Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

In the spiritual universe of God’s creating, the law of divine Love governs all. Because God is infinite and fills all space, there is no place for anything to exist outside of God’s authority. His entire creation, including each one of us, is held within divine Love’s jurisdiction, where all operates in perfect harmony.

This law of Love was the basis of Christ Jesus’ healing ministry. Through his understanding of God’s omnipotence, he fed the hungry, redeemed the wayward, restored the sick. Jesus did not manipulate the physical body or material conditions to bring about harmony. Instead, he turned humbly and expectantly to God, the source of all good, to correct whatever appeared wrong. Jesus honored the law of Love in all that he said and did, and he expected to witness the operation of this law.

Mary Baker Eddy, a lifelong student of the Bible and especially of Jesus’ teachings, states in her book “No and Yes,” “God’s law is in three words, ‘I am All;’ and this perfect law is ever present to rebuke any claim of another law” (p. 30).

In the Christian Science textbook, Mrs. Eddy writes, “In the year 1866, I discovered the Christ Science or divine laws of Life, Truth, and Love, and named my discovery Christian Science” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 107).

She explains that Jesus’ remarkable healings were not miracles that happened in contradiction to divine law, but rather, they were the natural result of applying it. And she shows us how we can follow Jesus’ example by applying the law of Love in our own lives.

Two experiences I had demonstrate this. One day when I picked up my daughter’s dog to care for him while the family was away, I noticed that he kept rubbing one of his eyes. He was obviously uncomfortable, and the area around the eye was inflamed. I knew there was an effective spiritual remedy at hand. I could appeal to the law of Love for healing.

That didn’t mean asking God to fix a physical eye to make the itching stop, but that I could understand that this dear pet was entirely spiritual and governed only by God’s law – the law of Love. This meant that he had never been out of God’s tender care, even for a moment. Nothing could breach his oneness with God, and this guaranteed his safety.

I prayed to better understand this spiritual law, and felt divine Love’s presence and power dissolving the fear that any one of God’s creatures could be subject to discomfort. Within the hour, the dog’s eye was completely normal. The redness and itching were gone, and I rejoiced in this proof that the law of Love heals.

Another time, I awakened one morning with a pain in my neck, which made moving uncomfortable. As I studied and prayed, I gained a strong conviction that there was no need to put up with this pain and just wait for it to disappear. Instead, I could have freedom right away by applying the law of Love.

I have studied Christian Science all my life and had actually found quick healing from this problem in the past by understanding God’s allness and the nothingness of illness. Science and Health assured me, “Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God” (p. 243).

I reasoned that only a false belief was being presented to my thought, and I did not need to accept it. I could safely see the discomfort as having no more reality than a dream. Awaking to the truth of God’s allness and man’s oneness with God, good, brought quick release from the pain. That afternoon I went on a four-mile hike in the woods with my daughters and their husbands and had complete freedom of movement.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

Maintained by the law of Love, we are all “cared for, watched over, beloved and protected,” as one of my favorite hymns states. Knowing this enables us to “walk ... with courage each step of the way” (P.M., “Christian Science Hymnal,” No. 278).

Adapted from an article published in the January 2023 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

Last spring, as I walked down a neighborhood street, a whirling puff of down landed in the middle of the street. A tiny dove, not yet fledged, had toppled out of its nest. I scooped it up and placed it on a nearby curb, hoping that the mother would appear, but was horrified when, instead, an adult blue jay landed next to the dove and violently pecked at it. After rushing over and shooing the jay away, I was dismayed at the dove’s apparent prospects for recovery and was met with a neighbor’s solemn advice to “let nature take its course.”

I knew that she was suggesting acceptance of the imminent death of the bird, and it was a wake-up call for me to insist that this little one’s God-given, spiritual nature would be manifested in healing. Having no training in avian care, I decided that the bird should be taken to a wildlife center. I learned that the center had closed for the day, so I would have charge of the bird overnight.

Though treating ailments with prayer has been my go-to during my adult life, I’d had no experience with anything that looked as dire as this. The injuries seemed so severe that I had to acknowledge that it wasn’t within my power to heal and restore anything. I mentally reached out to God, divine Love, relying entirely on the truth that the bird was cared for as a spiritual idea held in divine Mind. Doing so released me from the self-imposed burden of falsely believing that I had to pray this little one back to health. Instead, I acknowledged the bird’s divine nature as Love’s perfect little one nestled securely in the kingdom of heaven.

In retrospect, I can see that my complete release from feeling personally responsible for the outcome allowed me to put the bird utterly in God’s hands. My job was to cherish its divine nature and mentally insist that nothing could separate this perfect idea from its creator, God.

Gently placing my little friend in a shoebox, I audibly affirmed that his Father-Mother God was right there, and I knew wholeheartedly that God’s ever-present love controlled everything concerning the bird. I silenced all deliberations about possible outcomes of how and when healing would come, and firmly acknowledged the presence and care of the Divine. Prompted by a hymn that came to mind, I realized that I had a choice to make. I told myself, “You are either going to know that God can care for this bird, or not. You can fretfully tiptoe into the kitchen and check on him during the night, or you can leave him to God’s care.”

I was bolstered by a sentence from the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy: “A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive” (p. 463).

This inspired me to negate everything about the attack that I had witnessed. But how could I do that? Another statement from Science and Health was key: “God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power” (p. 473). The same power of ever-present God, good, that had parted the Red Sea and underpinned all of Jesus’ healing works was right where my little friend was.

I imagined how much love our all-powerful divine Mother must have for him! And if that love is the only thing that is present or has power, then how could the bird be anything other than a perfect, unassailable idea of God? Because God is Spirit, the bird’s true nature had to be totally spiritual, and spiritual things can’t be attacked or injured.

Upon looking into the shoebox the next morning, I was delighted to be greeted with a “cheep.” I drove the bird directly to the wildlife center. The attendant, who was well experienced in caring for all types of critters, lifted the bird and turned him over on his back, revealing a perfectly healed neck and chest area.

“Must have been an old wound,” she said as she gently flicked a scab away, although she seemed shocked that such a young bird could have experienced an injury and healing of that nature. She assured me that the bird was out of danger and that they would feed him until he was old enough to be fledged.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

As I left my little friend in the capable care of the attendant, I jubilantly praised God for the healing. I also rejoiced in the increased confidence I had gained that in every situation, to paraphrase an assurance from the Bible’s book of Second Chronicles, “the battle is not yours, but God’s” (20:15).

Adapted from an article published in the April 27, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

What if you really are immortal right now? We’re generally educated to believe that immortality only comes after death. But, what if that’s not the truth? This week’s “Christian Science Quarterly” Bible Lesson, entitled “Mortals and Immortals,” shows us we can experience immortality here and now.

The lesson includes the biblical account of Enoch, who “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22) and lived 365 years before he “was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Walking with God means obeying, trusting, listening to, and communing with God, who is Love divine. Clearly, Enoch, who “pleased God” throughout his life, continued walking with Him spiritually following his translation – his disappearance to human sense and removal to heaven without being subject to death (see Mary Baker Eddy, “Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” pp. 67-68).

Christ Jesus constantly walked with God. His understanding of being one with his Father enabled him to perceive man as the reflection of God, immutable and immortal. When multitudes of sick people came to him, Jesus’ clear perception of man as God’s image and likeness healed them.

In the Bible, we read that Jesus took three disciples with him up into a mountain (see Mark 9:2-9). As Jesus communed with God, his appearance became shining and white, and he spoke with Elias and Moses, both of whom had lived centuries before him. How is it that these men were present? Man, the reflection of God, who is divine Principle, Love, exists without a beginning or an end. Jesus knew this and demonstrated to his disciples – and to us – that the individuality of man is forever intact and immortal.

While these examples are some of the very highest of evidencing immortality here and now, step-by-step we too can begin to walk with God and glimpse immortality. As we relinquish timelines of birth and death and views of man as separated from God, we will increasingly see ourselves and others as evidence of God’s expression of Himself – spiritual, whole, and immortal. Easy? Sometimes. But often this takes persistence, courage, and a pure desire to walk forward with God.

As the birth of our second child neared, my husband and I were informed by the doctors that my life and my child’s would be in danger if I did not have an operation and blood transfusion. They also feared that even if we went through with these procedures, it might already be too late to prevent my child from being brain-damaged.

Based on what I understood of God and of myself and my child made in God’s image and likeness, I knew this assessment was not the final word, and I didn’t go through with the procedures. During the entire pregnancy, I had endeavored to walk with God – to really understand my child’s and my present immortality. Both of us were, are, and forever will be God’s eternal ideas, not temporary material beings. Now was the time to fully trust God as the divine Principle and Life.

During the next two days, as a Christian Science practitioner and our family prayed with us, my husband and I gained a clear sense that all was well. And it was. The baby was born easily, there were no complications, and both of us were and remained healthy. My husband and I are so grateful for the clear proof that the understanding of man’s immortality saves and heals.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

As we more consistently walk with God – listening, trusting, and expecting all good – we can experience more of the immortality that is truly ours, now and always.

If you’re new to the weekly Bible Lessons from the Christian Science Quarterly, you can view a free sample of a previous week’s Bible lesson here. Subscribers to the weekly Lesson can log in here.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

Sometimes, we take in the news or experience things in our own lives and say, “I can’t believe it!” Admittedly, this is generally an expression of exasperation. But with a different thought behind them – one based on spiritual authority – the same words convey something very different. They become a prayer of affirmation that what we are seeing isn’t the reality it seems to be, but a transient belief in a mortal or material existence, which isn’t so in light of the allness, the reality, of God, Spirit.

That’s not to suggest that simply disbelieving something that we don’t want to be true is a prayer. But it is prayer to know the truth that God, our creator, exists and is good – infinitely good. That’s a truth Jesus demonstrated by his singular life and multiplicity of healings. Evils, from sickness to sin and even death, yielded to Christ, the spiritual idea of God that Jesus knew and loved and fully embodied. His many healings proved that anything that isn’t good isn’t of God, and is, therefore, a temporal belief rather than the solid fact it seems to be. And his capacity to heal illustrated the ability inherent in each one of us to discern God, good, as the universal reality.

Even a shocked “I can’t believe it!” hints at this spiritual sense. It shows that we expect good in our lives and instinctively balk at what is an affront to that expectation. This aversion to the wrongs we see and hear is rooted in the truth that God doesn’t create anything unlike Himself, so He doesn’t know anything unlike good. And in our true, spiritual identity as God’s image or reflection, neither do we.

So if the things we see or experience don’t express God’s care, harmony, integrity, etc., we can indeed confirm in prayer that we can’t believe it. That is, as the spiritual offspring of God, Spirit, we cannot be persuaded for a moment to accept as real anything that denies the infinite goodness of the All-in-all. No matter what we see or feel, we can stand for the divine Science, or truth, of our God-reflecting thinking.

For sure, this spiritual reasoning goes against the tide of human conviction. But as Mary Baker Eddy writes in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science for the supremacy of God, or Truth, and doubts the supremacy of good, ought we not, contrariwise, to be astounded at the vigorous claims of evil and doubt them, and no longer think it natural to love sin and unnatural to forsake it, – no longer imagine evil to be ever-present and good absent?” (p. 130).

Through communion with God in prayer and spiritual study, we awaken to this divine sense that so consistently motivated Jesus. By it, we might first see that the ills of life, such as sickness, fear, hatred, and injustice, are matter-based beliefs. But as we rise to a clearer understanding of what is and isn’t real, we recognize the nothingness of these beliefs themselves. This recognition is Christ’s healing light, which lifts us above the fray – above competing conceptions of what is true that are clamoring for our attention – and enables us to attain the peace of Mind.

From this vantage point, thoughts come to us that replace any resignation to wrong with the inspiration that leads to right resolutions. We find healing for ourselves and shine a light on what’s spiritually true for others – in fact, for the whole world.

What’s needed is to disabuse ourselves and others of the false belief in a power outside of God by yielding our fears and doubts to the conviction of Mind’s sweet control. This supports the emergence of right attitudes and actions in ourselves and others.

So when we’re distressed by personal, local, or global events, let’s respond with the “I can’t believe it!” thought that truly doesn’t believe it. Let’s spiritually, lovingly, and gratefully accept that we are the reflection of Mind, which never has to believe because it always knows. And all that Mind knows is the ever-active, perpetually loving, all-spiritual expression of God’s love that pervades the universe He creates and sustains.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

Then, even – or especially – in the face of challenging circumstances, we can take our spiritual stand with the expectation that it will have a healing impact. We can steadfastly accept that God and the good that He knows are our own and everyone’s present and permanent reality.

Adapted from an editorial published in the April 6, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Smartphones, laptops, tablets – modern technology has become ubiquitous in our daily lives. But do these devices intrude upon personal relationships, or do they provide opportunities to connect? Does the easy availability of recording ensure accuracy, or does it invalidate genuine memories?

Ben Lerner explores these contemporary issues in his latest work, “Transcription.” A mere 144 pages, the book is divided into three parts, each identified by the name of a hotel pertinent to the events recounted in that section. 

In the first part, the narrator, who remains unnamed throughout the book, is traveling to Providence, Rhode Island, to interview Thomas, his former mentor, a world-renowned intellectual. Now a writer for an unnamed magazine, the narrator inadvertently destroys his smartphone. This leaves him with no means to record their vital conversation, one that will likely be their last owing to Thomas’ advanced age. He devises a plan to handle this unfortunate situation – one that does not include resorting to paper and pencil – and keeps their meeting. 

Why We Wrote This

Ben Lerner’s noteworthy novel explores tech’s impositions on memory, history, and relationships.

In the brief second section, which takes place years later, the narrator is attending a conference in Madrid to celebrate Thomas’ work. The narrator draws upon his final interview in his presentation. He acknowledges that he had not recorded the conversation but rather “reconstructed” it from memory. This admission draws stern rebukes from many attendees, including Thomas’ son, Max, a friend and former college classmate of the narrator.

The final section is an account of a conversation between Max and the narrator, both of whom now have young daughters. Max shares how he and his wife have struggled to address their daughter’s eating disorder, including abandoning any limits on junk food and screen time for the young child, allowing her to make her own choices. The two men also delve into Max’s struggles with his own father and the difficulties he faced having such a strong, prominent figure as his parent. Max confesses to the narrator that he thinks the narrator was more of a son to Thomas than he was.

No true plot runs through the book, but Lerner ties the sections together with common themes. With his exquisite prose, he explores how male friendships meld into rivalries, the effect of history upon the present, and the accuracy of personal memories – and how current technology imposes upon all of it.

During that critical interview, Thomas, who grew up in Nazi-occupied Germany, shares that his first memory is hearing a speech by Adolf Hitler. Many decades later, the memory weighs heavily. Thomas hadn’t recorded the speech, of course, but it continues to strike a deep chord. His experience stands in contrast with the narrator’s, who makes the controversial choice to reconstruct his final conversation with Thomas. 

Today, technology might capture our conversations, but does it define, or even shape, our memories? While recordings might be accurate, are the remembrances authentic? Or maybe technology enables us to express ourselves more genuinely. 

In one section, the novel recounts Thomas’ hospitalization during the COVID-19 lockdown when a kind nurse used her own cellphone to enable Max to speak with his father. While the phone was propped against Thomas’ ear, his son shared honest emotions – things he had never told his father. But when Thomas recovers, and the two visit in person, Max is unable to speak with the same honesty. 

Was the difference caused by the seemingly desperate circumstances or the degree of separation provided by technology?

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

Lerner doesn’t answer these questions; he leaves them for the reader to ponder. His book exposes the ways – some good, some troubling, some profound – that technology imposes upon our daily lives and relationships, ways that have become so common, so much a part of our routines, that most of us do not question them. 

But sitting and reading a paper copy of this excellent book might make some wonder – and also consider how Lerner presents a collection of the characters’ experiences, which he has translated, to create a story that he copied into a book. He produced a transcription. 

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

As a teenager, I attended a church that taught that everyone is a miserable sinner. I often cried myself to sleep at night, thinking I was a horrible person steeped in sin. I even wondered whether there was any point trying to be good. This deep feeling of unworthiness continued until I began earnestly studying Christian Science. Through my study of the Bible and “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, I was lifted out of the view that we are sinners. I began to gain a clearer understanding of my – and everyone’s – worthiness.

One idea I love most that I discovered in my study is the concept of the real man. Science and Health states, “The real man is spiritual and immortal, but the mortal and imperfect so-called ‘children of men’ are counterfeits from the beginning, to be laid aside for the pure reality. This mortal is put off, and the new man or real man is put on, in proportion as mortals realize the Science of man and seek the true model” (p. 409).

This was such a freeing explanation to me. I began to understand that the real or new man is our spiritual identity based on our oneness with God. The old man is a way of thinking steeped in matter, fear, and sin. I saw that I could let go of any thoughts that would suggest that sin is an inevitable part of me or of anyone.

The Bible speaks of our worthiness in God’s sight. For example, “I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: ... Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee” (Isaiah 43:3, 4).

Christ Jesus came to tell each of us that we are worthy. He said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6, 7).

We know this is true, because the very beginning of the Bible says that we are made in God’s image. God would never create anything unlike Himself. So you and I and everyone reflect His good and pure nature. We were created worthy and remain so always, as I found out a few years ago.

I had a great job that I was very satisfied with. I worked with good people, and could gladly have done that job for many more years before retiring. However, suddenly, I was approached by several organizations with new job opportunities. I was both flabbergasted and humbled that they wanted me to work for them. I felt a calm assurance that all was well and I could follow God’s direction.

I listened as each of the organizations explained the roles they hoped I would fill. In some cases, these were leadership roles, but leading a group of people was not something I felt I was special enough to do. I didn’t feel I was particularly well-spoken or a standout achiever. Still, I was learning to listen to God and to see myself as His worthy child.

I was led to accept a job halfway across the country. I am so grateful to have this job, in which I lead a group of deep thinkers in a cause close to my heart. The best thing about my job is that I get to see not just my own worthiness to lead this group, but each individual’s worthiness as God’s child. Together, we work arm in arm doing God’s work each day.

As worthy children of God, we are loved by divine Love. This relationship is never altered by our behavior or mistakes. However, if we do find that we could have done better or acted in a more loving manner, divine Love is ever present to correct us, and to guide us in putting off the old man and putting on the new man.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

These foundational, scientific truths can speak to each of us, revealing our true existence as God’s good, worthy children. The firm foundation on which Christian Science is built – that God is our creator, and so we each are spiritual, not material, made always worthy, never unworthy – is a game changer!

Originally published in the March 2023 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

A letter arrived at my church, inviting volunteers to participate in a restorative justice program. This marked the beginning of more than ten years of volunteer work on restorative justice in my community – first as a facilitator and later as a case manager – where I witnessed genuine growth in those involved. Seeing firsthand so much remorse, courage, and willingness to be accountable prompted deep prayer on my part to better understand true justice.

The concept of justice as restorative rather than punitive resonated with me as a parent and as a practicing Christian Scientist. In essence, restorative justice uncovers and corrects errors and reveals what is inherently spiritual and good in humanity. The Bible says that “mercy and truth are met together” (Psalms 85:10), and understanding the coincidence of these qualities, we see that, while wrongdoing must be corrected, at the same time, there is also the possibility of redemption. Underlying this is the spiritual fact that no one is irredeemable. This gets to a foundational point in Christian Science: that the Christ, as the activity of God, reveals the real man.

We see this in many examples that Jesus gave humankind. He refuted the model of an “eye for an eye” and taught instead, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:38, 44). Vengeance perpetuates harm; spiritual love not only interrupts destructive patterns of thought and action but awakens consciousness to the reality of good, of divine Love, and the unreality of its opposite.

The Apostle Paul, who underwent one of the most dramatic transformations in the Bible, wrote to early Christians in Rome, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. ... If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. ... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19-21, New King James Version). This was in line with Jesus’ teachings and actions in disarming vengeance against the accused while still requiring moral reform. He separated the individual from the sin and awakened conscience in both accused and accusers.

Understanding God as Love and reflecting God’s unwavering goodness reveals mercy and truth as divine in origin. We each express these qualities as God’s reflection. They are inherent in our real, spiritual identity. Christian Science teaches, “The attributes of God are justice, mercy, wisdom, goodness, and so on” (Mary Baker Eddy, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 465).

As a divine quality, mercy calls forth regeneration in individuals and communities, while justice demands transformation of consciousness. Wrongdoing is a distortion of man’s true nature, a false belief being acted out. Wisdom reverses any narrative suggesting that man is inherently evil or irredeemable and reveals instead everyone’s true identity as wholly spiritual and divinely loved. Therefore, all are capable of reform.

This conviction – that no one is irredeemable – may feel challenging in light of world events. Yet, from a Christian Science standpoint, it is understood that divine justice uncovers and corrects error and restores harmony by repairing and healing harm done. It brings out in individuals their foundational spiritual identity – untouched by sin or harm – and shines a light on this reality for all in the community.

In my prayers during cases I facilitated, I vividly felt the presence of Christ, the divine influence for good, transforming evidence of harm into healing. One case was with an individual who had imposed an extensive threat upon a large sector of the local community. During the moments of honest dialogue and accountability, every person present was visibly moved. Shifts in thought occurred on every side. Not only was the harm repaired, but the individuals involved expressed a profound change in how they saw one another and in fear being overcome.

When the Christ touches human consciousness, it may at first feel grueling, as tightly held erroneous beliefs break apart. But this disruption serves only to enable the reach of divine Love to expand. It is not passive idealism to trust in a divine solution; it is moral courage.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

As individuals bravely step forward to work for true justice, Christ, Truth, is at work to correct and heal. Divine law works to reveal the ever-present harmony that is a spiritual fact. As we commit to Christianly scientific practice, we see more of our own spiritual nature and that of everyone as the reality that cannot be hidden. This, then, not only transforms us and those we pray for but has healing effects for communities and nations.

Adapted from an editorial published in the May 4, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

On a bright and dewy spring morning, I was meeting a friend for a walk around nearby Burke Lake Park, and stopped by a McDonald’s to pick up a couple of Egg McMuffins for our breakfast.

I pulled into the parking lot from the north and eased toward the drive-thru. I had company. A big tough guy – beard, hunting gear, “Don’t Tread on Me type” – in a big tough truck – oversize wheels, mud flaps – approached from the south.

I was clearly the next in line, but the back of his truck was jutting out into a side street, so I motioned for him to go ahead. His engine roared as if he were taking off on a street race; the truck lurched forward 10 feet and then rocked back as he hit the brakes. Glad I let him go, I thought.

Why We Wrote This

A surprise gesture at a McDonald's drive-thru brings a fresh reminder of humanity's goodness.

He placed his order. I placed mine, and pulled up to the window to pay. 

As I presented my credit card, the woman at the register put up a hand. She motioned toward the truck ahead and said with a smile and a shrug, “He paid for you.” Surprised, I opened my car door and shouted a quick “Hey, thank you!” The big tough guy flashed a thumbs-up in the side-view mirror and then rumbled off to meet the rest of his day. 

It was a really nice moment, but did this brief interaction over Egg McMuffins at a McDonald’s drive-thru restore my faith in humanity? 

Actually, yeah, it kind of did. 

It reminded me that despite what we see on the news and social media, where everyone is a fire-breathing extremist of some sort, most people out there are pretty friendly folk. It reminded me of all the times in my life, in ways big and small, at home and abroad, when I depended on the kindness of strangers and they came through. It reminded me not to judge a book by its cover. If that’s an overused phrase, it’s probably because we need to be reminded of it all the time.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

I met my friend at the lake. We unwrapped our free Egg McMuffins, steam rising into the air, and saw the sun lighting up the new green foliage. It was a beautiful morning. 

– Zachary Przystup

The buzz on “The Sheep Detectives” was that it’s a cross between “Babe” and “Knives Out.” Turns out, the buzz is true.

Hugh Jackman plays George, a shepherd tending his flock in an idyllic, isolated meadow in the fictional English village of Denbrook. A loner who lives in a camper, George is surly to neighboring townspeople but infinitely protective of his sheep, whom he raises only for their wool. His favorite nighttime activity is reading detective novels aloud to the herd before bedtime, despite knowing they can’t comprehend his words.

Except they do. The sheep, rendered in the film as photorealistic animated creations, don’t converse with humans but talk openly with each other. Lily (voiced by Julia-Louis Dreyfus) is the smartest of the bunch: She routinely figures out whodunit long before George finishes up. When he is mysteriously murdered about 20 minutes into the movie, it is Lily who leads the charge to collar the culprit.

Why We Wrote This

"The Sheep Detectives" unfolds a murder mystery in which a flock searches for its shepherd's killer. Raised on detective novels read aloud by their caretaker, the sheep scour the countryside for clues in a film that entertains children and adults.

Kyle Balda, making his live-action directorial debut after helming the “Minions” animated films and “Despicable Me 3,” sustains a fanciful comic tone despite its rueful underpinnings. The sheeps’ love for George is the heart and soul of the story. Working from a script by Craig Mazin – based on Leonie Swann’s best-selling German novel “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story” – Balda ensures the narrative never cloys. It’s not anthropomorphism that we are witnessing, exactly. These sheep – who also include Lily’s ally Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), the extra shaggy Wool-Eyes (Rhys Darby), and the elder statesman Sir Ritchfield (Patrick Stewart) – are as fully “human” as the eccentric gaggle of townspeople with whom they are reluctantly impelled to interact.

Topping the list of eccentrics is Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), the bumbling local police officer who is poleaxed by the prospect of solving a murder case. Having to prove himself fills him with foreboding. Somewhat easing his anxieties is the entrance of George’s fetching, estranged daughter, Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon). But because she is poised to receive a huge sum from George’s will, she is also, alas, the prime suspect. (Ham Gilyard, the garrulous local butcher played by Conleth Hill, would seem too obvious a candidate).

The reading of that will is, of course, standard Agatha Christie stuff, as Lily well knows. Another essential murder mystery trope is the obligatory outsider, in the guise of Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine), a nosy newspaper reporter. Presiding over the will’s reading is Lydia Harbottle, who arrives in the quaint village in a black chauffeured limo and is played by Emma Thompson with a crispness every bit as tailored as her suits. Has any actor ever conveyed the sheer joy of acting with more brio?

Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

The best family films are those that entertain both children and adults. “The Sheep Detectives” can be enjoyed simply as a funny fable with a solvable mystery at its center. The well-placed clues are hidden in plain view. This is not always the case with mystery movies (even in some of the “Knives Out” entries).

But there is also underlying tenderness and melancholy that elevate the film beyond the conventional family entertainment genre. The sheep aren’t a herd of interchangeable creatures. They each have names, given to them by George, and distinct personalities. And not all is sweetness and light. A little lamb, for example, is shunned as a “winter lamb” because he was born out of the usual spring season.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

The sheep also indulge in a ritual forgetting, a kind of mass hypnosis, of all that is unpleasant. Only the philosophic Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) remembers everything. At the end, the sheep look up at the fleecy clouds and imagine them to be the departed souls of those they treasured. They come to understand, as Sebastian says, that it is our memories that keep our loved ones alive.

Peter Rainer is the Monitor’s film critic. Rated PG for thematic material, some violent content, and brief language.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

After high school, I had a job that was physically very demanding. For example, I sometimes spent several hours a day carrying large cartons of books up and down stairs. I wasn’t used to this kind of activity, but I was happy. I enjoyed what I was doing, I liked the people I was working with, and I learned a lot.

One summer, when I’d been doing this work for more than three years, I read a novel that included pages-long descriptions of the main character suffering from physical activity that was a lot like what I was doing. Like me, he was dedicated to his work and committed to doing whatever was needed to get the job done. He was certainly a flawed character, but he had many admirable qualities, and I began to identify myself with him.

Soon, I was suffering in some of the same ways he was, limping along as I struggled through the day, unable to keep up with the work I was supposed to do. My troubles were visible, and friends at work began to worry.

After a few days, I realized that I was making a mistake. I recognized that the trouble I was having wasn’t caused by my work. It came from how I was thinking about myself, trying to emulate the character in the novel. But I wasn’t that man, I wasn’t undergoing his experiences, and there was no reason at all for me to suffer as he did.

I consciously stopped identifying myself with him. Within a couple of hours, I was back to normal, and my friends saw the difference right away. I stayed in that job for another two years and never had any trouble like that again.

For many centuries, people have identified themselves with characters in another story: the allegory of Adam and Eve. As in my case, the result is unnecessary limitation and suffering. According to this myth, the Lord God first made Adam out of dust or clay and then formed Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs. They are presented as gullible and disobedient. Humanity is supposed to consist of their descendants and to be permanently condemned to pay the penalty for their disobedience. (You can read more about this in the Bible, in Genesis 2:6-3:24.)

This week’s Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly, which includes excerpts from the story, shows that we don’t have to identify ourselves with these characters, nor do we need to identify ourselves as their descendants. Instead, it shows that man – all of us, regardless of gender, age, or race – is created as God’s spiritual likeness (see Genesis 1:26, 27).

In another passage in the lesson, Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, explains: “Anybody, who is able to perceive the incongruity between God’s idea and poor humanity, ought to be able to discern the distinction (made by Christian Science) between God’s man, made in His image, and the sinning race of Adam” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 345).

And in following the teachings and example of Christ Jesus, which are at the heart of Christian Science, anyone can make that discernment practical. We learn to identify ourselves and others correctly as God’s children, created and maintained in His own image. And things associated with the mischaracterization as descendants of a flawed Adam and Eve, doomed to suffer for their ancient forebears’ transgressions, naturally fall away, just as it happened when I stopped misidentifying myself. The result is always liberation and healing.

We are not characters in a novel, nor are we descended from characters in an allegory. Our true heritage is a marvelous one, which Mrs. Eddy describes in this way: “Man and woman as coexistent and eternal with God forever reflect, in glorified quality, the infinite Father-Mother God” (Science and Health, p. 516).

If you’re new to the weekly Bible Lessons from the Christian Science Quarterly, you can view a free sample of a previous week’s Bible lesson here. Subscribers to the weekly Lesson can log in here.

No somos personajes en una historia

Christian A. Harder

Después del bachillerato, tuve un trabajo que era físicamente muy exigente. Por ejemplo, a veces pasaba varias horas al día subiendo y bajando grandes cajas de libros. No estaba acostumbrado a este tipo de actividad, pero era feliz. Disfrutaba lo que hacía, me gustaban las personas con las que trabajaba y aprendí mucho.

Un verano, cuando llevaba más de tres años realizando este trabajo, leí una novela que incluía descripciones en páginas enteras del personaje principal sufriendo debido a una actividad física muy parecida a la que yo estaba haciendo. Como yo, él estaba dedicado a su trabajo y comprometido a hacer lo que fuera necesario para llevarlo a cabo. Sin duda era un personaje imperfecto, pero tenía muchas cualidades admirables, y empecé a identificarme con él.

Pronto comencé a sufrir de la misma manera que él, cojeando mientras luchaba durante el día, incapaz de seguir el ritmo de la labor que se suponía que debía hacer. Mis problemas eran visibles y mis amigos en el trabajo empezaron a preocuparse.

Después de unos días me di cuenta de que estaba cometiendo un error. Reconocí que los problemas que tenía no eran causados por mi trabajo. Provenían de cómo pensaba acerca de mí mismo, intentando emular al personaje de la novela. Pero yo no era ese hombre; no estaba viviendo sus experiencias, y no había ninguna razón para sufrir como él.

Conscientemente dejé de identificarme con él. En un par de horas, volví a la normalidad, y mis amigos vieron la diferencia de inmediato. Me quedé en ese trabajo otros dos años y nunca volví a tener problemas como ese.

Durante muchos siglos, la gente se ha identificado con personajes de otra historia: la alegoría de Adán y Eva. Como en mi caso, el resultado es una limitación y sufrimiento innecesarios. Según este mito, Jehová Dios primero hizo a Adán del polvo o barro y luego formó a Eva de una de las costillas de Adán. Se los presenta como crédulos y desobedientes. Se supone que la humanidad está compuesta por sus descendientes y condenada permanentemente a pagar la pena por su desobediencia. (Puedes leer más sobre esto en la Biblia, en Génesis 2:6-3:24.)

La lección bíblica del Cuaderno Trimestral de la Ciencia Cristiana de esta semana, la cual incluye extractos de la historia, muestra que no tenemos que identificarnos con estos personajes, ni tampoco como sus descendientes. En cambio, muestra que el hombre —todos nosotros, sin importar género, edad o raza— fue creado como la semejanza espiritual de Dios (véase Génesis 1:26, 27).

En otro pasaje de la lección, Mary Baker Eddy, quien descubrió la Ciencia Cristiana, explica: “Cualquier persona que sea capaz de percibir la incongruencia entre la idea de Dios y la pobre humanidad debería ser capaz de discernir la diferencia (hecha por la Ciencia Cristiana) entre el hombre de Dios, creado a Su imagen, y la raza pecadora de Adán” (“Ciencia y Salud con la Llave de las Escrituras,” pág. 345).

Y siguiendo las enseñanzas y el ejemplo de Cristo Jesús, que son la esencia de la Ciencia Cristiana, cualquiera puede hacer que ese discernimiento sea práctico. Aprendemos a identificarnos correctamente a nosotros mismos y a los demás como hijos de Dios, creados y mantenidos a Su propia imagen. Y las cosas asociadas con la caracterización equivocada como descendientes de un Adán y una Eva defectuosos, condenados a sufrir por las transgresiones de sus antiguos antepasados, naturalmente desaparecen, tal como ocurrió cuando dejé de identificarme erróneamente. El resultado siempre es liberación y curación.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

No somos personajes de una novela, ni descendemos de personajes de una alegoría. Nuestra verdadera herencia es maravillosa, y la Sra. Eddy la describe de esta manera: “El hombre y la mujer, coexistentes y eternos con Dios, reflejan para siempre, en cualidad glorificada, al infinito Padre-Madre Dios” (Ciencia y Salud, pág. 516).

Si eres nuevo en las Lecciones Bíblicas semanales del Cuaderno Trimestral de la Ciencia Cristiana, puedes aprender más sobre ellas aquí: https://www.christianscience.com/es/publicaciones-y-actividades/lecciones-biblicas

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and sometimes it can feel daunting to know where to even begin my prayers. How can I pray for my family, my community, and the world when I feel like the challenges I need to deal with in my own life are enough?

Yet, I’ve realized that the ideas I pray with concerning a personal situation can be just as applicable to community or world issues. And vice versa – the healing, spiritual revelations I receive when I pray broadly can be applied to my personal life, too.

Why? Because what we learn through studying the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, is always true. Spiritual truths are just as true for “big” challenges as they are for what we might think of as “smaller,” or more personal, challenges. At the end of the day, I’m praying to learn more about God, to see what God sees, which is only goodness. Science and Health says, “Truth is God’s remedy for error of every kind” (pp. 142-143). It doesn’t matter the size of the problem. Seeing this certainly takes some work, but I’m making progress.

A few years ago, while racing around the sand dunes in Northern Michigan, I lost an expensive smartwatch. I looked for the watch when I realized it was gone, but a storm came in, so I had to stop looking. I was frustrated at first, especially as I had been praying while I searched. Then I remembered a passage from the Bible that has always comforted me: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

I felt reassured that I could keep trusting God, even after I returned home to California without my watch.

Around this same time, Southern California was experiencing raging wildfires. I was inspired to pray about this, and found the definition of “wind” from Science and Health very helpful. It reads in part, “Wind. That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God’s spiritual government, encompassing all things. Destruction; anger; mortal passions” (p. 597).

There are two definitions here: the spiritual and the material. The first definition shows the true, spiritual concept, while the second shows the mistaken, mortal view.

I found comfort in the idea that God is in charge of all movement and that His spiritual government reigns. I saw this as meaning that God is always in control despite what the physical senses present. Nothing operates outside of God’s kingdom, and His kingdom consists only of good, spiritual qualities. Nothing is more powerful than God. When we understand these concepts, it’s normal to see greater harmony in our surroundings.

Although I was praying about the wildfires, I later realized that the same ideas about God’s spiritual government encompassing all things were true regarding my lost watch. As I better understood the spiritual definition of “wind” and God’s omnipotence, I came to see that wind does not control any situation, whether it be a storm at the sand dunes or the wildfires.

Soon, I felt peaceful. I trusted that God was protecting and caring for everyone impacted by the wildfires, and I was grateful for the protection that I and others felt during this time.

Then, one morning almost two months after I lost my watch, and during the time I’d been praying about the wildfires, I woke up to a text from someone who had found my watch at the sand dunes. He even went the extra mile to buy a compatible charger so he could find my contact information in the watch and reach out to me. I got my watch back soon after.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

From this experience, I learned more about how prayer can bless all aspects of our lives. Prayer isn’t limited or confined. When we strive to be receptive to God’s messages, our prayers can contribute to healing even the most intractable situations.

Originally published in the April 2023 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.

Christian Science Perspective audio edition

Loading the player...

It’s not like they hadn’t been told. The book of Luke in the Bible reports that on at least three separate occasions, Jesus had clued his disciples in on the fact that he was going to be arrested, mocked, beaten, and crucified – a horrendous form of execution – but assured them that he would rise again the third day.

On one of those occasions he told them to let his words “sink down into [their] ears” (Luke 9:44) – in modern terms, “Listen up, guys, this is really important.” Another of those occasions was following a deep moment when the disciples recognized his divine mission to bring light and salvation to mankind.

But when all that he had foretold did happen, and in exactly the way he had said it would happen only days earlier, it seemed his words had not, in fact, sunk into the disciples’ ears. When Jesus was taken off the cross and buried in a tomb, instead of counting the days until he rose again, the disciples went into hiding. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to them personally that they finally believed.

Their failure to believe what Jesus had told them shows how deeply the human mind resists accepting the gospel that Jesus came to teach and to prove. Peter’s strong reaction on one of the occasions when Jesus foretold the things he would suffer shows how shocking those words were to them: “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22, Revised Standard Version). Was crucifixion an appropriate experience for God’s anointed? “God forbid!” Peter exclaimed, and it’s hard not to join him in feeling that way.

But how else was Jesus’ message of man’s full salvation to be conveyed to those to whom matter seemed as real as Spirit, God? Jesus had already been proving the ability of God’s children to reflect the divine power by destroying every sort of evil and overcoming matter itself. He’d healed the sick, raised the dead, and traveled instantly from one place to another. But even his own disciples still believed there was a limit to Jesus’ dominion over evil and matter.

Yet there was no limit. God has no limits, so His children have none, either. But Jesus’ followers needed to be fully awakened to that fact. To break the resistance of the human mind, to prove its unreality, Jesus allowed the sum total of the evil and hatred aimed at him and the truth he taught to do its worst. And he beat that effort. Exactly as he had said he would. Exactly as he knew he could. It was a knowledge born of his conviction that God is the only power.

It was this mighty demonstration that finally destroyed his disciples’ fear that there was a limit to God’s power, that in the end, matter would always be the victor. The discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes, “His resurrection was also their resurrection. It helped them to raise themselves and others from spiritual dulness and blind belief in God into the perception of infinite possibilities” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 34). The disciples soon came out of hiding, empowered to carry Jesus’ message forward boldly, teaching it, demonstrating it, passing it down to us.

The message of the resurrection is still true. We are not mortals trapped in mortal troubles. We are children of light, children of Love, beloved by the Love that is caring for us, guarding us, and guiding us every moment.

Perhaps we feel buried in doubt and fear. If so, we can let Jesus’ resurrection be our resurrection, too, empowering us to uplift ourselves and others from a hopeful faith in God into the clear understanding of all that is possible to God.

As we acknowledge Christ Jesus’ sacrifice, we can remember that he made a complete, public demonstration of the power of God over the belief in any power apart from God. We don’t have to suffer with Jesus in the sense that we have to repeat his experience. But to share in his glory, we do need to live as he taught us to live, think as he taught us to think, act as he taught us to act. We can start small, but as we do, as we faithfully put his teachings into practice, we’ll find that we, too, can heal, can shine the light of salvation in the world.

Deepen your worldview

with Monitor Highlights.

Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.

Hallelujah! We have been told – the good news is ours!

Adapted from an editorial published in the April 2026 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.

The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.

Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.