Science and Health is easy to understand

Occasionally, I’ve heard someone tell me that the book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, is difficult to understand.

I’ve puzzled over the years how to respond to this type of observation because when I read the book, no matter how many times, I learn so much about spiritual reality. It is one book, aside from the Bible, that I never tire of reading and studying.

No doubt, many of the words Eddy uses require a dictionary and explanation to understand. Phrases like “mortal mind” and "animal magnetism" are not conventional. And then there are her frequent references to matter and Spirit. What does that mean? Many ask.

But interestingly, I’ve noticed that some people with what an academic might call a “low reading ability,” love Science and Health and do understand its message.

And I’ve noticed that people with high reading ability may not get the message at all, and be even turned off by it.

So I’ve decided that reading ability has nothing to do with comprehending Science and Health. It’s something more.

And I think I know what it is.

Understanding Science and Health happens to the degree that the reader accepts Spirit as the ultimate reality.

Science and Health is all about spiritual life, spiritual reality, and God as Spirit. Eddy’s main message throughout the book is, “Life in and of Spirit!” Everything she writes grows out of a deep and profound understanding into the nature of all things, that the universe is spiritual, made by Spirit, and reflective of Spirit. Matter and its conditions—sin, disease, death—are not the realities they appear to be. As one understands Spirit better, sin, disease and death lessen until they totally disappear. Heaven! And there is no sense of matter anymore.

When I read Science and Health from this point of view, it makes sense.

I’m still wrestling with many passages that I do not understand very well, but from experience, I’ve learned that as I persevere and the light grows brighter, eventually I figure out those tough passages and see how they intelligently connect with every other statement in the book.

If one reads the book from the point of view that matter and evil are real, Eddy’s statements may appear preposterous and unreasonable. They do not make sense tot he materialist. It’s like a person who reads and understands English trying to read Chinese with no knowledge of the language. It’s all jumble! Not understanding Chinese doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the Chinese language. Far from it. But it requires humility and desire to buckle down and learn the symbols so one can understand a new tongue.

And with Science and Health, it’s well worth the effort to buckle down and learn the symbols to reap understanding of the message. The book can bring tremendous healing into one’s life. Its ideas are powerful. They are what Jesus Christ taught.

So, if you’re having a hard time figuring out the book, try a different perspective, a more enlightened spiritual perspective. Think out from Spirit. Accept Spirit’s allness. Accept the goodness of God and the nothingness of evil. Sit down, read again, and see what appears on those pages that you didn’t notice before. I hope you have a much better experience!

Happy reading…