The Church of Christ, Scientist in Lynn, Massachusetts was founded in 1879. Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, first appeared in 1875.
The founding of the Church of Christ, Scientist represented the completion of a schema of thought designed to reduce and relieve illness. The church was founded by Mary Baker Eddy, who, since childhood had suffered from various illnesses and medical diagnoses (1). Later accounts have postulated that hypocondria and mental illness may have plagued her.
In her early forties, Eddy sought relief
under the tutelage of Phineas P. Quimby(2),
who experimented with natural healing through the powers of the
mind, a spiritual perspective that was the prototype to the New Thought Movement (3).
In 1866, shortly after Quimby's death, Eddy slipped on an icy
sidewalk and severely injured herself. While contemplating the
Bible during her recovery, Eddy was suddenly struck with the inspiration
that would heal her and countless others: Only God, the Divine
Mind, had the power to heal (4). She was cured and eager to share
her revelation with others.
Eddy believed that healing occurred through the recognition that matter, and thus illness, did not exist. Because illness did not exist, material medicine would not be effective in treating it. Rather, illness could only be overcome using the power of t he mind. To teach others, she began to organize and to write down her ideas.
Eddy withdrew from the modern world to write Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The book was published and the Church of Christ, Scientist soon followed in 1879. Eager to branch out, Eddy founded the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881 and the National Christian Scientist Association in 1886 (5). These expansion efforts were later abandoned for the concentration of all energies into the Mother Church, which was moved to a central headquarters in Boston, MA.
Following this move, Eddy sought to consolidate her authority within the movement. To avoid further conflicts with Massachusetts courts, Eddy instructed parents to allow their children to be vaccinated in 1901. She also conceded that bonesetting should be left to doctors, and permitted the use of painkillers in cases of extreme pain (6). Eddy guided church affairs in seclusion until her death in 1910 (7). Following her death, the Board of Directors of the Mother Church as well as the Christian Science Publishing Society argued for control of her legacy. The Great Litigation, as it was known, was settled in favor of the Board of Directors in 1922 (8). The Church has since survived many conflicts and remains active today.
Two books, The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures are considered sacred. Eddy ordained these two as "your dual and impersonal pastor" on page 322 of her Miscellaneous Writings; she would be the movement's only human pastor (1). According to the church's official home page, followers use both books to "unlock The Bible, so to speak. It was the specific mission of Science and Health to give the world this key to the Scriptures--to open up their treasures and enable everyone to use them."
In addition, Miscellaneous Writings by Eddy, a book of hymns, and The Manual, an extremely detailed explication of church organization, are considered worthy of reverence (2).
Per sociological definition, a cult is "a religious group that is the product of radical innovation, importation, or invention" (1). The Church of Christ, Scientist is a cult, with its attention focused on the "science" of healing, spirituality, and philosophy. Mary Baker Eddy authored the invented Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, to be used on equal terms with The Bible and elevated her own status as the one spiritual leader of the church (2). She radically innovated Bible doctrine. Christian Science's religious schema incorporates Eddy's ideas about "Christian" spirituality (3) and healing through the mind, or New Thought pioneered by Phineas P. Quimby .
One source estimates 2300 branch congregations, 1600 of which are in the United States (1). The Mother Church refuses to publish membership statistics. Undocumented "sources" cited by the Church of Christ, Scientist unofficial web page estimate numbers between 150,000 members and 400,000 members. Membership skyrocketed from 8,724 members in 1890 to 55,000 members in 1906. A U.S. census in 1936 recorded 268,915 Christian Scientists (2). In the Spring 1992 edition of the Christian Research Journal, William Alnor states church membership had gone from 268,000 members in the 1930s to 150,000 members in 1992 (3). He also cites statistics that the circulation of Christian Science's famous newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, had also decreased from 240,000 in the 1960s to 100,000 in 1992.
According to The Manual by Mary Baker Eddy, "To become a member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, the applicant must be a believer in the doctrines of Christian Science, according to the teaching contained in our Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy. The Bible, together with Science and Health shall be his only textbooks for self-instruction in Christian Science" (4). Given this vague definition, even estimates provided by the Mother Church would be difficult to evaluate. The trend is clear, though; membership has continuously declined since the 1930s, and a lack of support and interest has limited circulation of Christian Science publications in the past two decades.
II. Beliefs of the Group:
In addition to spiritual fulfillment, Christian Scientists seek spiritual healing: "Understanding man's pure, indestructible relationship with God is what results in regeneration and healing" (1) The Church incorporates much of established Christianity's rhetoric, but the movement itself deviates radically in its beliefs. The figures of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit provide examples.
God, The Father
God is divine creator, but he frequently acts impersonally rather than assuming an intimate role (2). God, who is bisexual, created man in his own perfect image, so man is not plagued by original sin--the second chapter of Genesis was the "Adam Dream."
Jesus and Christ
Similarly, God created
Jesus, a mortal man, in his own image to show the type of son
that everyone can be to God. However, Jesus is not the Christ,
but the "way-shower" to Christ (3) because he was the first human to understand the Divine Mind. Christ is a separate
entity, an "eternal spiritual selfhood," who "does
not defeat evil but demonstrates its lack of any reality beyond
our belief in it"(4). Thus, even death does not exist.
The Holy Spirit
Eddy redefined the Holy Spirit as Divine Science, the method by which one can recognize and heal oneself (5). Church language is the same, but belief is altered to accommodate the precepts of healing.
Healing
Followers believe that healing comes through recognition of the "false claims of matter." If matter is truly nothingness, then material medicine is simply ineffective in remedying illness. Followers do not hate doctors, but prefer prayer because of its superior power to assist them, as oneness with God gives no room for disease. Healing comes with the realization that one is a reflection of God (6).
Christian Scientists come to believe these precepts when they are taught the scientific process of healing, which comes with rational reasoning. For example: God is all that exists. He is spirit, not matter, and thus anything else cannot exist. An ill person may learn this alone through study of Eddy's teachings or together with a practitioner, who helps clear the patient's mind for healing. When healing is accomplished and the patient gets be tter, the laws of Christian Science are said to have demonstrated over the illness. Not only will the patient be free of symptoms, but this demonstration also represents a new spiritual awakening in faith. (7)
A concise statement of beliefs can be found in Science
and Health with Key to the Scriptures:
1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible
as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge
His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man
in God's image and likeness.
3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction
of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as
unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief
lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as evidence of divine, efficacious
love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the
Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ,
through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean
Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection
served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness
of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to
be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as
we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just and pure (8).
Beliefs stem largely from Eddy's early life experiences with illness. Her use of "alternative" healing methods as well as Bible consultation merged in a methodology that included spiritual development of the mind and moral rigor to effect physical and spiritual healing. Here, she departed from former mentor Quimby--she felt spirituality could provide comfort, guidance, and legitimacy to the movement.
Eddy's followers believe that her teachings were the final revelation of the absolute truth. The ideas were consolidated in her text Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures . Her miraculous cure after reading a Biblical passage, as well as countless testimonials by followers attesting to their own restored health reflect a key component in the movement's continued faith.
III. Contemporary Issues and Controversies
The First Church of Christ, Scientist still maintains an established faith tradition in the United States. However, the Christian Science faith never drew the large numbers achieved by contemporaneous faith movements like the Mormons, the Seventh-Day Adventists, or the Jehovah's Witnesses. Membership gains have tended to be smaller since the church's founding, and thus most members today are aging rapidly while no revitalizing younger generation of members exists who can take over. As membership has continued to decline since the 1930s, Christian Scientists thus face a serious threat to their viability in the coming decades.
Christian Science, in addition to its membership difficulties, has been prominent in the news in recent years because of two more issues: (1) legal conflicts relating to their policies regarding healing, and (2) financial problems, especially internal c hurch controversies over large expenditures to fund a multi-media outreach.
Christian Science faith healing has from the beginning tread a thin line between the entitlements of the Constitution's First Amendment and the interpretations of the courts. Although Christian Science is not as confrontational as some other cults, its belief in faith healing places it outside what the rest of society finds acceptable.
An article by Caroline Fraser in The Atlantic Monthly of April
1995 illustrates this controversy (1). The article tells of James Andrew Wantland's death from diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis which led to multiple system failure.
After suffering for months, Wantland died on December 20, 1992. Up until a few
hours before his death, doctors claim, insulin and fluids might
have saved his life. He did not receive this medical treatment
because of his father and his grandmother's belief in Christian
Science, which holds that prayer alone can heal.
Previously, in a child custody agreement, Wantland's father had
agreed to provide his son with medical treatment as well as spiritual
healing should James Andrew fall ill. However, when James Andrew
did exhibit symptoms of diabetes, no medical action was taken.
Wantland's mother sued for wrongful death and contributing to
the suffering of a child in a California court. Defendants included
not only Wantland's father, but also the Christian Science practitioner
who was praying for him and the Mother Church.
This lawsuit is just one example of lawsuits brought before the
courts when children of Christian Science parents or guardians
do not receive medical treatment considered by the greater society
to be acceptable and necessary to prevent suffering and promote
healing.
A similar court case involved the death of Ian Lundman (2). In this case, Lundman's father originally received $9 million in punitive
damages, according to the Christian Century on February
28, 1996, but then a Minnesota appeals court overturned this prior
award of damages, stating that "the church's tenet of spiritual
healing through prayer alone was protected by the Constitution"(Christian
Century 3 May 1995). Despite this statement, Lundman's father
still received $1.5 million in compensatory damages. In February
of 1996 (3), the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to remove
the $1.5 million compensatory damages from those Christian Scientists
who failed to treat the Lundman boy with medical treatment. Following
the refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal, nine
religious organizations filed a brief to support Christian Scientists'
right to use faith healing based on the First Amendment's entitlement
to Freedom of Religion.
If the church continues to spurn medical intervention, it may witness its own demise at the hands of financial bankruptcy as it pays compensatory damages to church members' relatives.
The church's financial woes involve more than compensatory damages for withheld medical interventions. In the mid 1980s, the church launched a multi-media empire based on the superb quality of its daily newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. For decades, this newspaper had lent legitimacy to Christian Science and was a possible source of recruitment. The church reasoned that further expansion into the media culture would only increase these benefits.
In 1992, however, this decade long attempt to launch a multi-media empire devoted to Christian Science crashed to a halt (4). In the mid 1980s, a 24 hour network called The Monitor Channel, a UHF television station in Boston, a monthly magazine called World Monitor, and a radio system called the World Service were all started by the Mother Church in an attempt to propel Christian Science into the media age. Despite the previous success of the Pulitzer Prize winning Christian Science Monitor newspaper, which had enjoyed considerable popularity for decades by providing accurate news, particularly of the Third World, by 1988 the new media ventures were costing the church too much money (an estimated $500 million).
This debt prompted cutbacks to the
Christian Science Monitor
itself, reducing its quality. Finally, in the spring of 1992,
the chairman of the Mother Church resigned amidst charges of both
financial and administrative mismanagement. The cable TV network
was shutdown; other media ventures were sharply curtailed. The
church at this point in time was reportedly $6.5 million dollars
in the red.
These financial problems may be relevant to a December 1991 crisis
in which restricted funds were drawn upon to cover general operating
expenses--over $41.5 million in transfers were made. Many church
members and outsiders were particularly surprised and outraged
by the peculiar transfers which used money specifically reserved
for other purposes.
Another crisis of authority occurred in 1991 when a book entitled The Destiny of the Mother Church by Bliss Knapp was officially authorized by the Mother Church. This authorization came, even though, contrary to Eddy's own teachings, the book places Eddy "on a par with Jesus." Many maintain that the church authorized this book only to qualify for a $97 million bequest which might ease its financial woes. These people worry about the future of the Mother Church and resent that its priorities have been shifting steadily towards money concerns rather than spiritual ones.
IV. Links to Christian Science Web Sites
Pro-Christian Science Web Sites
The First Church of Christ, Scientist
This is the official site of the Mother Church in Boston, MA. It is rich with information about spiritual healing, Christian Science beliefs, explanations of what is contained in Science and Health, publications, and Mary Baker Eddy. For those with the software, there is a quicktime movie for viewing as well as a virtual tour of the Mother Church. This site also has links to the Christian Science Monitor, college organizations, etc. The information is useful, but often it is superficial.
http://www.tfccs.com/
Once a premiere newspaper in the U.S. and a accurate reporter
of Third World news, the Christian Science Monitor has seen its
membership go down, but still maintains a relatively wide readership.
http://www.csmonitor.com
The Mary Baker Eddy Institute is the web site location
from which to read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
The Manual is also available from this page, as well as
a newsletter, a resource center, current articles and other information
on healing. Other organizations are also given.
http://www.mbeinstitute.org:80/healing/
Global Christian Science Network
This site, not affiliated with the Mother Church, is a global
link to Christian Science churches, nurses, products, services
and more all over the world. It also has a search engine useful
for locating specific information about Christian Science.
http://www.lii.net:80/globalcsnet/buckeyew.htm
The Virtual Christian Science Reading Room
Maintained by a Christian Science church in St. Paul, Minnesota,
this site has the latest radio newscast from Monitor radio and
a Christian Science lecture available. Otherwise, this site does
not differ from the other church endorsed sites.
http://www.mtn.org/~rrstore/index.htm
This site claims to be "The International source for
materials about Christian Science."
http://www.thebookmark.com/
CYGNY- Science and Christianity
This site contains very detailed information about Christian Science
teachings, including the structure for the Key of David, healing,
and metaphysics. It is helpful to have some knowledge of Mary
Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to Scriptures
before viewing this page.
http://sword.lightspeed.bc.ca/cygni/cs.html
Non-biased web site locations for Christian Science information
Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance, Christian Science Page
The OCRT Christian Science page gives an in-depth, purportedly
unbiased report of Christian Science history, beliefs, healing,
practices, media, controversies and useful bibliographical resources.
This page contains only text, and provides a balanced account
of this cult. At the end of the Christian Science page, there
are links to the OCRT home page, which offers descriptions of
57 other religion-oriented groups.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
Mary Baker Eddy's Path to Religious Leadership--a Book Review by Peter J. Gomes
An unlikely site for good information, this web site has a concise
history of Mary Baker Eddy's life within a book review that seeks
to place Mary Baker Eddy within the context of late 1800s society.
This is a good site for those who desire a more in-depth look
at Eddy herself.
http://www.bookwire.com/bbr/life/with-bleeding.html
Anti-Christian Science web sites
The homepage of The Christian Way, a "ministry of former-Christian
Scientists for truth through Jesus" is an anti-Christian
Science web site maintained by former Christian Scientists. There
are essays exposing Christian Science's inconsistencies and faults,
a welcome note, testimonials, and a bibliography of some Christian
Science resources, more than half of which are against Christian
Science. An interesting look at an anti-cult movement.
http://www.goodnet.com/~calvary/
The Watchman Expositor on The First Church of Christ, Scientist
This anti-cult group's Christian Science page is quite judgmental,
but there is some good information, particularly with regards
to the difference between Jesus and Christ for Christian Science
believers.
http://rampages.onramp.net/~watchman/jesuschs.htm
Katie Bretz: What Every Christian Scientist Should Know
This page, by Katie Bretz at Cornell, allows a look at personal
testimony by a former Christian Scientist. The page is also a
good source of bibliographical information on Christian Science,
although slanted somewhat towards her beliefs.
http://www.msc.cornell.edu/~bretz/truth.html
V. Bibliography
1) Works by Eddy and Christian Scientists
- Christian Science Sourcebook of Contemporary Materials Boston:
- Christian Science Publishing Society, 1990.
- Eddy, Mary Baker. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
- Boston: Trustees, 1994. (Originally published in 1875.)
- Manual of the Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in
- Boston, Massachusetts
Boston: Trustees, 1987 (orig. 1895).- Miscellaneous Writings Boston: A.V. Stewart, 1909.
- Manual of the Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in
- Peel, Robert. Health and Medicine in the Christian Science
- Tradition
New York: Crossroad, 1988.
2) Books and Chapters in Books
- Braden, Charles S. Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development
- of New Thought
Dallas: Southern Methodist Press, 1963.- Gardner, Martin. The Healing Revelations of Mary Baker Eddy: The Rise and
- Fall of Christian Science
Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1993.- Kephart, William M. and Zellner, William W., eds. "Church of Christ, Scientist."
- Extraordinary Groups New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. 134-162.
- Knee, Stuart. Christian Science in the Age of Mary Baker Eddy Westport:
- Greenwood Press, 1994.
- For a review, see: Christiano, Kevin. American Historical Review Feb
- 1996; 245-6.
- For a review, see: Christiano, Kevin. American Historical Review Feb
- Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in AmericaNew
- York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986. 23-28.
- Schoepflin, Rennie B. "The Christian Science Tradition." Caring and Curing:
- Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions
Ronald Numbers and Darrel - Amundsen, eds. New York: Macmillan, 1986.
- Silberger, Julius. Mary Baker Eddy Boston: Little,
- Brown and Co., 1980.
- Simmons, John K. "Christian Science in American Culture."America's Alternative Religions
- Albany: SUNY Press, 1995. 61-69.
- Twain, Mark. Christian Science Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1993.
Mary Baker Eddy had many critics during her life. Few had - a sharper tongue than Mark Twain. Here, his celebrated humor takes on a distinctly
- sarcastic tone. Originally published as a collection of his writing in 1907, this
- Prometheus reprinting includes a foreword by SUNY Buffalo Professor Vic
- Doyno.
- a sharper tongue than Mark Twain. Here, his celebrated humor takes on a distinctly
3) Articles in Journals and Magazines
- Alnor, William M. "News Watch: Financial Crisis Rocks Christian Science."
- Christian Research Journal Spring 1992; 5.
- Boston, Robert. "Prescription for Controversy." Church and State
- Mar. 1989; 8-12.
- "Christian Science Hearing Refused." Christian Century 28 Feb. 1996; 223-
- 224.
- "Christian Science Penalty Overturned." Christian Century 3 May 1995;
- 477-478.
- Fraser, Caroline. "Suffering Children and the Christian Science Church."
- Atlantic Monthly
Apr. 1995; 105-106.- Hadden, Jeffrey K. "Who are the cults?" Lecture.
- http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc257/lectures/whocult.html
V. Endnotes
Endnotes are given by section. They are by no means the only sources of the above referenced information, but rather represent at least one place where this information can be found.
Birthplace: Ibid., 14.
Year Founded: Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
Sacred Texts:
(1) The Official First Church of Christ, Scientist Web Page: http://www.tfccs.com
(2) Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
Sect or Cult:
(1) SOC 257 Web Page Lecture: Who are the cults?:
Size of Group:
(1) Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
Endnotes for Profile Section:
Name: Common knowledge.
Founder: Common knowledge.
Dates of Birth and Death: Silberger, Julius. Mary Baker Eddy Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1980. 21, 240.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
How/Why?:
(1) Gomes, Peter J. Mary Baker Eddy's Path to Religious Leadership The Bookwire Web Page: http://www.bookwire.com/bbr/life/with-bleeding.html
(2) Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
(3) Taylor, Eugene in Miller, Timothy, ed. America's Alternative Relgions Albany, SUNY Press, 1995. 82.
(4) Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
(5) Ibid.
(6) Schoepflin, Rennie B. "The Christian Science Tradition." Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions eds. Ronald Numbers and Darrel Amundsen. New York: Macmillan, 1986.
(7) Silberger, Julius. Mary Baker Eddy Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1980.
(8) Alnor, William M. "News Watch: Financial Crisis Rocks Christian Science." Christian Research Journal Spring 1992; 5.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
http:// cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc257/lectures/whocult.html
(2) Melton, J. Gordon Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986. 23-28.
(3) Ibid.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
(2) Schoepflin, Rennie B. "The Christian Science Tradition." Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions Ronald Numbers and Darrel Amundsen, eds. New York: Macmillan, 1986.
(3) Alnor, William M. "News Watch: Financial Crisis Rocks Christian Science." Christian Research Journal Spring 1992; 5.
(4) Mary Baker Eddy Institute, The Manual Web Page:
http://www.mbeinstitute.org:80/healing/Other/Manual.html
(1) Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance Christian Science Web Page:
(1) Fraser, Caroline. "Suffering Children and the Christian Science Church." Altantic Monthly Apr. 1995; 105-106.
(2) "Christian Science Penalty Overturned." Christian Century 3 May 1995; 477-478.
(3) "Christian Science Hearing Refused." Christian Century 28 Feb. 1996; 223-224.
(4) Alnor, William M. "News Watch: Financial Crisis Rocks Christian Science." Christian Research Journal Spring 1992; 5.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Ibid.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cr_sci.htm
(2) Christian Way Homepage: http://www.goodnet.com/~calvary/
(3) The Watchman Expositor on the First Church of Christ, Scientist Web Page:
http: rampages.onramp.net/~watchman/jesuschs.htm
(4) Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992. 25.
(5) Ibid. 28.
(6) Schoepflin, Rennie B. "The Christian Science Tradition." Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions Ronald Numbers and Darrel Amundsen, eds. New York: Macmillan, 1986
(7) Ibid.
(8) Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992. 24-25.
also: Peel, Robert. Health and Medicine in the Christian Science Tradition New York: Crossroad, 1988.
Created by Jennifer A. Milan
for SOC 257, Spring 1997.
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