First Divine Science Church of Denver: Q&A

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Q&A

Are you a Christian institution?

In the curriculum of the Brooks Center for Spirituality the teachings of the New Testament are continually contemplated. Our affiliated churches observe the church year--Advent, Christmas, Easter etc.

We encourage individuals to ponder deeply the whole Bible. Our curriculum requires classes in the whole Bible, and the New Testament segment intensively examines moments in the life of Jesus--the birth, the baptism, the temptation in the wilderness, the ministry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.

We impose no dogma of any kind because we believe the individual's response to the Bible and especially to the life and teaching of Jesus is spiritual and intensely private matter.

We also honor all great religions and all sincere spiritual searches, and we regularly study other religions and Scriptures, believing that to do so is an important part of our spiritual work. We also honor and study a number of contemporary spiritual movements that are independent of any particular religious affiliation--such as Jungian psychology and the new cosmology.

Is Divine Science the same as Christian Science?

No. Christian Science and Divine Science have some common historical roots, but they are separate and somewhat different systems of belief. For a detailed history see the book Spirits in Rebellion by Charles S. Braden (Southern Methodist University Press).

Do Divine Scientists and people in New Thought go to doctors?

Avoiding doctors and medications is not part of either tradition today. Believing in the omnipresence of God, we believe that God can and does act through health care professionals and their resources as well as through prayer. Most of our members use the health care system.

We do believe in the power of prayer and in the part played in healing processes by mental and spiritual factors.

Are you a New Age institution?

No. We gratefully acknowledge some of the contributions of the New Age movement to American spirituality. It has led a broad cross section of our generation to a new appreciation of the inner life, of Jungian psychology, and of Eastern traditions of spirituality. But we do not, as a denomination or as a teaching institution, advocate or engage in channeling, color therapy, astrology, the use of crystals or similar practices associated with the New Age movement.

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