Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy

First published: 1875

Edition(s) used:Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Boston: First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1991

Genre(s): Nonfiction

Subgenre(s): Biblical studies; handbook for living; sermons

Core issue(s): Atonement; God; healing; prayer; religion; scriptures

Overview

During her bouts with chronic illness in the 1850’s and 1860’s, Mary Baker Eddy became interested in the accounts of healing performed by Jesus Christ that are recorded in the Bible. Through prayer and careful study, she became convinced that the true source of healing is a spiritual gift that comes from God. She referred to the spiritual way in which Christ healed as Christian Science. In 1875, she published Science and Health as the textbook for Christian Science. Her main goal in writing the book was not to present a new form of theology but to provide a guidebook for religious practice. The phrase “with key to the Scriptures” was added to the title in 1883. Eddy believed that her book provided the key for others to better understand the teachings in the Bible.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is composed of three sections. The largest section is devoted to the main topics that are at the center of the Christian Science religion founded by Eddy in 1879. These include prayer, the Atonement, love, spiritual development, and healing based on spiritual laws. The second section focuses on Scriptures from the Bible and an examination of portions of the books of Genesis and Revelations. The second section also contains a glossary of 125 common terms used in the Bible, defined by Eddy in terms of her metaphysical, spiritual interpretations. The last section of the book, added by Eddy in 1902, contains the testimonials of numerous individuals who claim to have been healed or relieved of severe illnesses and adversities by application of the healing principles explained by Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

In her book, Eddy proclaims that the life and works of Jesus Christ, from his working of miracles, particularly healing, to his resurrection, to his final ascension above all materialism, represent conclusive evidence for the spiritual nature of human beings. She views his life as exemplifying the potential for humans to act above and beyond the finite limits of a temporal, material existence. She portrays Christ’s healing power as the operation of divine power through an understanding of spiritual laws. Although she does not deify Christ, Eddy declares that his life was the defining event in the history of the world, making the salvation of humanity from the mortal state possible. Christ’s atoning sacrifice in Gethsemane and his yielding to death on the cross at Calvary enabled him to become the mediator between God and human beings. A central theme in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is that each person can follow the example of Jesus Christ, find spiritual identity, better understand the spiritual nature of healing, and live more like Jesus did.

After careful study of the Bible, Eddy concluded that it was Christ’s commission to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. The former had been done to some extent but little had been accomplished with the latter. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Eddy unveils her fundamental idea that physical healing can be realized through the operation of spiritual laws. If people live their lives in accordance with revealed spiritual principles in the Scriptures, they will be in harmony with God and his divine Gospel plan. Eddy asserts her belief that the concept of matter is shaped by the limitations of the human mind. Through prayer and meditation, the power of God can heal individuals of physical, emotional, and mental illnesses by bringing human nature into conformity with the spiritual nature of humanity. Healing involves not only human bodily change but also spiritual change invoked by divine intervention outside mortality. Eddy explains that natural phenomena are governed by God, and therefore, the true medicine for healing disease and overcoming adversity must also come from God. She advocates relying on him for healing and good health.

Eddy emphasizes that studying the Bible brings people closer to God by filling them with the light of Christ. She declares the love of God for every human being and that he is always available if one seeks him. The book contains more than seven hundred quotations from the Bible and numerous references to scriptural teachings, events, and individuals in the Bible. In her 1902 revision of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Eddy placed the chapters on prayer and the Atonement as the first two chapters in the book to emphasize the essential role that the Atonement and prayer play in healing and helping individuals reach their maximum potential. The content of the book is meant to build faith in God, provide purpose in life, and promote peace and healing, both physically and spiritually. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures has been named as one of the seventy-five books written by women that have most changed the world.

Christian Themes

A cornerstone topic that permeates the pages of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is the existence of a supreme, infinite God. Eddy characterizes God with qualities of being all-loving, omnipotent, and possessing infinite goodness. As a result, he can be accessed by demonstrating active faith in him and sincerely praying to him. Eddy believes that humans are the likeness and image of God. By drawing closer to God, individuals move to a higher plane of living and develop inner peace and comfort. God’s divine laws are applicable to each person every day.

Eddy pleas for people to follow the example of Jesus Christ and strive to live as he did every day. She promotes the principle of treating others the way we would like to be treated. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who carried out the Atonement, which was necessary to overcome sin and reconcile humankind with God. Eddy reminds the reader that this supreme act is evidence of God’s divine, efficacious love. Through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, death is overcome. Each individual can rise again and live eternally.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures emphasizes the necessity for individuals to study the Bible on a daily basis. Because the true nature of each individual is spiritual, spiritual nourishment must be provided from divine sources, which include sincere prayer to God, faithful study of the Bible, and living by God’s words. Eddy explains the application of biblical teachings to the practice of everyday Christian living and to working out one’s eternal salvation. Reading the Bible strengthens one’s trust in the power of prayer and the power of God and makes Christ’s teachings practical in the world today.

Sources for Further Study

Gardner, Martin. The Healing Revelations of Mary Baker Eddy: The Rise and Fall of Christian Science. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1993. Gardner analyzes the ideas and concepts promoted by Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, how they led to the establishment and growth of the Christian Science religion, and the factors that caused the decline of that religion.

Gottschalk, Stephen. Rolling Away the Stone: Mary Baker Eddy’s Challenge to Materialism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006. Contains an account of the founding of the Christian Science religion centered around the theme of spiritual healing that was promoted by Mary Baker Eddy.

Piepmeier, Alison. Out in Public: Configurations of Women’s Bodies in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. In discussing the lives of a few exemplary women, Piepmeier extols the life of Mary Baker Eddy as an example of faith, hope, and courage in speaking out in a predominantly man’s world about key issues associated with medicine and healing.

Schoepflin, Rennie B. Christian Science on Trial: Religious Healing in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. By examining the messages presented by Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Schoepflin highlights the contributions of Eddy as a teacher, healer, and religious leader.

Thomas, Robert David. With Bleeding Footsteps: Mary Baker Eddy’s Path to Religious Leadership. New York: Knopf, 1994. This work explores the life of Mary Baker Eddy, her philosophy about healing as promoted by the Scriptures, her rise to religious leadership, and the themes contained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.