math involved in this. Matter was composed of “energy”, which most likely, most probably arranged itself this way or that.  The fundamental energy component was the same for everything we see! That was it. There was nothing more solid than that to the essence of matter.

            Physics does not really answer all questions, but somehow studying Physics helped me to accept alterations in energy-matter’s performance. This thinking allowed me to turn back to the science of Christianity with new interest. 

            It is unfair to say that I am a Christian Scientist because of the physics major, but it was a component – a useful exploration. I am a Christian Scientist because of the indescribable peace, joy, healing, and fun that comes as we become conscious of spiritual things.  The invisible things which we call “spiritual” do, in fact, dismiss physical laws and limitations. As Jesus stated, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And, frankly, eternity is God’s domain……“resistance is futile!” - Nancy Kelley, Yellow Springs, Ohio