A Lasting Treasure

Saw a documentary last night
on the stupendous structures
of mighty Egypt past,
and couldn't help thinking
of something that will last,
unlike these monuments
to Pharoahs grand
(or so they thought of themselves),
memorials crumbling over
the centrues into sand.
Some of you may have guessed
where I'm going with this,
but for all the rest,
just let me say,
what I'm talking about here
is what Christ predicted,
that no matter what occurred,
His words would remain.
And they have,
as brand-new today
as when spoken --
as saving/life-changing/
divinely sublime;
teachings which have lost
none of their awesome power,
accessible to humble seekers
throughout all time,
whatever the day, the hour.

Oh, the lasting treasure God has
bestowed on me and you!

                                        "Heaven and earth shall pass away,
                                                  but my words shall not
                                                          pass away."

                                                            JESUS

A Public Service Announcement

Most people can't have something wonderful and not want to tell the world about it.  I certainly can't.

And what is my wonderful news this rosy-golden winter morning?  That you do not have to go on suffering --whatever it is you may be suffering.  There is certain help for you.  And you may discover it through an inspired book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  The statements of divine Truth contained in this volume can open  your thinking to a whole new world of God's power and love, and of your relationship to Him as His beloved child. 

Just take my life for one example.  If I were to recount what the spiritual teachings of this book have done in my life -- the transformation in so many ways, the health and harmony restored time and again--you wouldn't have time today or next month to read it all.  But hundreds of thousands across the globe could echo my gratitude for God's healing power.

You have everything to gain, and nothing whatever to lose, by getting yourself a copy of Science and Health.  It, together with the Holy Bible, can do for you more than you dream.  And this book is easily obtainable on-line, at almost any public library, or at a Christian Science Reading Room.  Why be without God's marvelous assistance another day?

In the words of its author, "In the spirit of Christ's charity, -- as one who 'hopeth all things, endureth all things,' and is joyful to bear consolation to the sorrowing and healing to the sick, -- she commits these pages to honest seekers for Truth."

Whose Power?

(What joy to have this website through which to share inspiration with you .)


                                 "Behold, I give unto you power
                              to tread on serpents and scorpions,
                              and over all the power of the enemy: 
                          and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
                                             (Luke 10:19)



I've never known this promise
glorious to disappoint.
How could it ever,
given that Jesus said it.
Depending on His power --
not our own --
each and every adversity,
you and I are sure  to weather.
Yes,  those who trust His power
Christ brings through to victory
over anything that
the enemy may try to do.

Fix this so firmly in your thought,
that you will never, ever forget it:
Without Christ, I'm sure to fail;
With Christ  I shall prevail.

Christ's Disciples and Dignity

Jesus' "Cast not your
pearls before swine"
is a command His
disciples need to mind.

Sometimes, not always, I can see
we walk a very fine line
when dealing with those
uninterested in things divine.

While we would crawl in the dirt,
or gladly mop the floor
for the Maser we dearly love,
groveling Jesus would deplore.

This is not to say we
loving our neighbor neglect.
But Christ empowers His own
to keep their self-respect.

Yes, when dealing with mankind,
we can and do hear Him say,
thus far and no farther --
dignified, you are to stay.

Oh, the Freedom!

                                       "If the Son therefore shall make you free,
                                                     ye shall be free indeed",
                                                     Christ Jesus promises.
                                                              (John 8:36)



                                           It has happened time and again --

                                           When the desire to do what

                                           Our heavenly Father knows is best

                                           Becomes paramount in our lives,

                                           Things change for the better.

                                           We're removed from places

                                           Where we no longer need to be,

                                           And put in circumstances

                                          Where we can more widely bless.

                                                                          I do confess,

                                          When Christ has been in charge

                                         Of conditions needing adjusting,

                                         I have indeed become free.

An Interview With Nicholas Diabolos

                                           (By:  John Robert Howell)



Nicholas Diabolos, known jocularly to many of his acquaintances as "Old Nick", is a well-known expert on and purveyor of animal magnetism and prevarication.  I was quite surprised when he accepted my offer for an interview, since I have never been an admirer of him or his line of goods.  A portion of the interview follows.

JRH:  You've been in business a long time.  How are things going?

ND:  Better than I have any right to expect.  I got in the groove right out of the box with the Adam and Eve affair and haven't looked back since.  That talking snake was a stroke of genius.  Who would have thought anyone would "bite" on a ploy like that?  Even if something is as ugly as sin and deadly as a mamba, I've learned that if you gussy it up and come up with a smooth line of patter people will not only want it, but pay a premium for it to boot. 

Just make it appealing and easy to obtain, handy like, and then watch for that glimmer of desire and acceptance in their eyes.  When you see that you just set the hook and reel them in.  If they start giving you any of that Bible stuff about Christ's love for man, redemption, or salvation, then you hit them hard with a strong dose of fear and damnation.  That almost always takes the fight out of them.

That fellow Christ Jesus almost cheesed it for me, though, a couple of millennia ago.  He said "follow my teachings and example and be free from the clutches of sin, sickness, disease, death, and the belief of life in matter."  He healed and regenerated hundreds, if not thousands, and then added insult to injury by telling them they could do the same for themselves.  I tell you, I had to lay it on with a trowel after he came, but pretty soon after Paul and his followers the healing bit faded away and people got all tangled up in doctrinal disputes and dogmas.  Then the Dark Ages settled peacefully over mankind and I was loose on the range again.

I've had to update my project line from time to time to keep up with changes, but that's only to be expected.  For example, when tuberculosis ceased to be the big terror it once was I moved cancer onto the front page of my catalogue.  Pushing that boogeyman has been a lark.  As the great poet said in A Midsummer-Night's Dream (Act IV, sc. 1): "How easy is a bush supposed a bear!"  It's been a big seller, and I can  hardly keep it in stock.  If victims start to wander back to the good Shepherd for help I give them an extra-big dose of naked fear and despair.  Only the most devout and trusting in Christ's Way can resist that treatment.

Man's faith in doctoring and medical practice has also really been a boon.  The medical profession is better than a silent partner.  They unwittingly keep my clients in line, and I don't even have to share my profits with them.  I may lose some business, but at least God doesn't get it.  So long as people are distracted by all the mesmeric claims of medical practice and medicine, God can only do so much for them.  When they turn wholeheartedly to Him and follow the Way of Christ Jesus, it's all over for me.  I shudder when folks pick up a Bible and read it.  You never know when they might just take hold of one of the truths they find there and run with it.  That's a devil-killer for sure, so it's good lots of people don't really understand it.

JRH:  What do you tell people to do when they need help?  Suppose they are sick or unemployed or have a family crisis of some sort.

NH:  I tell them I can't do anything for them.  They bought the ticket for the ride they're on, not me.  Or I may tell them that society provides services for those who need many kinds of help, so they can avail themselves of that assistance or the aid of doctors and medicine if they're sick.  You've got to remember that hope and comfort aren't in my product line.

JRH:  About 125 years ago a lady named Mary Baker Eddy published a book titled Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  I'd like to know what you think about it.

ND:  That book was for me and my institute a nightmare come to life.  For centuries the influence of the Bible as a source of healing and comforting truths had been blunted or watered down by some of my special products.  It was always there if someone could find the key and the light to read it clearly by, but until Mrs. Eddy, no one was really getting a handle on the Bible and making full use of the inspired Word.

One night some wag put a complimentary copy of Science and Health on my stoop, and when I left for work the next morning I caught my big toe on it and went flying like a witch on a broom.  I never figured out how that happened, since the book wasn't really that thick, but it didn't budge a millimeter when I caught my toe on it.  I tell you I suffered a long time from that initial encounter and from the effects that book has had on me and my operations ever since.

From that day to this it's been a running battle, touch and go, advance and retreat.  Fortunately, though, some of the same stuff I pulled years ago to get the people all riled up over Christ Jesus still works like magic today, with a little freshening up to suit the times.  See, in my business it isn't truth and susbtance that matter, but appearances.  I don't have to prove anything to anyone.  Just get them to believe matter is real and the rest pretty much takes care of itself.  Remeber, I'm a smoke and mirrors guy, and if the smoke should suddenly clear, I'm gone.  Christian Scientists are the very worst, or best if you prefer, at uncovering and spoiling all my clever, subtle deceptions.

But it all started with that book Science and Health.  It's like a wooden stake in the heart of a vampire, the final line in I Pagliacci: "La commedia e finita!"  Counteracting the influence of that book keeps me busy, believe me.  Truth understood and expressed, even a tiny morsel, has an arm longer than the law's and a grip like a snapping turtle's.  And what's worse, anyone can get the book, read it himself, and make use of what he reads right then and there.

Fortunately, Mrs. Eddy herself foresaw one little obstacle to immediate and full acceptance of her book, when she wrote, and I quote:  "Take divine Science.  Read this book from beginning to end.  Study it, ponder it.  It will indeed be sweet at its first taste, when it heals you; but murmur not over Truth if you find its digestion bitter."  (S & H 559:20-23)  I've been pushing a great line of bitter digestives for many years, and I think I've managed to discourage quite a few souls.  But I can't defeat the simplest of truths.  Even a tiny child with a live truth in his hands is the "Terminator" to the best of the mendacities I peddle.  I'm busy on some new material though, because if men and women ever find out the health, happiness, and harmony Chistian Science can bring to their lives it's Chapter 11 for me.

JRH:  Briefly, how does your future look?

ND:  Well, business is certainly booming.  There is probably more sickness, poverty, distress, hate, and fear than there's ever been.  I just have to hope that it doesn't dawn on people that they'll never find permanent solutions to any of these problems in the very realm in which the problems occur.  I mean, if you make a mistake with a number 3 pencil you correct it with an eraser, not a number 2 pencil.  But I'm sure in no hurry to set them straight.

On the whole I'd say I'll do OK if more people don't find Science and Health and Christian Science and put them to use.  Meanwhile, I'll pray (chuckle) that this doesn't happen.

2 Christian Science Healings

(Norma Richardson wanted to share this with my readers and I know it will inspire many of you. Norma is a dear friend of ours and she lives in Fountain City, Tennessee)


I  have witnessed so many beautiful healings in Christian Science over the years and can never be grateful enough to God that my mother turned to this religion in a time of great need in our family.

I often think of these 2 outstanding proofs of what God can do for us.  The first concerns my brother who was born with a serious disease and was what is known as a "bleeder".  There were many frightening trips to the emergency section of the local hospital over the years and when he was 8 years old, something happened that decided my mother to rely on God totally for relief from this condition.  My brother was playing with an ax one day, and happened to hit himself in the back of the head.  The bleeding was profuse, wouldn't stop, other family members held towels to his head, ran and threw them in the washing machine, and continued to try to deal with the crisis.  My mother was holding him in her lap when she asked my father to phone a Christian Science practitioner to came to the house.  The woman came, continued the praying for my brother that had started immediately with the call for help.  It wasn't half an hour when the bleeding stopped, and my brother was completely healed of that rare disease.

The other healing involved my daughter.  I had been in the Christian Science Sunday School in up-state New York since I was 14 but wasn't what you would call a serious student of my religion.  When my daugher was born just 4 years later, it occurred to me that I needed to make a commitment, get really serious about understanding God better through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy so that if something happened I could deal with it confidently.  Well, as happens with children, I got my opportunity.  She came down with what appeared to be infantile paralysis, so prevalent in those days, and through a Christian Science practitioners loving and daily prayers, my daughter was totally and permanently healed.

I myself have had so many proofs that Christian Science works that it would require much space here to relate.  But is it any wonder that I thank God for the spiritual understanding I've gained through the study and practice of my religion.