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Home > Books > The Subject and Method for Studying the Science of Christian Science
The Subject and Method for Studying the Science of Christian Science
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Product Code: 0-942958-18-7
Manufacturer: Kappeler Institute Publishing
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Spiral bound, 127 pages
Level:
SUBJECT(s):
Preparing Yourself to Study Science
RELATED RECORDINGS:
M-17, Why Study Christian Science as a Science? (3 hours, audio)
SYNOPSIS: Designed as a home-study aid for students new to Kappeler's work, this book lays the foundation for studying the Science of Christian Science. It provides an excellent introduction to Science, and contains suggestions and recommendations that will help you get the most out of each study session. The "Guide to Books and Recordings" (Chapter 5) will also help you individualize your study program to meet your own goals and interests. A "must-have" for all new students of Science.
Read entire text online
CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: The Science of Christian Science
Chapter 2: Preparing Yourself to Study Science
Chapter 3: Studying the 7 Synonymous Terms for God
Chapter 4: Culturing Spiritual Consciousness
Chapter 5: A Guide for Self-Instruction in Science
Chapter 6: Obtaining Your Study Materials
Appendix A: Science Terminology
Appendix B: Abbreviations
Appendix C: Illustrative Materials
Appendix D: KI Order Forms
EXCERPT:
From Kappeler Institute, The Subject and Method for Studying the Science of Christian Science, pp. 13–15.
Culturing the Necessary Inner Attitude
Preparing yourself to study Science requires more than properly structured academic study. The fact that the subject of Christian Science has to be studied should not mislead us into making the text (the letter) alone the main point of our contemplation, "for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (II Cor. 3:6)
The letter itself can do nothing. It is only the symbol for an idea. That which is real and has power is the idea behind the letter. If we study only the letter, wrap ourselves up in words, repeat hackneyed phrases about Truth, memorize whole sentences from the Textbook and recite them on every occasion, then we just have the letter without any spiritual power.
S&H 451:8: "Students of Christian Science, who start with its letter and think to succeed without the spirit, will either make shipwreck of their faith or be turned sadly awry."
We can now better understand the question and answer in the Textbook: "Question—How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science"? "Answer—Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe the spirit." (S&H 495:25)
To "imbibe the spirit," you should create a practice that will prepare you, prior to each study session, to do two things:
Shift from the consciousness of your daily life, which is based on the human mind, to the divine Mind.
Culture a receptive inner attitude, one that will support your spiritual consciousness.
The eight points outlined below will help you create such a practice.
1. The one Mind is the basis of investigation.
First, we must have a desire to learn and investigate the spiritual—to gain a deeper insight into the nature of the one Being. Mind must be the only basis for our approach to the subject. Only the divine can know the divine. Only like knows like. Therefore, we must be willing to approach the subject with the divine Mind. This means that we have to approach the new subject without preconceptions and human opinions.
2. Ordered study.
Considering that the subject is Science, we must be aware that a divinely ordered subject must be studied in an ordered way. What does this mean? For example:
It means that we start at the beginning and progress in the study along an ordered development of the subject;
It means that we keep focused on one subject at a time and do not scatter our attention on many different aspects of Science all at once;
It means that we take the time to value and ponder what we have already learned until it becomes our structure of consciousness, hence our own being.
3. Humility, willingness to change.
In approaching a new subject, we must have the sincerity and humility to let all our conceptions of the subject—that have accumulated over many years&mdashbe changed. "Humility is the stepping stone to a higher recognition of Deity" (Mis 1:15).
4. Scientific structured approach.
Studying Christian Science as a Science is very different from approaching Christian Science as a religion. In a religion, we seek inspiration, remembering those phrases and sentences that are most inspiring at the time of listening. It is an atomistic, accumulative approach, in which we get quickly lost in details.
On the other hand, in a science, we look for the structure of the subject:
What is the main theme?
How is the main theme developed?
What structure of consciousness is being presented?
In a scientific approach, the subject is sought through its overall structure, discerning the relationships of all the details within the whole.
5. Living with the subject.
We must live with the subject over time, love the subject and be committed to understanding it as our way of life, and our teacher. Ponder what you have learned between study sessions, bring it into your daily life, and incorporate it into your consciousness.
6. Active listening.
Active listening is attending to what is being presented, either in writing or on tape. Listening demands a dynamic interaction between the listener and the subject. When we are actively listening, we are pursuing the spiritually scientific meaning and implications of the subject.
What does the subject mean in its exact Science?
What are the implications on our everyday life experience?
What misconceptions are corrected?
How can we define, in just a few words, the pith of the subject?
7. Nurturing our study.
The subject of Science is vast, and a new idea is not mastered all at once. As with any study, students go through ordered stages of understanding and development. One has to proceed patiently, step by step, in order to finally perceive the entire structure of the Bible and Science and Health.
8. Scientific obstetrics.
Finally, and most importantly, we must let the subject grow and develop by spiritual birth, and not by an accretion of information. By taking "scientific obstetrics" (S&H 463) as a daily practice, we remove the material conceptions that would obstruct the birth of the ideas of Science as our true spiritual selfhood.
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