THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE)

History of the Church

Mary Morse Baker (1821-1910) discovered and founded Christian Science. She was raised in a strict, deeply religious home, from which she derived her lifelong interest in Christianity and the Bible. She had been plagued with ill health through her childhood and into adult years. This motivated her to study alternative methods of healing, which deviated from the then current medical techniques which had failed her. Shortly after her first marriage, her husband died and she began to study a number of healing ministries. She remarried in 1853 in an unsuccessful attempt to gain control of her son who had been placed in another home by her family in the belief that she was physically incapable of caring for him. At the age of 41, she sought a cure from a healer, Phineas P. Quimby (1802-1866). Quimby had been a clockmaker, with relatively little education. But he had developed a method of natural healing which involved techniques of hypnotism and animal magnetism. He emphasized the role of the human mind in achieving bodily health. Quimby felt that the key to healing lay in the confidence by the healer in the patient's recovery, and in the confidence that the patient has in the healer's ability.

Mrs. Eddy (as she is referred to by church members) was a student-associate of Quimby until his death in 1866. Her health initially improved under his care, but she later suffered a relapse. Shortly afterwards, she fell on an icy sidewalk and severely injured herself. Some did not expect her to survive. On what she believed to be her deathbed, she read one of Jesus' healings. She suddenly realized that healing comes not from internal bodily processes, or from the power of a person's mind, but from the Divine Mind, God. She was instantly cured!

Mrs. Eddy withdrew from society for three years in order to concentrate on a deep search through the Bible and discover precisely how her healing had taken place. She wished to share this knowledge with others, and to give them the tools to take away sin and achieve health. Mrs. Eddy then wrote her main book, Science and Health, later called Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The book has since been published in 17 languages, and is available in English Braille, on audio cassette, CD, and in software packages.

Many people have speculated on the source(s) of Mrs. Eddy's new beliefs. Some skeptics have implied that she plagiarized much of Quimby's writings and teachings. His beliefs involved the dualism between mind-spirit and matter. He emphasized the supremacy of mind over matter, and was highly antagonistic towards Christianity. She had always been deeply committed to Christian beliefs and rejected his opposition to religion. It is probably accurate to say that Mrs. Eddy was further sensitized by Quimby to the healing role of mind. However, she made a major break from his basic teachings. She determined that it was the Divine Mind, God, who healed, not the human mind. Other skeptics have asserted that she copied some of the writings of a German-American philosopher, Francis Lieber. This appears to be unfounded. She asserted that her beliefs are derived from new interpretations of Biblical passages, not from human sources. She taught that they do not represent an "add-on" to the Bible; she had discovered the science of scriptures. Through a spiritual interpretation of the Bible she had rediscovered its original truths as believed in and practiced by the early Christian church.

Her book was published at a time of great social unrest. The people of the United States were buffeted by the effects of the Civil War, by the teachings of Darwin, Freud and Marx, by rapid industrialization, and by many economic upheavals. Mrs. Eddy's teachings were welcomed and adopted by many Americans, but bitterly opposed by many traditional Christian authorities. They also raised some animosity from scientists who criticized the use of the word "science" in connection with Christianity.

In 1875, she published her book. In 1877 she married Asa Gilbert Eddy, her second husband having left her, and she adopted the name by which she is most commonly remembered: Mary Baker Eddy. Her book, though controversial, was well received by many Christians. She was inspired to promote the founding of the Church of Christ, Scientist in Lynn, MA, a suburb of Boston, in 1879. She was ordained by her students, and created the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881 and the National Christian Scientist Association in 1886. She later disbanded the Association, College and Church and concentrated the movement within The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, MA. Although she continued to manage church affairs until her death in 1910, she removed herself from public contact and lived in seclusion, in order to revise her book and guide the movement.

The church went through a period of rapid growth during the first half of the 20th century. Membership leveled out by 1950 and has since gradually declined. Current membership data is unknown; the Church does not publish statistics. One source estimates about 400,000 people follow Christian Science teachings, although many are not affiliated with a congregation. Another estimates 150,000 members.

The Church has about 2300 branch congregations in 60 countries. There are about 1600 congregations in the US; about 60 in Canada. They operate Christian Science Reading Rooms where the public is invited to read the Bible and literature published by the Church. In 1908, Mrs. Eddy founded The Christian Science Monitor, an international newspaper, whose employees have won 6 Pulitzer prizes. A cable TV channel launched in 1991 was short lived and was terminated for financial reasons.

In recent decades, a number of main-line Christian leaders have extracted the Christian Science concept of Divine Mind. They have secularized it to refer to the human mind and have grafted it onto traditional Christian belief. This is seen in Norman Vincent Peale's Power of Positive Thinking, Bishop Sheen's Peace of Soul, Rev. Robert Schuller's Possibility Thinking etc.

Church Beliefs

(provided by Lyle Young, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Ontario)

Christian Scientists believe:

Healing

(also provided by Lyle Young)

Church Practices

Church Media and Publications

Church Controversies

Compared to other recently emerging faith groups, there has been relatively little controversy within Christian Science:

Like other successful denominations which deviate from traditional beliefs, Christian Science has attracted negative attention. Some has come from the Counter-cult Movement; other from some conservative Christian religious leaders. Christian Science has been condemned for its unique interpretation of scriptures. Some refer to the movement as a cult. But the Christian Science Church maintains that this term inaccurately describes the century-old denomination. Christian Scientists practice their religious teachings out of reasoned conviction of its truth - not from blind irrational feelings about Mary Baker Eddy. Their churches and Reading Rooms are open to all; their services are dignified and simple.

There exists a chronic state of tension between the Church, its practitioners, and medical doctors over the substitution of Christian Science healing techniques for conventional medical treatments. However, this does not escalate into conflict, as it often does between Jehovah Witness parents, their children and the courts. In instances where there would be a difference of opinion between Christian Science parents and medical authorities, the Church strongly encourages parents to cooperate with those authorities - particularly with respect to communicable diseases.

Useful References

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