Have a Long Way to go to Realize weary Hope

Today, in homes and churches, as well as on Twitter and Facebook, Mary Baker Eddy’s words are repeated.

That is, of course, appropriate. Her words are thought-provoking and filled with many profound images. Borrowing effectively from Christ Jesus, the apostle Paul, John Wesley, the Declaration of Independence, and Alfred Tennyson’s “Hope, Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier,’” Eddy laboriously called upon citizens of the world to recognize and realize “the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind.”

Eddy’s words speak clearly over a century. From her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

• “Now is the time in which to experience salvation in spirit and in life.”
• “My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself.”

But today it is important that we remember not only Eddy’s iconic words, but the period that led to them. It was the 19^th century. Sickness was God’s will, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was a blow to religion, and social equality was struggling to emerge.

Eddy made herself known, “through her laborious publications,” emphasizing “how much time and toil are still required to establish the stately operations,” of the Science of Christ, Love. After publishing Science and Health, she organized a church contemporary to the 19^th century yet with the timeless mission to advance deliverance from sickness and evil through divine Love, as lived in the life of Christ Jesus.

On the one hand, gone into the dustbin of history are preachers that shriek predestination and damnation, gone are absolutes in science, and gone is the tradition of overlooking social equality.

But on the other hand, after 100 years, these issues still are in the forefront of our lives and thoughts. It is no wonder Eddy wrote, “Time and toil are still required to establish the stately operations,” of the power of truth and love. (Science and Health, page 464)

The late 19^th and early 20^th century crowd may have shared a sense of history, mission and community when Eddy’s words first were gathered and articulated, but there is more work to be done.

Many people act as though we are in a post-religious stage. They hold to the legacies of predestination and damnation—believing only a few select will see the light—and as a result, Eddy’s church withers away. They are complacent as barrenness, dogma, and isolation manage the church. And Eddy’s words become confined to reduction and repetition.

But, against these odds, the new work will be accomplished.

I may not fully understand the dynamics of the thought movement during Eddy’s time, but I do recognize the benefits of knowing I can find, and know, a healing love now. I can respond to the same divine Mind that spoke to previous spiritual leaders. And, instead of only repeating Eddy’s loving words, we can apply the same love in today’s spirit and life, and advance the Science of Christ  in today’s language [with the use of 21st Century Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: A modern version of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health].

It’s not over. The work Eddy labored over is unfinished. Time and toil are still required to keep the Science of Christ alive in today’s presentation and tone.

Divine Love continues its need of expression. We have made progress, but we still have more work to do to make Eddy’s weary hope become realized.

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Mary Baker Eddy’s “Science and Health” is No Longer Weird or Aloof

One hundred years ago, Mary Baker Eddy died, leaving an astonishing legacy to the world. A few people cherish the religious organization and church buildings Eddy left behind; however, one of Eddy’s books is regarded as the most valuable heirloom given to humanity, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Weather and exposure tarnish gold, silver, and marble. Similarly, human language, time, and misinterpretation tarnish the written word. Therefore, the 19th century church buildings are restored and Science and Health is revised.
The revision I produced, 21st Century Science and Health, required years of preparation, prayer, and research. Thankfully, Eddy revised Science and Health over 300 times during her lifetime so there was a definite pattern to follow. And, I can honestly say, this work was motivated by immense appreciation for Eddy’s explanation of divine Science. I did not revise Eddy’s book out of desperation; I did not do it to prove a point; and I did not do it because I thought I could do a better job than someone else. The work was done vigilantly, delicately, meticulously, conscientiously, prudently, firmly—through sweat and tears.
Eddy’s Science and Health was carefully excavated. I gently removed decaying language, clichés of institutionalized religion, misconceptions found in society, and the outdated social references. Readers of 21st Century Science and Health can also relate to examples and illustrations apropos to today’s globalization and technological discoveries. Science and Health is no longer aloof or weird.
The requisite revisions were made in order to present Eddy’s ideas intact and correct to this present time. A case in point is the paragraph discussing “Novel Diseases.” Eddy listed new diseases of the 19th century while I listed new diseases of today. I also updated terminology such as: animal magnetism, phrenology, humors, brainology, and consumption. Science and Health is now gender-inclusive. Also, Biblical quotes come from the diverse English Bible versions available to people at the many bookstores around the world.
I continue to update Science and Health, keenly noting the thoughts and suggestions of the global thought, proving that Christian Science can’t be trapped in history or culture.
Eddy’s Science and Health gleams again with the facts that: divine Science is timeless; other cultures and people have also discovered and articulated divine principles; the ability to heal spiritually is accessible to people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and faiths; a divine perspective of truth can’t be hidden; there is no mystery to understanding and practicing scientific mental healing; and, the elements of human ideologies never harmed Mind-science.
Immense work is yet needed to advance divine Science and its interpretation of health, harmony, and holiness.