2) In your own words, what would you say is meant by “the spiritual meaning of the Bible”?

The spiritual meaning of the Bible gives us an understanding that is free of limited mortal thought. A direct inspiration from God to man. It opens our thinking to the infinite idea of our being God’s perfect reflection, a complete Truth; Love demonstrated, Life lived, Principle seen, Soul felt, Mind expressed, Spirit activated. Sometimes it only gives you hope to hold onto, but it can also blow away the mortal dream and let one experience reality. The spiritual meaning of the Bible reveals how Jesus healed and gives us the understanding to practice that science that Jesus introduced.

3) Give three examples of passages or stories in the Bible (other than the Lord’s Prayer SH, pp16-17) for which Science offers a spiritual interpretation.  And please explain each spiritual interpretation that you select.

The following three examples are obvious, but one can read any weekly Lesson Sermon and see many more. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is full of spiritual insight throughout its pages.

Genesis 1. 1.  “In the beginning” The big one!  Science blows away the folklore and gets down to Truth. “The beginning is employed to signify the only, - that is the eternal verity and unity of God and man, including the universe.” My explanation is that “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter.” There is no Adam dream. We have never for a moment been separate from God. The second and third chapters point out the misinterpretation of creation and allow us to be alert to the lie.

Genesis 1. 7. “And God said let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” S&H “Spiritual understanding, by which human conception, material sense, is separated from Truth, is the firmament.”  All existence is Spiritual. The ideas of mater are unreal, a false idea.

Luke 7:37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.  Science and Health make it clear that this woman was soliciting forgiveness and spiritual peace.

4) Identify some practical benefits to you individually as a practicing CSt from searching the Scriptures, reading the weekly Bible Lesson, and becoming more familiar with the Key to the Scriptures.

Christian Science is a practice. It takes practice to stay close to Truth and Love and to be alert to AM & MAM. I did not grow up with any relation to the Bible. We were fairly religious and went to church every Sunday but we did not have a Bible and my church did not teach us the Bible.  When I started being interested in CS I had a hard time getting anything out of the Bible. The Bible Lessons were and are great because they organize our study for us and with the support of the carefully chosen S&H citations, it gives us ways to learn about the lessons in the Bible and their spiritual significance. I got to know the Bible through the Lesson-Sermons and when I got to know the Bible’s many stories, I saw how they gave me ways to understand our relationship with God and that helped me understand my place in the the world and how to live in it. 

5) Why should the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures be our “only preachers”?  Would you say that was old fashioned?  What’s the purpose behind it?

 Old fashioned? WHAT!? Previous to my intro to CS, I had spent many Sundays listening to sermons from all sorts of religions that were fruitless. Many seemed determined to make me feel guilty; others were full of personal opinion or intellectual pride that sometimes seemed interesting but none of them satisfied my need to understand Spirit and my spiritual existence.  Now that’s what I call old fashioned! I was so turned off by churches and preachers that for months after I discovered CS I only went to Wednesday services. When I figured out that there were no “ministers or priests” in CS, I thought it was fabulous. Having the Bible and Science and Health and Key to the Scriptures as our preachers give us Mind’s and Love’s ideas more directly and unfiltered by a human interpreter. We should put up big billboards saying: “Tried of listening to your preacher? Come to our service that’s free of humans preaching at you and full of God’s ideas.” I think a lot of people would love us for that alone. They would also like learning what God is.

6) What does Christian Science have to offer those who value the Bible but are put off or confused by Biblical criticism which seems to invalidate Bible accounts such as the resurrection of Christ Jesus or “miracles” of healing of sickness?

Christian Science is the Science of Christ. It is so logical, pure and clear that it cuts through the confusion of Biblical criticism and demonstrates the Truth with healing. It explains confusions and seeming contradictions found in the Bible and gives us a sure foundation.