Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by
Mary Baker EddyMary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement. Deeply religious, she advocated Christian Science as a spiritual practical solution to health and moral issues...
was inspired by studies of the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
she undertook in 1867 following a healing experience.
Although Eddy claimed to have first privately published biblical studies as early as 1862 (Eddy, 1934 : pp. viii:24–32), she wrote that her discovery of
Christian ScienceChristian Science is a religious belief system founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866 and is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are spiritual rather than material in nature and that truth and good are real...
, which inspired the book, took place in 1866.
The first edition was copyrighted in 1875 (Eddy, 1934 : p.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by
Mary Baker EddyMary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement. Deeply religious, she advocated Christian Science as a spiritual practical solution to health and moral issues...
was inspired by studies of the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
she undertook in 1867 following a healing experience.
Although Eddy claimed to have first privately published biblical studies as early as 1862 (Eddy, 1934 : pp. viii:24–32), she wrote that her discovery of
Christian ScienceChristian Science is a religious belief system founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866 and is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are spiritual rather than material in nature and that truth and good are real...
, which inspired the book, took place in 1866.
1875–1934
The first edition was copyrighted in 1875 (Eddy, 1934 : p. ii) and went through more than four hundred revisions (Brosang, 1990 : p. 6) before Eddy's death in 1910. The
copyrightCopyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain...
for
Science and Health went through several renewals including a posthumous renewal in 1934 by the Christian Science Board of Directors (Eddy, 1934 : p. ii).
1971 to date
In 1971, at the urging of two Christian Scientists in the
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
administration,
John EhrlichmanJohn Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. He was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate first break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury...
and H.R. Haldeman, Congress extended the copyright on
Science and Health by 75 years. Following a legal suit brought by Dr. David James Nolan of United Christian Scientists, this was found "offensively" unconstitutional in 1987 (MBE Institute, 2000), and private distributions have subsequently appeared.
Trade edition
During the 1990s, which saw other controversies including the attempted media ventures of the
Christian Science Publishing SocietyThe Christian Science Publishing Society was established in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy and is the publishing arm of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located, along with the Mary Baker Eddy Library, in the Publishing Society building at the Christian Science...
and the publication of
The Destiny of The Mother ChurchThe Destiny of The Mother Church is the primary and theologically disputed work of Bliss Knapp, the son of Ira O. and Flavia S. Knapp, trusted students of Mary Baker Eddy...
, a trade edition was released which included an index and an unprecedented introduction by a church director. This unusual edition was marketed outside of the historical channels of individual distribution and
Christian Science Reading Room400px|left|thumb|A typical storefront Christian Science Reading Room on the main street of a suburb of Boston. The window displays a lamp, a large Bible open to the current reading, and copies of Science and Health....
s.
Thesis
Science and Health posits a wholly metaphysical view of Christianity in which sin, disease, and death are not of God, and are therefore not real. Further, it suggests that by striving toward a spiritual understanding of the world as God's perfect creation, these "false beliefs" are shed from one's experience.
Sections
The book has three sections. The main section, which makes up the bulk of the book, comprises the first 500 pages. The second section, "Key to the Scriptures", examines parts of Genesis and
RevelationThe Book of Revelation, also called the Revelation of St. John, the Apocalypse of John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, is the last book of the New Testament. It may be shortened to Revelation but never Revelations...
and provides a Glossary of Eddy's metaphysical interpretations of commonly-used terms from the Bible. The final section, the last 100 pages, are testimonies of people who claim to have "been reformed and healed through the perusal or study of (the) book" (Eddy, 1934 : p. 600:4-5).
Summary
Science and Health encapsulates the teachings of
Christian ScienceChristian Science is a religious belief system founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866 and is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are spiritual rather than material in nature and that truth and good are real...
and Christian Scientists often call it their "textbook." At Sunday services, passages from the book are read along with passages from the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
. Eddy called the two books Christian Science's "dual and impersonal pastor."
Chapter titles
The titles of the chapters are:
- Prayer
- Atonement and Eucharist
- Marriage
- Christian Science versus Spiritualism
- Animal Magnetism Unmasked
- Science, Theology, Medicine
- Physiology
- Footsteps of Truth
- Creation
- Science of Being
- Some Objections Answered
- Christian Science Practice
- Teaching Christian Science
- Recapitulation
- Genesis
- The Apocalypse
- Glossary
- Fruitage
External links