Sunday, August 4th, 2019 Roundtable

May the divine light of Christian Science that lighteth every enlightened thought illumine your faith and understanding, exclude all darkness or doubt, and signal the perfect path wherein to walk, the perfect Principle whereby to demonstrate the perfect man and the perfect law of God. In the words of St. Paul: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned;” and St. John says: “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” May the grace and love of God be and abide with you all.

— from Miscellany, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 187

220 — WATCH lest you forget that you expose error for no other purpose than that you may cease to believe in it. If this were remembered by more students, there would be less so-called exposing of error. Never forget that when error is exposed with an unscientific motive, it serves to make it more real. Pointing out errors in other students is not exposing error; it is really exposing yourself, since it indicates the degree to which you are believing in error.

— from 500 Watching Points by Gilbert Carpenter

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Golden Text — “All things work together for good to them that love God.” — I Romans 8 : 28

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When you leave a thing with a negative, you have left it nowhere. You have established no point in your own mind. Take the positive side; know the right side. You can negative error without individualizing it so much. God is All. Never leave the negative without the affirmation in which our thought must rest.

— from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, the “blue book,” by Mary Baker Eddy, page 92

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To make too little of error is to ignore, evade, endure, excuse, and conceal it. To make too much of error is to love, hate, fear, honor, and drive it. Then error is not to be ignored, evaded, endured, excused, concealed. loved. hated, feared, honored, driven.

— from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, the “blue book,” by Mary Baker Eddy, page 220

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Peace has no foothold on the false basis that evil should be concealed and that life and happiness should still attend it. Joy is self-sustained; goodness and blessedness are one: suffering is self-inflicted, and good is the master of evil.

To this scientific logic and the logic of events, egotism and false charity say, “’Not so, Lord;’ it is wise to cover iniquity and punish it not, then shall mortals have peace.” Divine Love, as unconscious as incapable of error, pursues the evil that hideth itself, strips off its disguises, and—behold the result: evil, uncovered, is self-destroyed.

Christian Science never healed a patient without proving with mathematical certainty that error, when found out, is two-thirds destroyed, and the remaining third kills itself. Do men whine over a nest of serpents, and post around it placards warning people not to stir up these reptiles because they have stings? Christ said, “They shall take up serpents;” and, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” The wisdom of a serpent is to hide itself. The wisdom of God, as revealed in Christian Science, brings the serpent out of its hole, handles it, and takes away its sting. Good deeds are harmless. He who has faith in woman’s special adaptability to lead on Christian Science, will not be shocked when she puts her foot on the head of the serpent, as it biteth at the heel.

— from “Thy Will Be Done” Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy, page 209

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No one is loyal to Truth, to himself, to his God, or is worthy of heaven, who has not faith, pluck, and patience enough to endure, without fainting, apparent defeat and delayed rewards.

— from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, the “blue book,” by Mary Baker Eddy, page 220

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Every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger. The more difficult seems the material condition to be overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our faith and the purer our love. The Apostle John says: “There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out fear. … “He that feareth is not made perfect in Love.” Here is a definite and inspired proclamation of Christian Science.

— Citation 10 in this week’s Lesson from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 410: 14-21

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Forum post — Stronger Faith and Purer Love by Florence Roberts

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1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

— I Samuel 18 : 1, 3, 4, 6 (to pass), 6 (that)-9 from citation 4 in the Bible portion of this week’s Lesson

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The following is copied from a notebook kept by Mary Baker Eddy in her own handwriting: … ‘Envy, jealousy, or rivalry will kill the spirit of this Science in the person who possesses it and will thwart the establishment of it in this age. Oh, why is not this realized by everyone who has the Cause at heart and who has labored faithfully in some directions for its advancement?’

— from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, the “blue book,” by Mary Baker Eddy, page

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Rivalry: Competition; a strife or effort to obtain an object which another is pursuing; an endeavor to equal or surpass another in some excellence.

— Webster’s 1828

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One of the early cases that came before (the Directors) was a charge of immoral conduct against a First Member who was a student of Mrs. Eddy’s. From the evidence submitted, the Directors were convinced that the charges were sustained. They, therefore, removed the individual from membership in the church, and took his practitioner’s card out of the Christian Science Journal. (Thereby depriving him of his livelihood.) That punishment in no wise healed the individual, but made him so rebellious that he threatened a lawsuit in revenge. “When Mrs. Eddy heard of this case, she asked the Directors to restore her student to full church membership, including his office as a First Member, and to replace his card in the Journal. This resulted in a complete healing of the individual.

— from The Healer by David Lawson Keyston, page 107

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If human belief handles A.M. there is a fight, but divine Love knows there is nothing to fight. God is all that will handle A.M. When error appears, it only appears to disappear.

— from Divinity Course and General Collectanea, (the “Blue Book”), by Mary Baker Eddy, page 210

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Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart;
O King of glory, my treasure Thou art.

O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all. Attributed

— Attributed to St Dallán Forgaill

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Forum post — Who or What Shall Separate Me? by Florence Roberts

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Final Readings