CHURCH

Church

The Church of Christ, Scientist (a.k.a. Christian Science)

History of the Church

Mary Morse Baker Eddy (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 emphasised 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 realised 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.

Structure and Lighting

Many people have speculated on the source(s) of Mrs. Eddy's new beliefs. Some skeptics have implied that she plagiarised much of Quimby's writings and teachings. His beliefs involved the dualism between mind-spirit and matter. He emphasised 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 sensitised by Quimby to the healing role of mind. However, she made a major break from his basic ...