Nate Talbot – the Christian Science Sentinel, Oct. 15, 2007

SUPPOSE TWO PEOPLE, John and Linda, are walking down the street. Linda sees a window sign with an invitation to come in and be hypnotized. She’s game for anything. So John follows along as she marches into the office. After a discussion, the hypnotist places Linda in a trance. During this experiment, he plants a posthypnotic suggestion in her mind—when she hears the word blue, she will feel the impulse to react negatively. Then the hypnotist wakes her up from the spell. Later, as Linda and John continue their walk, John makes some offhanded comment about so little smog in the air and the brightness of the blue sky. Linda reacts with an unkind comment—maybe even a strong insult. How would John feel? Probably a smile. Oh yeah, she’s just delivering some words that haven’t originated with her. She doesn’t even understand the impulse that brought about those words.

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by Judy Huenneke

This is Women’s History Month, and it’s time to highlight a very inspiring Christian Scientist, a woman who achieved some pretty amazing things. Her name is Annie Knott.

Annie Knott was born Annie Macmillan, in 1850, in Scotland. In the early 1860s she and her family emigrated to North America, as did so many families in the 19th century. She grew up, married, and became a mother. Then things changed. Her husband left her, and she was a single mother, with three very young children. This was in an age when society offered little support to women, and virtually no opportunities. You could say that she was near the end of her rope!

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by Mike Davis

Biographies are probably one of the most popular forms of nonfiction today—you’ll find books on celebrities, non-celebrities, and well-known historical figures in virtually any bookstore or bookstore website.

In her later years, Mary Baker Eddy achieved celebrity status; many felt she was most famous woman in the United States at the time. Not surprisingly, there was a great deal of interest in her life story. A few years after her death in 1910, The Mother Church asked people who had known her to write up their recollections of her, known today as reminiscences.

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by Mike Davis

Many of us have been taught during our years in school that it is important for good citizenship and lifelong learning to continue to read widely and stay well-informed about world events. Mary Baker Eddy’s life certainly illustrated this approach to self education.

Documentation in the archival collections of The Mary Baker Eddy Library shows that Mrs. Eddy was an avid reader of books, newspapers, and magazines throughout her life. And not only that, she interacted with this material, often clipping articles from the magazines and newspapers to save in scrapbooks. She underlined and annotated passages in books she read.

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by Mike Davis

If you’re familiar with Christian Science, you know that spiritual healing is one of its central focuses and that Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, is a textbook about healing. You may also have heard that Mrs. Eddy herself became an outstanding healer and taught others to heal.

Have you ever wondered about those students she taught? Did they ever run into challenges when practicing Christian Science healing that made them feel they needed some good advice and counsel? Did they ever need encouragement? The answer is yes!

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by Chelsea Palm

I was raised in Christian Science so I’ve always known who Mary Baker Eddy was. But it was not until I reached Boston that I began to really learn more about her life and see what she went through.

I’ve begun to delve into biographies and have walked the Longyear exhibits over and over again, soaking up as much information as I can. On the surface I have learned more facts such as her birth date, who was in her family, when they were born, and the ages Mary was when she got married all 3 times. But it is the deeper research that is truly enlightening me and making me realize the struggle and perseverance that went into her life.

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Warren Bolon interviews Laurance Doyle, and Nathan Talbot
Reprinted from the Jan 9, 2006, issue of the CS Sentinel.

Is evolution a more valid theory than intelligent design? Does either argument get to the fundamental truth of reality? Christian Science practitioner and teacher Nathan Talbot and astrophysicist Laurance Doyle share their thoughts…
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