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Reflect the Science of Soul in a glowing countenance, in healing!!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson “Soul and Body” for November 16-22, 2009, by Rick Stewart, C.S., Dresden, Germany    [+a couple of bracketed italics by Warren Huff]

[Editor’s Note: The following application ideas for this week and the Possible Sunday School Topics that follow are offered primarily to help CEDARS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp! You can sign up to have them emailed to you free — in English by Monday each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French from Pascal or in Spanish from Ana. JUST SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]

The 26 weekly subjects that Mary Baker Eddy selected for study in the Christian Science Bible Lesson were what she viewed as key topics to understand in gaining a practical knowledge of Christian Science. This week’s lesson on “Soul and Body” is certainly no exception. There are so many theories, teachings, and beliefs swirling around in human thought about soul and body, it is sure refreshing to see what “light” Christian Science or the “Science of Soul” (S&H page 467, Citation S-2) has to say on the topic.

A theme running through this week’s lesson is the Sun as a symbol of Soul shining in the universe. And it is interesting to look at the history of how the sun was viewed years ago. For many years there was the theory that the earth was the center of the universe – this is known as the “Geocentric theory”. A big promoter of this view was Ptolemy. (You will read a reference to that in Science and Health in the lesson, S-4.) A Polish astronomer, Copernicus, advanced another view – the “Heliocentric,” or Sun- centered, view. This view was embraced by others including the Italian, Galileo.

Galileo has been called the “father of modern observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of science, and the Father of Modern Science.”  Stephen Hawking says, “Galileo, perhaps more than any other person, was responsible for the birth of modern science.” (You would find a Google search or look at Wikipedia interesting regarding Copernicus and Galileo.) What did Galileo get for supporting this “new” theory? The Catholic Church (the church of the day), put him on trial (the Inquisition) and eventually sentenced him to “house arrest.” So being someone who supports new views of the universe is not always the safest thing to do, even when the “new views” are closer to the truth.

It has often been the same with revelations in what Mrs. Eddy called the, “Science of Soul.” (See S-2)  Among Mrs. Eddy’s “new” views were revelations regarding “Soul” as a synonym for God. She shows man as a reflection of Soul rather than possessing an “indwelling soul.” She was not sentenced to house arrest, but she and her followers have often faced an inquisition of their own. Does that mean that her theories were incorrect? Well, just because you are persecuted does not mean you are wrong. And sometimes you do find “voices in the wilderness” that are ready to support or respect your “new views.”

The following is a quote from a letter from the Mary Baker Eddy Library: “We are aware that Einstein attended at least one Wednesday noon meeting at Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, in New York City in the early 1950s. On this occasion he said to a member after the service (not to the congregation), ‘Do you realize what a wonderful thing you have?’ The member he spoke to and who reported the remark to us was the late George Nay, former associate editor of the Christian Science periodicals. The two spoke in German.”

Golden Text (G.T.)
Our Lesson begins with a Golden Text from Isaiah 60:19. “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory.” (The actual G.T. is highlighted.)  What does it mean that God is our everlasting light? Can that specifically apply to our daily lives? Is that just an inspiring image, but not very practical?

I remember reading a testimony that appeared in the classic article, “God’s Law of Adjustment” by Adam H. Dickey. The author states that “If a man were drowning in mid-ocean… there is a law of God which…would bring about his rescue.” But we might ask, how? A testimony that accompanied this article in an older pamphlet told the story of a pilot in World War II. He crashed somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at night. There he was, alone, in the dark, and what did he do, he started to think about that article. And he began to prayerfully affirm that just as the article said, there was a law of God there to help him. In a short while a search plane located him and rescued him. The pilot of the search plane said, “You know if you hadn’t had that ‘light’ with you, we would have never seen you.” The downed pilot said, “I didn’t have a light.” Hmmm, could that be an example of God being our “everlasting light?”

Is this the “light” that Mrs. Eddy speaks of in the Chapter “Genesis” in Science and Health, page 504:6-11: “All questions as to the divine creation being both spiritual and material are answered in this passage, for though solar beams are not yet included in the record of creation, still there is light. …it is the revelation of Truth and of spiritual ideas.”

Responsive Reading:  I Chronicles 16 and I Corinthians 6
The portion from I Chronicles includes a Psalm offered by David to thank the Lord…..
I Ch. 16:10: “Glory ye in his holy name” (“Halal” is the Hebrew word translated as “Glory” and it is a verb that includes the sense of boasting, but you might say boasting in God’s glory or in its original meaning, “to shine, to flash forth light.”)
I Cor. 6:19,20 – The Message translation is interesting on these verses as we consider what “body” has to do with our look at “Soul. ” The Message: “The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.”

Isn’t that a wonderful call to “reflection”? Reflect the “everlasting light” and “glorify” (shine, flash forth light) God.

Section 1: Lessons from a Shepherd astronomer, David.
Bible:  (B-1) Psalms 19: This Psalm of David speaks in awe of God’s creation, the heavens, the daily unfoldments that speak to all, (“There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”) It truly is a wonder to learn the lessons from nature. Mrs. Eddy writes in
Science and Health, page 240:7, “Suns and planets teach grand lessons.” Isn’t this what David, our shepherd astronomer, is pointing out to us:  the lessons to be learned, the awe awakened in learning from the heavens?

Psalms 19:6 about the sun, “his circuit is from the ends of the heavens.” (B-1) I have read what would happen if the rotation of the earth around the sun were halved or doubled — “If it were halved, the seasons would be doubled in length, which over most of the earth would cause such harsh summer heat and winter cold that not enough food could be grown to feed the world. If it were doubled, no single season would be long enough to grow the amount of food necessary to feed the world’s population. The moon is poised some 240,000 miles from the earth. Move it just one fifth, and twice every day there would be 35-50 foot tidal waves over most of the earth’s surface. The distance 240,000 miles happens to be just right, by accident? And the earth is rotating at 1,000 miles per hour on its axis at the equator, and moving around the sun at 70,000 miles per hour, while the sun with its solar system is moving through space at 600,000 miles per hour in an orbit so large it would take over 220 million years to complete just one orbit.” (A Case for the Existence of God, Overman)

Science and Health:
(S-1) “Sun. The symbol of Soul governing man…”
(S-2) “This is a leading point in the Science of Soul, that Principle is not in its idea. Spirit, Soul, is not confined in man…”
(S-3) “Science reverses the false testimony of the physical senses…”
(S-4) “As astronomy reverses the human perception of the movement of the solar system, so Christian Science reverses the seeming relation of Soul and body…”

Section 2: Shine forth, just like REM’s “Shiny, Happy People” [band & song title]
Bible:  (B-6) Moses came down from Mount Sinai and the skin of his face “shone.”  Exodus 34
(B-7) “for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” Psalm 86:4

Science and Health:
(S-5) “Man, in the likeness of his Maker, reflects the central light of being…..”
(S-6) “The body does not include soul, but manifests mortality, a false sense of soul.”
(S-7) Moses was a good example of this citation. His thought was lifted to God and he was a transparency for the “everlasting light” of Soul. “The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window pane…..The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality..” Metaphysical “Windex” leaves no streaks, smudges, or grime, so the Sonlight shines through strongly.
(S-8) “Man is the expression of Soul.”

Section 3: No destructive element in this Sunshine of Soul, no fear, no spots, no terrorism, no plague.
Bible: Citations (B-8) through (B-11) outline that there is nothing to fear in the noontime sun.
(B-12) Jesus heals all manner of sickness and disease, ALL.
(B-13) “God is love…..There is no fear in love;”

Science and Health:
Citations (S-9) – (S-15): A powerful treatment showing Soul’s mastery of bodily claims. Can’t be stated clearer or more powerfully than the Love that shines through our Leader’s words. “If the Scientist reaches his patient through divine Love, the healing work will be accomplished at one visit, and the disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning sunshine.” p.365

About eight years ago I was talking with a young practitioner. He asked me about the wound on my nose. It was an ugly-looking wound that had been troubling me and I had not risen above the fear that it was something to fear. My mortal musings had let a belief grow that a little wound had compounded because of my many years of surfing in the strong Florida sun. Ridiculous fears, but I had not opposed their terrorism. So the young practitioner asked me, “Papa, what is that on your nose?” I replied, “Well, Noah, that is where you scratched me the other day when we were playing.” “Oh, I’m sorry Papa.” He placed his hand on my nose and sang the only song he knew all the words to, “Jingle Bells.” Well, he was two and when there was a problem, I had often sung hymns to him. So he did the same for me. It was bedtime, it was dark, and as my son sang to me my eyes filled with tears, and my heart filled with Love. How could I ever have believed that a scratch from this dear child, could grow into an ugly, inflamed wound? Noah went to sleep. I went to bed having been touched by a “Scientist reaching his patient through divine Love…” (Noah was two.) Guess what? When I woke my nose was healed.  “…the disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning sunshine”!!

This Papa loves his son and would never do anything to consciously cause him pain. Am I a better father than our Father-Mother God? I don’t think so. (See Matthew 7:9-11 and Luke 11:11) So let’s not allow ourselves to believe that our Father-Mother God would ever permit or allow suffering of any kind.

Section 4: No time limits to Christian Science, the sunlight of Truth, bringing healing. No lost windows of opportunity. The woman healed after 18 years!
Bible:  (B-14) Isa. 60:1: Come to the light and the Light will come to you!!
(B-15) and (B-16):  When things seem really tough, and you lift up your heart to God, He answers.
(B-18): Every day is a day for healing, for freedom . . . and the tempter, the deceiver, the whisperer, the liar, the delayer, the doubter, old Scratch, the devil, Satan, Rabbinical–Ecclesiastical red tape, A.M., M.A.M., and all of its accompanying nothingness cannot make us wait to some other day… “the sunlight of Truth” (S-20) shines continually, 24/7!

Science and Health:
Citations (S-16) – (S-22):  Let the textbook of the Science of Soul speak to you and free you from the heavy burdens of material sense. Be governed by Soul and be harmonious.
[(S-20) I never come across this precious, healing passage in the lesson about the invigoration and purification that Christian Science brings to the body without wanting to “shout from the housetops” that “YES IT DOES!!” In a landmark healing that I experienced just a year ago, Christian Science worked wonders for me by fulfilling each remarkable promise in this whole paragraph.]

Section 5: Greater than the sun, moon, or stars — Soul is synonymous with Spirit, God and man is His reflection.
Bible:  (B-19): “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.”
The King James Bible uses the word “soul,” for a number of different concepts. One simply means a “person.” Another is “mind” or “affections.” Some of the original language words that are translated as “soul” are: Nephesh (Hebrew)–a living, breathing creature. Nedibah (Hebrew)–nobility, a noble, happy condition, noble deeds. Psyche (Greek)–vital essence, breath, life.

But is man more than a living, breathing, mortal creature? What about his “soul” and “body”?

This is kind of tough if you are trying to figure out if your “soul” is safe, right?

Years ago I got a call for prayerful help around midnight. A wife was calling asking for help for her husband. She told me her husband had asked that I pray for his soul. They had just begun to study Christian Science. I immediately sensed that he thought he was dying and was afraid of the consequences. He had been raised in a very religious family and been active in church. Then he had gone to war in Vietnam and had participated in special patrols where his assignment involved a great deal of killing. He was deathly ill, and he was afraid to die. He was sure he would go to hell. I told the wife I would be glad to pray for her husband. I continued a good part of the night in prayer and affirmed man’s native innocence as God’s child.

I went to sleep around 4 a.m. At 8 a.m. I found myself awake and was led to go to the front door. Just then a car pulled into the driveway and this patient got out. He walked up to my front door with the biggest smile I had ever seen him have. He told me he had never felt better in his life. We rejoiced in his healing.

Some days later I received a telephone call from him. He sounded really weak and told me he had received awful news. He had taken some blood tests several months before. The results had just come in and reported that he had a toxic blood condition with no hope for successful treatment. The report had knocked him right back into a deep depression. I encouraged him to choose what he wanted to follow, the teachings of Christian Science that had freed him just days before, or accept the report he had in hand. This report was based on a physical exam of a physical body.

I did not hear from him for about a week. Then I received another telephone call from him. He told me he had received the new report from the Center for Disease Control. The report said there was no evidence in his blood of any ailment. They at first thought there had been a mistake with the samples. But later they accepted that the samples were correct and the condition had been reversed. He was happy again! He was under no law of condemnation and he was ready to accept his God-given purity as the unchanging fact.

It was as S&H citation S-25 says, “The divine Mind, which forms the bud and blossom, will care for the human body, even as it clothes the lily; but let no mortal interfere with God’s government by thrusting in the laws of erring, human concepts.”

As we have learned in this week’s lesson, “the Science of Soul”, brings some very “illuminating” thoughts to these beliefs about soul. First, Mrs. Eddy makes a clear distinction between uses of the word soul. Here is what she says specifically: “Only by losing the false sense of Soul can we gain the eternal unfolding of Life as immortality brought to Light” S&H 335:22

And this is what our last section unfolds–the necessity for letting go of the old sense of a material body and an indwelling soul–and the paramount necessity for letting go of a limited, finite, corporeal sense of God.

Bible (B-23): “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Science and Health:
(S-27): “Soul is synonymous with Spirit, God, the creative, governing, infinite Principle outside of finite form, which forms only reflect.”
(S-29): “Man is the reflection of Soul.”


[This weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff who were blessed this summer at CEDARS–as well as to thousands of CEDARS alumni, families and friends who request it, or find it weekly on our website. But, current and planned gifts are much-needed to cover the costs of running this service and of providing camperships for such inspirational opportunities.
Your support is always tax-deductible and appreciated–but this year and month your help is especially needed! Precious donors just challenged us to raise $25,000 by year-end for our “Maintenance Musts” in order to receive a Matching $25,000 Grant! So, during this ideal time before snow flies and with several gifts already in, we are happily starting needed “Maintenance Must” projects. We look to God–and to friends like you-to help us keep them going.
With no delay please “freely give” today in your chosen way:

1) Write a tax-deductible check payable to CedarS Camps and mail it to the office:  1314 Parkview Valley, Manchester, MO 63011; or
2) Call Warren or Gay Huff at (636) 394-6162 to charge your gift or to discuss any short-term or long-term gift that you are considering; or
3) CLICK HERE RIGHT AWAY TO SUPPORT CEDARS WORK with an online gift
using PayPal, Visa or Mastercard.]

[Camp Director’s Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 9-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. (To keep the flow of the practitioner’s ideas intact and to allow for more selective printing the “Possible Sunday School Topics” come in a subsequent email.) This weekly offering is intended to encourage further study and application of ideas in the lesson and to invigorate Sunday School participation by students and by the budding teachers on our staff. Originally sent JUST to my Sunday School students and to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study, application and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets” are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension and background as well as new angles on the daily applicability of some of the ideas and passages being studied. The weekly Bible Lessons are copyrighted by the Christian Science Publishing Society and are printed in the Christian Science Quarterly as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms or online at eBibleLesson,com or myBibleLesson.com. The citations referenced (i.e. B-1 and S-28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the Bible (B-1 thru B-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S-1 thru S-30) The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of the ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.]
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director    director@cedarscamps.org    (636) 394-6162


[PSST -Ways for the student in you: to shrink bodily ills to nothing; to enter God’s house; to talk with God.]
Possible Sunday School Topics (PSST) for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on “Soul and Body” for November 22, 2009
by Steve Henn, St. Louis, MO
[with bracketed italics by Warren Huff]

Possible Sunday School Topics (PSST) for the Golden Text (GT) – One definition of “glory” is “to make known” – so to glorify God in your body would be to make Love, Life, Principle, Soul known in your body. How can we make God’s attributes known in our bodies? When those are known in your body, what else can be present? [“Honey, I shrunk the body”-Scientists say that if you take out the space between the atomic particles of your body, it would fit on the head of a pin! And those atomic particles are more than 99% space! It may help you and your students to have a pin cushion in hand to deflate today’s body worship tendency by showing this fun perspective with a hands-on illustration. Many healings have resulted for me and others by asking “How big on a pin head is that body part that is supposedly-injured or focused-on?” Applying the profound “Scientific Statement of Being” with this in mind makes even more sense. S&H 468]

Responsive Reading (RR) — What verbs to you see in the Responsive Reading? There are many commands made including words like give, glory, let, make known, seek. What does a day in the life of someone living these commands look like? One way to get students to think about this would be to have them write out their daily schedules and apply these commands to various parts of their day.

1st Section – The Bible– What does the “house of the Lord” look like? How do we get in? For younger students, you might have them draw the house of the Lord – with older students you can come with a basic drawing prepared, and then discuss the qualities that each part of the house represents. Then you might be led to discuss how one might enter this house. Is there a secret code that gets you in the door? [“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” Ps 100:4] How do you get in without letting mortal mind’s cronies in with you? [“Stand porter at the door of thought” (S&H 392:24) “The real Christian Scientist is constantly accentuating harmony, mentally and orally, …” (Mis. 206:20)]

S&H–This is a wonderfully encouraging section. Students who feel busy, overwhelmed, divided between responsibilities, can take comfort in the idea of “being but the humble servant of the restful Mind” (S-4). Discuss with students how the other citations in this section lead to this same idea. [If you or your students are interested in astronomy and science, read and discuss the passage from A Case for the Existence of God by Overman quoted by Rick Stewart in Section 1 of this week’s CedarS Met.]

2nd Section – The Bible–Do your students talk to God? What does it look like to talk to God? This section presents Moses as speaking with God, not just in a subservient manner, but in a manner that a friend would speak – face to face. If your students do not talk to God, ask them why. Is it that they feel disconnected from God? Is it that they simply don’t know how to talk to God? Perhaps you can have a conversation about the blocks they feel that hinder their ability to talk with God.

S&H“Intelligence does not originate in numbers, but is manifested through them” (S-6). Mrs. Eddy uses many analogies with math. Students love exploring and finding things out on their own – it also gives great ownership to the ideas they find. One way you can expand on this is to have them find as many math analogies as possible. Once you collect those, you can develop an understanding of Christian Science through a lens that perhaps they have not looked through before. (a simple search in Concord of “mathematics” returns more than 30 results)

Look at the various uses of light throughout this lesson. It begins with the Golden Text and continues through S-5, S-7, and S-8 (reflection). Why is light such a useful image when talking about God and our relationship with Her? [It may be fun for you and your students to check out page 8 in MyBibleLesson and connect the 8 statements there about “sun” and “shine” and the Section they are found in.]

3rd Section – The Bible —This section begins by referring to God as a preserver, a keeper. In B-8 through B-11 the citations swirl around the idea of leaning on and trusting in God. Then B-12 and B-13 bring out the healing capabilities of God and the powerful nature of love as God and love as casting out fear. The question then is, how do these ideas find their way into the same section? What is or are the theme(s) that your students can trace from beginning to end in this section?

S&HTime: An interesting discussion could start from a serious consideration of Mrs. Eddy’s question in S-9: “Do you say the time has not yet come in which to recognize Soul as substantial and able to control the body?” It may take a moment to help them understand exactly what the question is asking. Even further, it may take a few more moments to get them to really understand the implications of this question. But it will be worth it. The follow up question is, what would it look like if we accepted Soul as substantial now, as able to control the body now? If this truly is a science, what difference would that make? Look through the rest of the section and ask your students what Mrs. Eddy says is the impact of viewing Soul this way.

4th Section – The Bible–What is the importance of hearing God’s lovingkindness in the morning (B-15)? Does this citation literally mean a certain time of the day? Or can morning mean something else? (B-18) [See Glossary definition of “MORNING. Light; symbol of Truth; revelation and progress.” S&H 591:23] Why does this lesson use a woman with an infirmity for 18 years; why does this lesson use an example of healing on the Sabbath day? How does this story connect with Soul and Body as the subject? [If students felt a bit distant from God in your Section 2 discussions about talking with God, it might be because they are carrying around the misconception that God, not the Liar, is the supposed cause of loss or of pain or of disease. You can correct this misconception by pointing out how Jesus makes it clear that not God but “Satan”-the belief in a power apart from God-is what “bound” the woman for 18 years. Telling the truth about a lie destroys it. (Luke 13:16, B-18)]

S&HAs a follow up to the question regarding the Sabbath day in B-18, look at this section through its handling of “law”. In what way is this section undermining the laws we are presented with every day? Can your students identify the system of law that Mrs. Eddy is setting up in place of these daily laws? What laws should we not follow; what laws should we follow? [See my Golden Text notes for the Thanksgiving lesson–coming early tomorrow–to see how specifically applying the promising laws laid out in S&H 162:4 ( S-20) led to my landmark healing that I plan to keep sharing and “singing” from the housetops.]

5th Section – The Bible–Given that this lesson is on Soul and Body, ask your students how they like to dress. One indicator of a person’s individuality and values is seen in the way she dresses, the clothing he wears. Then look at this section and see what they think of the clothing offered here. How can we “dress” ourselves in the manner described in B-20 through B-22? What does clothing have to do with the beauty and glory spoken of in B-19 and B-23?

S&HWhat is beauty? How is this section asking us to think about beauty? It is important to have a better sense of our own God-given beauty, but we must expand that thought to the way we view the man and woman of God’s creating around us. How would really sticking to what this section presents change or influence the way we deal with other people? Focus on S-24, S-28, & S-29 when exploring these questions.
S-25 through S-27–Give a return to the discussion of law. You can combine these citations with the citations from section four to further develop the discussion of God’s law. What does it offer all mankind?

Thanks SO much for your ongoing and needed support of our work!
Warren Huff, Executive Director The CedarS Camps
Website: www.cedarscamps.org
Email: warren@cedarscamps.org Tel: (636) 394-6162

 

 

 

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