Christian Science
Christian Science is a denomination within Christianity founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy, who drew inspiration from her own experiences with illness and healing. Central to the faith is her book, *Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures*, which outlines her belief in the mental and spiritual aspects of healing, emphasizing that sickness is a state of mind that can be addressed through prayer. Christian Scientists often seek guidance and support from practitioners—trained church members skilled in the teachings of the Bible and Eddy's principles—who assist individuals facing physical or emotional challenges. The church teaches that Heaven and Hell are states of mind created by one's actions and thoughts rather than physical locations in an afterlife.
Individual Christian Science churches operate independently while adhering to guidelines set forth in Eddy's *Manual of the Mother Church*. Services typically include readings from both the Bible and Eddy's work, with church members encouraged to share their healing experiences. Although Christian Scientists emphasize spiritual healing, they do not categorically reject professional medical treatment, and there are no church rules against medical interventions like vaccinations. The Christian Science Monitor, established by Eddy, is a respected newspaper known for its thorough coverage of global events. While the movement experienced significant growth in its early years, it has seen a decline in membership since World War II.
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Christian Science
Christian Science is a branch of the Christian religion that was started by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879. Her personal experiences with illness and healing inspired her to write Science and Health with Key to Scriptures, a seven-hundred-page book that is the basis of the Christian Science faith. Eddy's work explains her belief in the "science" behind Jesus' healing power. Christian Scientists believe that sickness is a state of mind that is treatable by prayer and, when needed, practitioners. Christian Science practitioners are church members who have gone through a primary course on healing and are masters of the Bible and Eddy's teachings. Using prayer and emotional support, practitioners help church members struggling with physical or emotional difficulties. Christian Scientists believe that Heaven and Hell are states of mind rather than part of the afterlife. They contend that sinners create their own hell by behaving in evil ways, and saints make their own heaven by acting in a moral way.
Brief History
Mary Baker Eddy struggled with physical illnesses throughout her life. In the fall of 1862, she became a patient of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, a teacher and philosopher, and was greatly influenced by him. Quimby was part of the New Thought Movement, a mind-healing initiative in the early nineteenth century. Both Quimby and Eddy agreed that disease was more mental than physical. However, most of Phineas' beliefs were rooted in hypnotism and mesmerism, while Eddy's were based on "the divine Principle." She believed that the mind cannot hold onto evil or disease and, for this reason, these things do not exist. Her belief was that if you cleared your mind and sought only truth, harmony, and health, your body would heal itself. Despite having some differing beliefs, Quimby and Eddy spent a great deal of time together before his death in January 1866.
Soon after Quimby's death, Eddy fell on an icy sidewalk in Lynn, Massachusetts, and was critically injured. In bed with a back injury, she spent countless hours reading about healing in the Bible. Soon after this experience, she determined that she was well again. She credited the healing passages she read in the Bible and the connection she formed with God while bedridden as being the founding moment of Christian Science. After her recovery, she spent nine years studying the Bible and learning everything she could about spiritual healing. In 1875, at the age of fifty-four, Eddy published Science and Health with Key to Scriptures, which described her beliefs about prayer, truth, marriage, and medicine and explained her Christian Science Practice on executing spiritual healing. By the twenty-first century, Eddy's book had sold more than ten million copies.
Eddy tried unsuccessfully to convince Christian churches to accept her ideas on spiritual healing. Since she could not find a Christian church willing to put her ideas into practice, she and twenty-six of her followers secured a charter for the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1879.
Overview
Each individual Christian Science church is self-governing and self-supporting but must adhere to specific practices dictated in the Manual of the Mother Church, written by Eddy and published in 1895. The manual includes information on moral obligations, church membership, electing the First Reader, appointing the Scripture reader, and the order of the church readings. It serves as a constitution of sorts for the Christian Science Church.
Christian Science church members attend a weekly Sunday Bible lesson sermon where the elected First Reader reads from Science and Health with Key to Scriptures, and a chosen reader reads scripture from the Bible. The Christian Science church does not employ a person as its pastor; rather, the Bible and Science and Health with Key to Scriptures are considered the universal pastor of the Christian Science church. During Wednesday church services, members listen to readings and discuss their personal relationship with God as well as experiences they have had with healing through prayer. Church members refer to God as our "Father-Mother God."
Christian Scientists believe that when you do not have a close relationship with your Father-Mother God, you may experience "error" or sickness. Many Christian Science churches also hold frequent spiritual healing sessions where members are encouraged to pray and renew their relationship with God.
While all church members agree about the power of spiritual or faith healing, the church does not overtly oppose professional medical intervention. Christian Scientists believe that diseases are not real and can be cured through prayer but do not have any actual church rules prohibiting vaccinations or other medical interventions.
Since 1908, the Christian Science Monitor has been published as a public service by the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Eddy started the newspaper because she thought the news stories in other papers were sensationalized. For almost one hundred years, the paper was published five days a week, but in 2009, it became a weekly publication. The Christian Science Monitor is an independent newspaper partially subsidized by the church. It is well recognized and respected for its fair analysis and in-depth coverage of world events. The Christian Science Monitor typically avoids breaking news and makes very little money on advertisements to avoid sensationalism. The paper publishes one religious news story a week but avoids other religious doctrine and focuses instead on world events. The Christian Science Monitor has been awarded multiple Pulitzer Prizes in recognition of its journalistic achievements.
Christian Science reached its peak in the early twentieth century and has been steadily declining since World War II. In 1971, nearly nineteen hundred Christian Science churches were in the United States, but by 2009, only 911 remained. Because the church does not report official membership numbers, the official number of members and churches in the mid-2020s is difficult to ascertain.
Bibliography
“Beliefs and Teachings.” Christian Science, www.christianscience.com/what-is-christian-science/beliefs-and-teachings. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Peel, Robert. Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority, Reinhart and Winston, 1977.
Nelson, Thomas. Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World. Thomas Nelson, 2009.
Canham, Erwin. Commitment to Freedom: The Story of the Christian Science Monitor. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1958.
Eddy, Mary Baker. Science and Health with Key to Scriptures. Aequus Inst. Pubns, Reprint: 1991.
Gottschalk, Stephen. Rolling Away the Stone: Mary Baker Eddy's Challenge to Materialism. Indiana University Press, 2005.
Cather, Willa. The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science. University of Nebraska Press, 1993.
Gill, Gillian. Mary Baker Eddy. Perseus Books, 1999.
Fine, Jon. "The Christian Science Monitor to Become Weekly." Bloomberg, 28 Oct. 2008, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-28/the-christian-science-monitor-to-become-a-weeklybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Slick, Matt. "Christian Science Church History." Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, 3 Dec. 2008, carm.org/christian-science-history" https://carm.org/christian-science-history. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.