Category Archives: Christian Science
Fine-tuning Prayer
Prayer is desire. Your desires are known by God, the divine all-knowing Mind. God knows your desires before you do. Trust God to formulate and develop your faithful desires before they become words and actions.
It’s generally accepted in the field of religion that the tradition of prayer or meditation may reduce stress, clear the mind, or bring about healing. In the field of science, studies on the effects of prayer have occurred for more than a century. Although today, technology is used to measure the brain’s reactions to prayer, test results generate more questions. How many people need to be praying? Can prayer be offered from a distance? Is prayer a form of manipulation? What kind of prayers are offered?
In divine Science, prayer is mental. It’s not a cause or effect, but images forth the cause and effect of the Divine, God. The misleading assumption that 2 happens after 1, then 2 must happen because of 1, is not to be overlooked. Healing doesn’t happen because of prayer even if healing occurred after prayer.
The test of prayer lies in the answer to these questions: Do we love our neighbor better? Do we pray and give no evidence by living consistently with the prayer?
We can’t stare at a mathematical problem on the screen and pray for the principle of mathematics to work out the solution. Shall we ask the divine Principle of all goodness to do what’s already been done? Only one thing can be done. Benefit yourself of God’s rule to receive Love’s blessing, which allows you to resolve life’s issues.
We have Jesus as an example of a living prayer. Following Jesus isn’t easy but is doable, despite the devilish self and world. We can model the divine nature. We can experience divine approval even if our peers disapprove. We can experience the divine faith that all good is possible to God.
Christian Science and Evil
http://anchor.fm/cheryl-petersen
https://21stcenturyscience.wordpress.com/
Divine Life Remains
It’s difficult to fathom. Nearly impossible to see or feel. But divine Life is cause and effect.
Life isn’t divided. Life isn’t half of anything. Life isn’t a causing spirit, eventually up against its effects of manifest truth or love.
If divine Life were divisible, we could believe that the spirit of Life caused the effect of creation, with infinite effects/beings that can evolve, devolve, or do everything in their power to submit to divine Life and live forever in heaven.
But divine Life remains cause and effect.
I am not cause or effect.
I am, you are, inclusive to, the one cause and effect of divine Life. As much as we don’t want to admit it sometimes, the spirit of life goes on, despite the happiness and horrors of human life, of birth, growth, decay, death.
Humility, perhaps humiliation, allows us to recognize this pattern of life as cause and effect, even when we want to insist on that which we can’t, human life as either cause or effect.
Creation remains, intelligence remains, love remains without human life or knowledge because it existed before human life.
It’s difficult to fathom one cause and effect when I’m giving power to causes other than divine Life. It’s nearly impossible to see or feel the effects of divine Life when I’m expecting effects that can’t possibly come from an indivisible divine Life.
I think it’s logically consistent, emotionally prudent, and spiritually sound to get to know and acknowledge one cause and effect. The cause and effect of divine Life, inclusive of us and all.
“Though the way is dark in mortal sense, divine Life and Love enlighten the way, and destroy the restless human thinking, the fear of death, and the supposed reality of [hopeless irrationality].”–21st Century Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: A modern version of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health
Healing Science Today 