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Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth and good are real and therefore evil and error are unreal; and that through prayer and spiritual comprehension, through knowing and understanding God, these facts can be demonstrated in healing.
Christian Science has no connection with Scientology and should not be confused with theological, material or physical science or philosophy.
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Encyclopedia
Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth and good are real and therefore evil and error are unreal; and that through prayer and spiritual comprehension, through knowing and understanding God, these facts can be demonstrated in healing.
Christian Science has no connection with Scientology and should not be confused with theological, material or physical science or philosophy. Christian Science is distinct from Christian fundamentalism. Despite apparent similarities with some of the following, specifically in the beliefs on healing, Christian Scientists do not identify with New Thought, Religious Science, or Theosophy, nor do they identify with Eastern, Holistic or New Age concepts.
Overview
At the core of Christian Science is the teaching that God and God's creation are entirely good and spiritual, and that God has made all things in his likeness. Christian Scientists hold that the reality of being and of all that God makes is spiritual, not material. They see this spiritual reality as the only reality and all else as illusion or "error." Christian Science acknowledges that we all seem to be experiencing a material existence, but holds that this experience ultimately yields to a true spiritual understanding of God and creation. They believe that this is how healing through prayer is possible.
Prayer, from the Christian Science perspective, does not ask God to intervene, but is rather a process of learning more of God's spiritual reality - "awakening mortal thought," by degrees, to spiritual truth. Christian Scientists show the effect of this spiritualization of thought in healing, -- physical, emotional, and otherwise. Health care is not attempted through drugs, surgery, or other physical manipulation, but through "Christian Science treatment," a specific form of prayer intended to spiritualize thought..
While there is no formal compulsion on Christian Scientists either to use Christian Science healing or to eschew medical means Christian Scientists avoid using the two systems simultaneously in the belief that they tend to counteract or contradict each other. Material medicine and Christian Science treatment proceed from diametrically opposite assumptions. Medicine asserts that something is physically broken and needs to be fixed, while Christian Science asserts that the spiritual reality is harmonious and perfect, and that any false belief to the contrary needs to be corrected.
Christian Science, as a Science of healing, is nondenominational, though many believers in Christian Science make the decision to join the Christian Science church.. There are approximately 1,850 to 2,000 branch congregations in the church.
The Christian Science Journal and the Christian Science Sentinel document instances of Christian Science healing. These are sometimes supported by the observations of medical practitioners involved prior to the application of Christian Science healing, and are always verified by three other parties.
Mary Baker Eddy developed this method of healing when she recovered from an injury in 1866 after rereading a passage describing one of Jesus' healings. She believed that the method of healing must have been that used by Jesus Christ to heal the cases documented in the New Testament. Both her study of the Bible over many years and the application of what she believed to varied cases of illness in the late 19th century led her to document her findings and teach her discovery to those who were interested. The resulting textbook, first copyrighted in 1875 and the primary source for learning Christian Science, is titled Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Mary Baker Eddy defined Christian Science in these terms: "...the law of God, the law of good, interpreting and demonstrating the divine Principle and rule of universal harmony." She saw it as "...the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord."
Healing
The basis of Christian Science healing is the view that "man" (the male/female spiritual being who appears as an individual human being) is the reflection or expression of wholly good and perfect God, and therefore is perfect. Christian Scientists believe that God loves every individual, because God is the Creator of all.
Christian Scientists believe that sickness is the result of fear, ignorance, or sin, and that when the erroneous belief is corrected, the sickness will disappear. They state that the way to eliminate the false beliefs is to replace them with true understanding of God's goodness. They consider that suffering can occur only when one believes (consciously or unconsciously) in the supposed reality of a problem; if one changes one's understanding, the belief is revealed as false, and the acknowledgement that the sickness has no power, since God is the only power, eliminates the sickness.
Christian Science makes an important distinction between the healing of sin (or moral evil) on the one hand, and the healing of sickness or disease on the other. Mary Baker Eddy writes: "The only difference between the healing of sin and the healing of sickness is, that sin must be uncovered before it can be destroyed, and the moral sense be aroused to reject the sense of error; while sickness must be covered with the veil of harmony, and the consciousness be allowed to rejoice in the sense that it has nothing to mourn over, but something to forget." (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 352.)
Christian Scientists regard the material world as a kind of consensual illusion which is due to a misperception of the true spiritual world. Such a misperception can, they believe, be changed by reorientation of thought, or prayer in Christian Science terms. Thus the illusion can be dispelled, revealing the present spiritual reality. The result is healing.
Prayer
Christian Science teaches that prayer is a spiritualization of thought or an understanding of God and the nature of the underlying spiritual creation. The world as it appears to the senses is regarded as a distorted version of the world of spiritual ideas: the latter is the only true reality. Prayer can heal the distortion, bringing spiritual reality (the "Kingdom of Heaven" in Biblical terms) into clearer focus in the human scene--not changing the spiritual creation but giving a clearer view of it. (An analogy would be adjusting the lens of a telescope or microscope until a clear image appears.) The result is healing. According to Christian Science there are not two creations, a spiritual one and a material one, but only a spiritual creation which is incorrectly perceived as material. Jesus reportedly calmed a storm through prayer and implied that his disciples could have done so also if they had sufficient faith . He stated that a young girl who had apparently died could be well again if faith was shown Consequently, Christian Scientists claim that Jesus is implying the existence of an underlying spiritual harmony that can be demonstrated through faith in its existence.
Christian Scientists believe that prayer works through love--in its Christian sense of unselfed, unlimited and unconditional awareness of the inherent worth of another--and that this is the way Jesus Christ healed. Their aim is "to reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing" (Manual of The Mother Church, ) which, they believe, was lost after the early centuries of Christianity. They cite such Bible texts as ; in support of their contention that Christian faith demands demonstration in healing. This is a faith in the omnipotence of God, which according to the Christian Science interpretation of the Bible, logically rules out any other power: . The Christian Science view is that Jesus taught that we should claim good as being present, right here and now, and that this will result in healing: (; ). Christian Scientists point to Jesus' teaching that his followers would do "greater works" than he did and that a person who lived in conformity with his teachings would not be subject even to death:
An important point in Christian Science is that effectual prayer and the moral regeneration of one's life go hand-in-hand: that "signs and wonders are wrought in the metaphysical healing of physical disease; but these signs are only to demonstrate its divine origin, to attest the reality of the higher mission of the Christ-power to take away the sins of the world." (S&H 150:13). Christian Science teaches that disease is mental, a mortal fear, a mistaken belief or conviction of the necessity and power of ill-health -- an ignorance of God's power and goodness. The chapter on "Prayer" in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, gives a full account of healing through prayer, while the testimonies at the end of the book are written by people who believe they have been healed through spiritual understanding gained from reading the book. Christian Scientists claim no monopoly on the application of God's healing power through prayer, and welcome it wherever it occurs.
Philosophy
Christian Science might be considered as a form of theistic monistic idealism: there is but one substance which is God and in Whom we are all embraced in love. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy cites Christian Science as an extreme form of philosophical idealism.
Christian Science teaches the unreality of matter. According to Christian Science, what is called the material world is a distortion of the underlying spiritual reality or divine idea, a distortion which can be dispelled through prayer and recognition of matter's unreality. Christian Science, like Buddhism, believes in the illusory nature of the world of the senses, but unlike Buddhism it does not believe that aging and death are inevitable - according to Christian Science they can be overcome with the defeat of sin or "mortal mind": . Consequently immortality is possible, and indeed inevitable. The reality of each person is believed to be a spiritual idea only and not born of the flesh. Therefore, sin, disease and death are illusions, as the material body is an illusion. Christian Science believes that Jesus overcame death as the ultimate demonstration of spiritual reality.
Christian Science teaches that the spiritualization of consciousness can (and should) have a practical effect in physical, as well as in moral regeneration. This teaching was articulated by Mary Baker Eddy who rejected the "coldness" of traditional philosophy and emphasized the importance of spiritual love as well as abstract thought, and the integration of thought and feeling. She claimed that it is not enough to think true thoughts: our consciousness must be imbued with the Love which is God, and furthermore that Love must be lived as well as felt. She referred to this futility of a mere intellectualism, in Science & Health 366:30-9, stating: "If we would open their prison doors for the sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken-hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form, nor bury the morale of Christian Science in the grave-clothes of its letter. The tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories, stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love."
In light of the above, the question might be asked as to what one "loves" in a spiritual or Christian (agape) sense about those closest to us. It is presumably nothing physical or material, as those material/physical attributes would refer to materially human personality or psychology, as opposed to God's creation. Loving, in a Christian Science sense is "seeing," understanding, witnessing to or upholding, accepting as valid only the spiritual identity of each individual as God's likeness or expression or idea. This spiritual identity consists of this individual's own particular reflection of the qualities or attributes of their Maker/Creator/God, such as love, innocence, intelligence, and so forth. In Christian Science terms these are the 'real' qualities that constitute our true spiritual being, eternally known to God and maintained by God regardless of what the finite material senses testify to. These qualities cannot be perceived materially but only through spiritual sense, which Mary Baker Eddy defines as "a conscious, constant capacity to understand God". (S&H 209:31-32) This is an understanding of what God is and what our relationship to God is.
Evil
The Christian Science position on the nature of evil may be described as follows:
"Evil is a negation, because it is the absence of truth. It is nothing, because it is the absence of something. It is unreal, because it presupposes the absence of God, the omnipotent and omnipresent. Every mortal must learn that there is neither power nor reality in evil." (Science and Health 186:11-15)
This statement should not be taken as meaning that Christian Scientists ignore the belief of evil, and its effects, but they do not see evil as either an aspect of God, or as a real power separate from God. Evil is not fundamentally "real" because it is not part of God's being or His creation. But it may appear to be real as a mistaken concept of God and man, and consequently must be "seen through" rather than ignored. Christian Scientists believe God and His creation to be wholly and only good.
To answer the question whether God punishes evil-doers, Christian Science teaches that any thought or action contrary to our God-given goodness results in some kind of suffering, just as the misunderstanding of a mathematical principle results in incorrect answers. The principles of mathematics do not cause the mistakes; rather, the mistakes are the result of a misconception of the principle. From God's perspective evil does not exist because He/She has created all and it is good.
Science
Because they are not Biblical literalists, and because they regard the material world as fundamentally unreal, Christian Scientists have no intellectual problem with the theories of contemporary geology, cosmology, or biology--for example in regard to the origin of mankind, the literal occurrence or non-occurrence of a worldwide flood, or indeed the age of the earth itself. (However, they sometimes object to detailed descriptions of disease, as tending to reinforce the symptoms described in the consciousness of the viewer or listener, with the consequent danger of externalizing these mental images on the body as physical symptoms.) Christian Science periodicals occasionally cite developments in cosmology and physics as indicating how contemporary science is coming to an understanding of the illusory nature of time and materiality (e.g. Gerber, 2002, p. 3).
Christian Science, Creationism and Evolution
Christian Scientists are not Creationists or biblical literalists - they regard the Bible as often having symbolic rather than literal meaning. This is particularly the case in regard to their interpretation of early parts of the Book of Genesis. Mary Baker Eddy believed that, from a material perspective, the Theory of Evolution might be regarded as true: "If man is material and originates in an egg, who shall say that he is not primarily dust? May not Darwin be right in thinking that apehood preceded mortal manhood?" (S&H, p. 543). However, she rejected a material perspective in favor of a spiritual one. She believed that the Theory of Evolution rationalized man as a mortal rather than spiritual creation: "Theorizing about man's development from mushrooms to monkeys and from monkeys into men amounts to nothing in the right direction and very much in the wrong." (S&H, p. 172) From a Christian Science point of view, both Creationism and material evolution are false, because they are both based on the belief in the reality of a material universe. For Christian Scientists, since the universe is regarded as spiritual rather than material, any concept of intelligent design which they may endorse applies only to the (real) spiritual creation and not to its material counterfeit. Christian Scientists do not oppose the teaching of Evolution in schools, nor do they demand that alternative accounts be taught: they believe that both material science and literalist theology are concerned with the illusory and mortal rather than the spiritually real and immortal.
Theology
In terms of Christian theology, Christian Science bears some similarity to the teachings of Abelard, Origen and Meister Eckhart. However, it rejects the attribute of mysticism to its teachings, and should not be confused with pantheism.
Christian Science avoids the theological problem of evil by its teaching of the unreality or nothingness of evil. However, it does not address the "problem" of where the illusion of evil came from – beyond the position that, since it is nothing, it came from nowhere. (Asking the question, for Christian Scientists, is like a mathematician spending his/her time trying to work out where the illusion that 2+2=5 came from – a waste of time that gets one nowhere and indeed postpones the solution of the problem.) Christian Scientists believe that if one changes a belief in evil to an understanding of the universality of good, one's experience will adjust accordingly, and that eventually the question "where does evil come from?" will disappear with the negative phenomena that occasioned it.
Christian Science differs from conventional Abrahamic theology since it regards God as both Father and Mother. This does not refer to any anthropomorphic, quasi-physical characteristics, but simply to the teaching that God is characterized by qualities traditionally considered feminine (gentleness, compassion, nurturing and so on) as well as by those traditionally considered masculine (strength, support, protection etc.) According to Christian Science, every one of us, as God's image or reflection, embodies those qualities as well in their essential being.
Christian Science distinguishes between "Jesus" the man, and "the Christ" or divine manifestation. In considering the question of the relationship between divinity and humanity in reference to Christ Jesus, it is important to consider the Christian Science definition of God as "The great I AM."
While some Christian Science teachings are unorthodox from the point of view of conventional Christian theology (as in the rejection of substitutionary atonement and of Hell as a place of eternal punishment), others are orthodox (acceptance of the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection of Jesus).
While Christian Scientists revere Mary Baker Eddy as the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, they do not regard her as having added anything to essential Christianity but simply as having elaborated its essence and consequences. (A comparison might be made to the status of Thomas Aquinas for Catholics, Martin Luther for Lutherans, or John Calvin for Calvinists.)
Another way to illustrate the foundations of the theology of Christian Science is to consider the problems involved in the philosophy of dualism. Many belief systems posit a "god versus something else" or "spirit versus matter". Mary Baker Eddy in a sense followed the reductionism of her time, but instead of reducing all things to the material, she reduced all things to the spiritual.
Christ and the Trinity
defines the term Christ in Christian Science as "The ideal truth that comes as a divine manifestation of God to destroy incarnate error." This definition mirrors Mary Baker Eddy's own definition in Science and Health as "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Both definitions establish the Christ as completely divine, spiritual and not material. Jesus, the son of God therefore embodied the Christ to such a degree that he, and he alone will carry the title Christ, but as a corporeal being he was not the totality of the Christ. Christian Scientists argue that Jesus never claimed to be God, and indeed that he implicitly denied it: .
Mary Baker Eddy writes "Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea – the reflection of God – has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth" and even today, the Christ, according to Christian Science belief, continues to come to mankind, giving us a greater understanding of our wholly spiritual identity through healing and the destruction of sin.
Although many uphold the Trinity as defined by the Nicene Creed (it should be noted that the term "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible) the Trinity in Christian Science is found in the unity of God, the Christ, and divine Science, or: "God the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy Comforter."
The after-life
Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "I am asked, 'Is there a hell?" Yes, there is a hell for all who persist in breaking the Golden Rule or in disobeying the commandments of God. Physical science has sometimes argued that the internal fires of our earth will eventually consume this planet. Christian Science shows that hidden unpunished sin is this internal fire,--even the fire of a guilty conscience, waking to a true sense of itself, and burning in torture until the sinner is consumed,--his sins destroyed." (Miscellany, p. 160.)
Christian Science teaches that the after-death state consists of a form of "probation" and spiritual development / progress whereby the experience of the deceased is in proportion to their ability to avail of the unlimited love of God. Consequently, a person dying in a state of sin would experience God's love as suffering (like a person used to darkness whose eyes are hurt by the light) while someone who passed on in a state of spiritualized consciousness would experience a corresponding level of happiness. There is no concept of eternal punishment in Christian Science: hell and heaven are both states of thought that correspond to the presence, or absence, of self-centredness that characterise the individual undergoing the experience of death. A person who seems to die does not "go" anywhere: he/she simply adjusts to another level of consciousness which is inaccessible to those they have left behind. The ultimate, and inevitable, goal of all of us is the experience of divine Love (heaven, harmony). Death is not necessary for the experience of heaven: heaven (or harmony) can be experienced here and now to the extent that one's thought is elevated to a spiritual level. Indeed, Christian Science teaches that death itself is an illusion, and that it can, and will, be ultimately conquered through the conquest of sin, as taught by Christ Jesus and exemplified in his life.
Medicine
Many Christian Scientists use their healing system as their first choice for treatment over drugs and surgery. They believe in following what they believe to be the example of Jesus, bringing the real or ideal man more clearly into thought. Christian Scientists believe that Jesus was "the Wayshower", a proof by example of the divine method of healing sin, sickness and death. According to the Christian Science belief, there are no limits to the type of medical conditions that can be healed through prayer.
The Christian Science Church does not forbid the use of medicine by its members, nor does the Church exert informal pressure on them to eschew it. An exception is the case of Christian Science Centers which may require certain employees to sign a statement of principles. Though Christian Scientists respect the work of medical practitioners, most of them prefer to use prayer and to rely on God. Christian Scientists who choose to rely on medical treatment for a specific problem normally give up Christian Science treatment for the period of treatment. This is because one treatment approaches healing from a material and the other from a spiritual perspective. Because the method of prayer includes denying the reality of matter and affirming the perfection of the individual--while medicine is used to fix matter and a person with a problem--these two means are seen as incompatible and indeed as tending to work against each other when used simultaneously. Most Christian Scientists are practical when it comes to using material aids such as vision correction, splints for broken bones and dental services and will use what seems appropriate at the time. However, numerous claims of healings of near- and far-sightedness, dental problems and broken bones have been reported in the periodicals published by the Church.
Mary Baker Eddy's views on this subject are as follows: "If Christian Scientists ever fail to receive aid from other Scientists--their brethren upon whom they may call,--God will still guide them into the right use of temporary and eternal means."
The Church of Christ, Scientist
Students of Christian Science are usually, though not always or necessarily, members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist (also called The Mother Church) in Boston, Massachusetts.
"On April 12, 1879, it was voted at a Christian Scientist Association to organize a church to commemorate the words and works of our Master, a Mind-healing church, without a creed, to be called the Church of Christ, Scientist, the first such church ever organized." At this meeting, "on motion of Mrs. Eddy, it was voted,--To organize a church designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing." "The charter for this church was obtained in June, 1879." (Ret 43:23-5; Man 17:8)
There are also Christian Science "branch churches." Each Sunday, church members hold services where citations from the Bible and Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures are read by lay members of the church. These Readers are voted into their office by the members of the church, for a limited period of time (usually for three years). Most often mid-week public Testimony Meetings are held in the churches. This is a time when anyone can testify to what, Christian Scientists believe, is the healing power of the Christ in their lives.
Christian Science churches maintain Reading Rooms in most major cities in the world, where Mary Baker Eddy's writings can be read, borrowed or purchased. Many Reading Rooms have bound volumes that contain articles on Christian Science and verified testimonies of healing spanning more than 125 years. The Christian Science church publishes a weekly periodical called the Christian Science Sentinel, a monthly publication called the Christian Science Journal, and the international, award-winning newspaper the Christian Science Monitor.
Some Christian Scientists after having had class instruction on how to heal effectively, become what are called Christian Science Practitioners. These are lay persons who after years of healing, go into the public practice of healing. These Practitioners devote all their time to healing and charge for their services. It should be noted that there is no manipulation, or laying on of hands, in a Christian Science healing treatment and that healings are often accomplished without the Practitioner ever having met the patient who may live a great distance from the Practitioner.
Dissension
Throughout the history of Christian Science there have been a small number of dissenting people, unacknowledged by the Boston organization. Such dissenters often point to certain "estoppel" clauses of the last Church Manual issued by Mary Baker Eddy before her death which, had they been interpreted literally, would have led to a radical decentralization of the Christian Science Church. The issue has involved the Church in repeated litigation brought by dissenters, most prominently between 1919-22, when a group of Trustees of the Christian Science Publishing Society filed a suit against the Christian Science Board of Directors. Current controversies within the Christian Science Church include the format of the weekly Bible Lessons, and a debate as to whether, or to what extent, the use of the King James Version of the Bible should be replaced by that of more modern translations.
Controversies
Controversies around Christian Science usually involve scientific, medical or theological issues.
Scientific controversies
Though Christian Scientists do not object to studies being made on healing through prayer, their primary motive is healing, rather than convincing the academic establishment. The appellation "Christian Science" predates modern considerations of scientific method. Christian Scientists simply assert that changing the mental outlook manifests in healing.
However, according to the widely, though not universally, accepted ideas of Karl Popper, a scientific theory must be falsifiable. In this sense, the scientific nature of Christian Science healing is questionable, as no experiment can be set up which could falsify its claims: any failure to heal can simply be explained by a failure to practice Christian Science correctly, thus the teaching is self-validating.
Christian Scientists argue that the efficacy of Christian Science has been demonstrated for over a century by over 50,000 documented healings with signed witnesses (A Century of Christian Science Healing 1991). The argument used by Mary Baker Eddy was that if only one case is provable, then there is a scientific reason. Many testifiers claim that their healings have been attested to by medical doctors and so by the "one case" definition, healing through correction of thought is feasible.
Medical controversies
Most medical practitioners consider Christian Science a religion, rather than a medical science. Critics point to cases of people who have died following their choice of Christian Science care over medical treatment. Defenders counter that no similar burden is placed on medical science to explain those who die each year under conventional medical care nor those given up as incurable by medical practitioners, some of whom recover after seeking Christian Science treatment.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (22 September 1989) reported on a study of more than 5,500 Christian Scientists (drawn from graduates of Principia College, a school that encourages its students to practice Christian Science) as compared to a group of almost 30,000 employing conventional medicine or some other system. The death rate among Christian Scientists from cancer was double the national average, and 6 percent died from causes considered preventable by doctors. The non-Christian Scientists on the average lived four years longer if they were women and two longer if they were men.
A similar study was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (MMWR Weekly August 23, 1991 / 40(33);579-582). This study compared graduates of Principia College to graduates of a Seventh-Day Adventist College (Loma Linda University). Again, the Christian Science cohort had a higher overall mortality rate than the comparison cohort (though the dietary habits of Seventh Day Adventists may make them less susceptible to some diseases than the bulk of the population).
The CDC also reports on two measles outbreaks in communities of Christian Scientists: one in 1994 and one in 1985 in which three people died These cases help inspire continuing controversy over religious exemption to vaccination requirements
In regard to children, two important rights are in apparent opposition - their rights to the perceived benefits of medical care, and the rights of parents in making a decision about their children's well-being. Some believe that the constitutionally protected freedom of religion allows them to choose the method of healing they feel will best benefit their children. This interpretation of the US constitution is in contradiction to court rulings stating that children cannot be denied what is regarded as essential health care based on parental belief.
In the United States, the constitutional guarantee of protection of religious practice from intrusion by government has been used by Christian Scientists and other religious groups to seek exemption from legal requirements regarding child abuse and neglect (including medical neglect) in more than three quarters of the states. There are statutes in 44 states which allow that children are not to be deemed abused or neglected merely because they are receiving treatment by spiritual means according to the tenets of a recognized religion. While these exemptions take different forms and interpretations in different states, the effect has been to limit the ability to prosecute parents for abuse or medical neglect of children as a result of religious practice.
Mary Baker Eddy counseled that Christian Scientists should obey the law (respecting quarantine, for example) and sometimes Christian Scientists will be examined by a doctor for informational purposes (although Mary Baker Eddy disapproved of physical diagnoses, as tending to induce disease). Testimonies of healings reported in Christian Science publications are sometimes drawn from cases in which a doctor confirmed the initial condition and the subsequent healing, according to the testifier. The verification process requires the contact information for three people (one a member of "The Mother Church") who "have either witnessed the healing or can vouch for its accuracy based on their knowledge of [the testifier]," according to the CS Publishing Company website.
Theological controversies
Christian Science is sometimes criticized by some mainstream Christians for its theological differences. This is mostly due to its assertion of the illusory nature of the material world and of evil, its definition of "Jesus" and the "Christ", its explanation of the Trinity and a personal God, its rejection of the teaching of everlasting damnation, and its view of Jesus as the "Way-shower" rather than as the object of blood-sacrifice – see Atonement (moral influence view); see also sin.
Adherents of Christian Science cite the Bible (e.g. Mark 16: 15-18 and Luke 10:1, 9, 17) as an indication that belief in God should be demonstrated in healing. Mary Baker Eddy, however, was no biblical fundamentalist, and has often been criticised by fundamentalists who believe that the Bible is both inerrant (biblical inerrancy) and free of internal contradictions. She wrote: "The decisions by vote of Church Councils as to what should and should not be considered Holy Writ; the manifest mistakes in the ancient versions; the thirty thousand different readings in the Old Testament, and the three hundred thousand in the New,--these facts show how a mortal and material sense stole into the divine record, with its own hue darkening to some extent the inspired pages." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 139.)
Christian Science offers an explanation of why, according to its teaching, evil is not sent from God and hence is not real. Mary Baker Eddy touches upon this subject in her book Unity of Good. In response to the question: "Does God know or behold sin, sickness, and death?" she writes: "The nature and character of God is so little apprehended and demonstrated by mortals, that I counsel my students to defer this infinite inquiry, in their discussions of Christian Science. In fact, they had better leave the subject untouched, until they draw nearer to the divine character, and are practically able to testify, by their lives, that as they come closer to the true understanding of God they lose all sense of error."
There has been internal controversy in the Christian Science movement regarding the status of Mary Baker Eddy herself. Some Christian Scientists claim (and others deny) that her appearance on the world stage was specifically prophesied in the Bible.
Some Christian theologians characterize Christian Science as a cult (Martin, 2003) (also refer to external sites providing criticisms of Christian Science) although Mary Baker Eddy constantly turned away her students from any tendency to place her on a pedestal. A basis of such criticisms includes her comment in reply to a questioner who asked how she knew there ever was such a person as Christ Jesus:
"If there had never existed such a person as the Galilean Prophet, it would make no difference to me. I should still know that God's spiritual ideal is the only real man in His image and likeness."(Eddy, The First Church of Christ Scientist and Miscellany, pp. 318, 319). This is interpreted by opponents of Christian Science as Mary Baker Eddy downgrading the importance of Jesus, rather than making a basic metaphysical point.
There are apparently contradictory statements on the question of the death of Jesus in Mary Baker Eddy's writings. However, since Christian Science teaches that death is an illusion, this may help to explain the apparent contradictions.
Christian Science and civil society
Christian Scientists, like Mary Baker Eddy herself, generally defend the separation of church and state as affording a protection for civil freedom and religion. However, Mary Baker Eddy insisted on obedience by Christian Scientists to state laws in regard to health care. Progressively for her time, she was in favor of women's rights, and rejected the "corporeal punishment" of children. (While she generally steered clear of politics per se, she stated her support of the Monroe Doctrine as well as her opposition to imperialism and economic monopoly--The Christian Science Monitor, which she founded, has traditionally been a staunch defender of civil liberties and individual freedom, though it did support the prohibition of alcohol.)
Christian Science and homosexuality
There are no specific references to homosexuality in the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Her writings prescribe the living of a morally decent life, which is not an explicit condemnation of homosexuality, but may account for some of the discomfort with homosexuality seen within some Christian Science communities. There is some dissent among Christian Scientists as to what exactly the position with regard to homosexuality ought to be; in this matter as in others (such as abortion) the Church itself chooses not to have an official position, as it is considered that each individual Christian Scientist should seek their own highest sense of right through prayer.
However, Christian Science publications, including The Christian Science Sentinel, have in the past published testimonies wherein the testifier describes their own "healing" of homosexuality.As recently as 1988, certain applications for Church employment, including for unpaid student internships at the Mother Church, asked candidates if they live a lifestyle free of immorality. The examples of immorality given in the question included homosexuality.
Organizations
- Christian Science Organizations are established at many colleges and universities, and provide a functional resource for Christian Scientists in college for support and unity, but also aim to provide the public with a better understanding of Christian Science through prayer, public lectures, and contribution to informal discussions, health expositions, and other events catering to philosophical awareness, family unity, alternative healing methods, etc.
- Christian Science Joint Broadcast Committee is a joint, non-profit effort between the Phoenix, Arizona churches to broadcast the healing message of Christian Science across various media. was started 10 years ago as an online newsletter for Phoenix Metropolitan Churches. It has grown into a worldwide Christian Science news, events and info site with thousands of subscribers and hundreds of visitors each day. The Joint Broadcast Committee also offers telephone numbers to listen any time of the day or night to the Weekly Bible Lesson (602) 222-6220 , Weekly Sentinel Radio program (602) 200-7002 and Heraldo en Espanol (602) 200-7003. In addition to phone services, the Joint Broadcast Committee facilitates the airing of the Weekly Sentinel Radio program in the Four Corners region (Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona) as well as in the Phoenix Metro area.
- is a national Christian Science non-profit organization. Its purpose is to provide inspirational and educational activities and forums for young Christian Scientists, bringing them together.
- The Principia has two campuses: 1. located in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, is The Principia School consisting of a pre-school and K-12 school for the children of Christian Scientists and 2. located one hour north of the school in Elsah, Illinois on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River is Principia College. The Principia has no organizational or financial ties to the Christian Science Church.
See also
Resources
- Eddy, Mary Baker, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Boston: Trustees Under the Will of Mary Baker G. Eddy, 1934. (This book has gone through numerous editions.)
- Gerber, Russ, "A Matter of Time: Russ Gerber Interviews Dr. Laurance Doyle," Christian Science Sentinel, 30 Dec. 2002, pp. 6-9.
- Gill, Gillian, Mary Baker Eddy, Reading, Mass.: Perseus, 1998
- Peel, Robert, Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age. San Francisco: Harper & Collins, 1987**
External links
Authorized by The First Church of Christ, Scientist and/or the Christian Science Board of Directors
- website, including the weekly sermon [(Spirituality.com)]
- (Spirituality.com)
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Dissenting, secessionist or independent groups
- (Based on Doorly's teaching, it treats Christian Science as a science rather than a religion
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Alternate Source for Denominational Text Book
Books About Christian Science
- (from Neutrino Publishing)
On-line Resources
Criticism of Christian Science from atheist, Christian, and other perspectives
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- (Article from the Christian Research Journal, Spring 1992.)
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