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The Church of Christ, Scientist, often known as the Christian Science church, is a Christian denomination that arose in New England in the late nineteenth century. It has about 2,000 branches (local churches) in over 70 countries, with The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts being the denomination's headquarters. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the proper name of the Mother Church and administrative headquarters of the Christian Science Church. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Official website: www. ...

The church was founded by the American, Mary Baker Eddy, in 1879 following a personal healing in 1866, which resulted from reading the Bible. She called this experience "the falling apple" that led to her discovery of Christian Science. She was convinced that "the divine Spirit had wrought the miracle — a miracle which later I found to be in perfect scientific accord with divine law." (Ret 24) She then spent the next three years investigating the law of God revealed in the Bible, especially in the words and works of Christ Jesus. The Bible and Eddy's textbook on Christian healing, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, are together the church's key doctrinal sources and have been ordained as the church's "dual impersonal pastor." Mary Baker Eddy Mary Morse Baker, better known as Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 - December 3, 1910) founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Prose Works, or Prose Works Other than Science and Health, is a single-volume compendium of the key works of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, outside of its denominational textbook. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hÄ“ biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their... Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy, is the foundation of the Christian Science movement. ... Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ...

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, is widely known for its publications, especially the Christian Science Monitor, a daily newspaper published internationally in print and on the Internet. Some consider the Church to be controversial due to its emphasis on healing through prayer when others might choose modern medicine. There have also been periodic tensions with other Christian denominations who reject the idea that Christian Science is a Christian denomination because of what some consider to be unorthodox tenets. (An example of these tenets is: "We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the 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." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 497) The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ... A day (symbol: d) is a unit of time equal to 24 hours. ... Healing is the process where the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area. ... Maria Magdalene in prayer. ... NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Dictionary Collection of links to free medical resources Wikicities has a wiki about medicine: Medicine Categories: Medicine | Health ... Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy, is the foundation of the Christian Science movement. ...

Christian Science has no connection with Scientology, which was founded about 75 years after Christian Science and which is not based on Christianity. It is also not connected to Religious Science, a recent denomination in line with the New Thought tradition. Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction[1] author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. ... Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was founded in 1926 by Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) and is a religious movement within the New Thought Movement. ...

Christian Science's most common symbol is the Cross and Crown. The Cross and Crown is a traditional christian symbol (a cross passing through a crown), appearing in many churches (especially Roman Catholic), that has also been used in heraldry [1] [2]. It is often interpreted as a symbolizing the reward in heaven (the crown) coming after the trials in this...

Theology and healing

Origins and early development

Mary Baker Eddy

In 1866, Mary Baker Eddy (known at the time as Mary Glover) was healed of an injury "that neither medicine nor surgery could reach..." (Ret 24:12) . According to her personal accounts, when she appeared to be near death, she called out for her Bible. She turned it to Matthew 9:2, which tells the story of Jesus healing a man who was sick with palsy, and after pondering the meaning of the passage, found herself suddenly well and able to get up. In her autobiography, Retrospection and Introspection, she wrote: Image File history File links Mary Baker Eddy File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Mary Baker Eddy File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mary Baker Eddy Mary Morse Baker, better known as Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 - December 3, 1910) founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879. ... The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. ... Palsy is a medical term derived from the word paralysis that is defined as paralysis of a body part often accompanied by loss of feeling and uncontrolled body movements such as shaking. ...

Even to the homeopathic physician who attended me, and rejoiced in my recovery, I could not then explain the modus of my relief. I could only assure him that the divine Spirit had wrought the miracle—a miracle which later I found to be in perfect scientific accord with divine law. Homeopathy (also spelled homœopathy or homoeopathy), from the Greek words homoios (similar) and pathos (suffering), is a controversial system of alternative medicine involving the use of remedies without chemically active ingredients. ...

She referred to this event as her "Great Discovery", the "falling apple" that led to her "discovery how to be well" herself (ibid.) (Later, she gave it the name of "Christian Science" stating that she "...named it Christian, because it is compassionate, helpful, and spiritual." (ibid).) Not knowing how it had occurred, she spent the next three years studying the Bible, experimenting and praying to discover if the experience was repeatable and if there were knowable laws that governed it. She claimed that she was able to heal others and began to be called out to the bedsides of those whom the medical faculty had not been able to help. A doctor attending a severe case in New Hampshire is said to have witnessed her healing one of his patients and asked if she could explain her system. At the time, she said only that God did it. But he urged her to write about it and soon she began her main work explaining her system of Christian healing, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science is a teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. ... Maria Magdalene in prayer. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Concord Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,359 sq. ... Image:Http://www. ...

Soon others began to ask her to teach her healing method and she claimed that her students were able to approximate her ability to heal. The readers of her book gathered into an organization and gradually developed into a church, with Mary Baker Eddy as its pastor. Main article: Minister of religion A pastor is the head minister or priest of a Christian church. ...

Possible influences

Although she had little formal education, Mary Baker Eddy spent much of her youth reading the Bible, as well as works in natural philosophy, logic, moral science, and other Christian works. Prior to her recovery in 1866, she had investigated a number of common healing methods of her day, including allopathy, homeopathy, and hydropathy. But it was her experience as a patient of P.P. Quimby that was to have the most controversial effect on her religious development. Natural philosophy is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Advocates of homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine often use the term allopathy or allopathic medicine to refer to mainstream, Western medicine. ... It has been suggested that Classical homeopathy be merged into this article or section. ... Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, is probably the oldest form of medical treatment. ... Phineas Quimby (February 16, 1802 - January 16, 1866) pioneered the theological ideas that led to the development of the New Thought Movement and according to some, though disavowed by its adherents, Christian Science. ...

Mary Baker Eddy asked her husband at the time, Daniel Patterson, to seek out Quimby's help for her in 1862, during a severe illness. Until Quimby's death in 1866, Eddy relied heavily on Quimby for her physical health. Some feel that Quimby provided inspiration for Eddy's early writing on Christian Science, asserting that Quimby used the phrase "Christian Science" (in 1863). Incidentally, William Adams used the term "Christian Science" before Quimby in a book he wrote, The Elements of Christian Science, first printed in 1850, and a later edition in 1857.

Eddy would later claim that she had provided much of the foundation of Quimby's thoughts on healing. Those more sympathetic to Quimby and the New Thought religions stemming from his teachings find this to be unlikely, arguing that Quimby introduced some key elements that would appear in Christian Science as early as 1859. However, Christian Science practice does not resemble Quimby's healing system, nor are their respective theologies remotely similar. Eddy biographer Gillian Gill, who is not a Christian Scientist, acknowledges that Quimby "had a profound influence on" Eddy, but also notes that her religion was quite different from his (in her Mary Baker Eddy (1998), 146). The American religious scholar Ann Taves probes for specific differences and argues that "Quimby's rejection of special revelation was in keeping with both Spiritualism and the later New Thought tradition, while Eddy's insistence on revelation aligned Christian Science more strategically with evangelical Protestantism as represented by Edwards and Wesley and with Seventh-day Adventism" (in her Fits, Trances, and Visions (1999), 218). New Thought describes a set of religious ideas that developed in the United States during the late 19th century, originating with Phineas Parkhurst Quimby. ... If you wish to contribute to an article on Seventh-day Adventism, please see the prospectus on the discussion page. ...

Theology

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Eddy argues that given the absolute goodness and perfection of God, sin, disease, and death were not created by Him, and therefore cannot be truly real. She bases this reading on Genesis 1, calling that the true record of creation in contrast to Genesis 2, the false record of creation obscuring the true (which occurred when "a mist went up from the face of the ground"). Rather than being ontologically real, in Christian Science evil and its manifestations are instead terrible lies about God and His creation. This, it contends, is what Jesus meant when he said that "the devil is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). The demand for Christians, therefore, is to "unmask" the devil's lies through Christ, revealing the true and eternal perfection of God's creation. Eddy therefore called evil "error" and felt it could be remedied through a better spiritual understanding of one's relationship to God. She contended that this understanding was what enabled the biblical Jesus to heal and accords with the Scripture: "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (I John 4:6) Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy, is the foundation of the Christian Science movement. ... Image:Http://www. ... In philosophy, ontology (from the Greek , genitive : of being (part. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

This teaching is the foundation of the Christian Science principle that disease – and any other adversity – can be cured through prayerful efforts, made possible only by God's grace, to fully understand this spiritual relationship. It is encapsulated in Science and Health as "The Scientific Statement of Being". It is read aloud in churches and Sunday schools at the end of every Sunday service, along with I John 3:1-3 and a biblical benediction: The Scientific Statement of Being is a fundamental axiom of Christian Science. ...

There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual. (p. 468)

This belief in the unreality of imperfection, stemming from the allness of God, Spirit, is the basis of Christian Scientists' characteristic reliance on prayer in place of traditional medical care, often with the aid of Christian Science practitioners. Spiritual healing redirects here. ... A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who devotes his or her full time to the practice of healing through prayer according to the teachings of Christian Science. ...

Christian Science practitioners are listed in the Christian Science Journal, with the permission of the church's Board of Directors, their only form of official recognition by the church and among the Christian Science laity. (Some "unlisted" practitioners maintain active practices as well, but they do so without the prestige that a Journal listing brings. Additionally, medical plans that cover Christian Science treatment generally only cover treatment provided by Journal-listed practitioners.) The Christian Science Journal is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy. ... The Christian Science Board of Directors is a five-person executive entity created by Mary Baker Eddy to administer the constitution, the Church Manual. ...

Practitioners treat patients, in Christian Science parlance, through prayer. Such treatment often, though not always, is for health-related problems, and a practitioner's patient may request help for personal problems as well, such as relationships, problems of employment or housing and so on. Practitioners generally charge a modest fee for their services since this is their only form of employment. Christian Scientists believe that through scientific study of the inspired word of the 'Bible,' especially Jesus' words and works, one can learn to heal. Healing is understood not as an end in itself, but a natural result of drawing closer to God. Healing sin is particularly important. Eddy called this the "emphatic purpose" of Christian Science, writing that it is also sometimes more difficult than healing sickness, because "while mortals love to sin, they do not love to be sick" (Rudimental Divine Science, 2).

Christian Scientists celebrate the sacraments of baptism and eucharist in an entirely non-material way. "Our baptism," wrote Eddy, "is purification from all error...Our Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread, 'which cometh down from heaven,' is Truth. Our cup is the cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught the Master drank and commended to his followers" (Science and Health 35). The only ritual in the Christian Science church is voluntary kneeling at the Sacrament service twice a year, while repeating the Lord's prayer. Marriage is not a sacrament of the Christian Science church, but marriage does hold a special place in Christian Science as the moral and legal institution within which a man and woman can partner to help one another grow into a fuller "demonstration," or lived understanding, of their spiritual completeness as expressions of the Father-Mother God. The church's by-laws require a legal, religious ceremony for marriage: "If a Christian Scientist is to be married, the ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman who is legally authorized." (Church Manual 49) Baptism in early Christian art. ... The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament[1], to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ...

Jesus Christ is both "Wayshower" and savior in Christian Science theology. Eddy distinguished between the corporeal Jesus, the human man in the flesh (the Son of Man), and the incorporeal Christ (the Son of God). According to Christian Science, Christ is "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error" (Science and Health 583). This incorporeal Christ is the "spiritual selfhood" (or spiritual identity) of Jesus (Science and Health 38). In Eddy's Message to The Mother Church for 1901, in the section titled CHRIST IS ONE AND DIVINE, she writes:

The Christ was Jesus' spiritual selfhood; therefore Christ existed prior to Jesus, who said, "Before Abraham was, I am." Jesus, the only immaculate, was born of a virgin mother, and Christian Science explains that mystic saying of the Master as to his dual personality, or the spiritual and material Christ Jesus, called in Scripture the Son of God and the Son of man — explains it as referring to his eternal spiritual selfhood and his temporal manhood. (Message for 1901, p. 8)

This accords with a basic plank in the platform of Christian Science:

The invisible Christ was imperceptible to the so-called personal senses, whereas Jesus appeared as a bodily existence. This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and material, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest in flesh, continued until the Master's ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes. (Science and Health 334)

Christian Science teaches that Christ Jesus was sent by God and that his history is factual, including the virgin birth, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension, including the fact that Jesus now sits at the right hand of God. (Science and Health 41:25)

Because of his special status due to the virgin birth and his pure, unselfish nature, Jesus voluntarily faced his struggle in Gethsemane, death, resurrection, and ascension to show humanity that no phase of mortal existence was beyond God's redeeming love. Eddy wrote: "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage" (Science and Health 18).

Jesus could have withdrawn himself from his enemies. He had power to lay down a human sense of life for his spiritual identity in the likeness of the divine; but he allowed men to attempt the destruction of the mortal body in order that he might furnish the proof of immortal life. Nothing could kill this Life of man. Jesus could give his temporal life into his enemies' hands; but when his earth-mission was accomplished, his spiritual life, indestructible and eternal, was found forever the same. (Science and Health 51)

Christian Science teaches that we are not Christians until we "go and do likewise," until we in some degree "come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," as it says in the Scriptures (Ephesians 4:13). We never become Christ, but we are called upon to become fully Christly or Christ-like, to emulate our Master's great words and works in some measure. This was Eddy's understanding of Jesus' saying: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). No one's ministry, however, can equal that of Christ Jesus in Christian Science. Eddy even stipulated in her Church Manual that "careless comparison or irreverant reference to Christ Jesus is abnormal in a Christian Scientist and is prohibited" (41). She also wrote: "The cardinal points of Christian Science cannot be lost sight of, namely — one God, supreme, infinite, and one Christ Jesus." (Miscellany 339)

Christian Scientists are trinitarian, but in an unorthodox way. One plank of the platform of Christian Science says: The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by...

Life, Truth, and Love constitute the triune Person called God, — that is, the triply divine Principle, Love. They represent a trinity in unity, three in Divine one, — the same in essence, though multi-form in office: God the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy Comforter. These three express in divine Science the threefold, essential nature of the infinite. They also indicate the divine Principle of scientific being, the intelligent relation of God to man and the universe. (Science and Health 331)

Here, Eddy calls God "Father-Mother," signifying not an androgynous God but a God "without body, parts or passions," as in the Westminster creed, who nevertheless functions both to govern and comfort. She calls the Holy Ghost "divine Science or the Holy Comforter," the spiritual law of God operating as the Holy Ghost in the world.

One further note regarding Christ and the Trinity. To her students, Mrs. Eddy sent a definition of the Trinity (circa 1898), which read in part: "Jesus in the flesh was the prophet or wayshower to Life, Truth, and Love, and out of the flesh Jesus was the Christ, the spiritual idea, or image and likeness of God." (Christian Science Journal, July 1915, p. 192). This statement clearly reflects Mrs. Eddy's doctrine regarding the uniqueness, unity, and individuality of Christ Jesus' eternal, spiritual identity.

Spiritual healing in the material world

Christian Science's focus on the idea of spiritual healing led to some measure of stir in the theological realm at first. Under the influence of the Enlightenment, many mainstream denominations had relegated spiritual healing to the realm of a one-time dispensation rather than a modern practice. During Christian Science's early days of rapid growth, claims of healing with Mary Baker Eddy's and the Science and Health's teachings became a subject of heated debate at Christian conventions, but for the same reason it also became a subject of reawakened interest in the 1960s and 1970s. Dispensationalism is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1961 to 1970, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1971 to 1980, inclusive. ...

While reliance on the theology of spiritual healing is important to Christian Scientists, it is also not officially required of them, which has led to mixed legal opinions as to what constitutes negligence in its use. Orthodox practitioners treating a patient who decides to switch to medical care will typically no longer pray for that person. "Mixing" of methods is discouraged among orthodox Christian Scientists because, according to Eddy, they work from opposite standpoints. In Christian Science, God made "man" perfect, so "prayerful treatment" works from the standpoint of perfection, seeing man in "reality" as God made him; whereas medical science works from the standpoint that something is wrong, which must first be diagnosed, then fixed.

Christian Science teaches that spiritual healing is a natural result of following Jesus' teachings. Healing was a major part of Jesus' ministry, and Christian Scientists see no basis for excluding it from the practice of modern day Christians. They believe that Jesus proved his teachings by his healings.

The Church claims to have over 50,000 testimonies of healing through Christian Science treatment alone. While most of these testimonies represent ailments neither diagnosed nor treated by medical professionals, the Church does require three other people to vouch for any testimony published in its official organ, the Christian Science Journal. However, some critics of the Church complain that the verification guidelines are not strict enough, allowing verifiers who have not witnessed the claimed healing to "vouch for [the healing's] accuracy based on their knowledge of [the claimant]." (Taken from the Church's "Testimony guidelines".) The Church also has a number of statements regarding diagnosed conditions accompanied by legal affidavits of authenticity signed by medical practitioners who witnessed a non-medical healing. A book entitled Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age by Robert Peel chronicles many of these accounts and quotes from the affidavits. Peel is the most academic / scholarly writer of the church's published biographers of Mary Baker Eddy. The Christian Science Journal is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy. ... Historian and journalist Robert Peel (1909-1992) was a significant ecumenical figure in Christian Science, best known for writing his churchs definitive three-volume authorized biography of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. ...

Christian Scientists who wish to become public practitioners of Christian Science—spiritual healers—complete an intensive two-week "Primary" class. The instruction in this class is provided by a teacher. Teachers are added every three years by the church from the pool of active public practitioners. To become a teacher, they must first be selected by the church, then they take another class designated "Normal". Both classes are based on the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. In particular, the "Primary" class focuses upon the chapter entitled "Recapitulation" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. This chapter uses the Socratic method of teaching and is where the "Scientific Statement of Being" is located. The "Normal" class focuses upon the Platform of Christian Science which is also found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, but begins on page 330 in the chapter entitled "Science of Being". Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy, is the foundation of the Christian Science movement. ...

Mrs. Eddy, the founder of the Church, said one may accept certain temporary aid from "materia medica" if a person is in such pain that he is unable to pray for himself.

"If patients fail to experience the healing power of Christian Science, and think they can be benefited by certain ordinary physical methods of medical treatment, then the Mind-physician should give up such cases, and leave invalids free to resort to whatever other systems they fancy will afford relief." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures page 443

While the Church does not require members to forgo medical treatment, most Christian Scientists do so voluntarily because of their faith and they feel they have a history of success with this alternative form of healing. Indeed, outsiders believe that the social pressures to eschew medical care is so strong among Christian Scientists that those who feel they must see a doctor endanger their social standing in the congregation, and depending on the policies of their local branch church, may be stripped of any church office or position they hold. However, the vast majority of Christian Scientists would feel this perspective is not borne out in their own actual experiences around choosing medical care.

Organization

The Mother Church, Boston, Massachusetts.

The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, from another perspective

The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the legal title of The Mother Church and administrative headquarters of the Christian Science Church. The complex is located in a 14-acre plaza alongside Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1068 KB) The Christian Science Mother Church, world headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1068 KB) The Christian Science Mother Church, world headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Official website: www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq. ... photo of the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston by Brian Corr, March 7, 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... photo of the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston by Brian Corr, March 7, 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Official website: www. ...

The church itself was built in 1894, and a large extension was added in 1906. It boasts one of the world's largest pipe organs, built by the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston. The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity is housed in an 11-story structure originally built for The Christian Science Publishing Society constructed between 1932 and 1934, and the present plaza was constructed in the 1970s to include a large administration building, a colonnade, and a reflecting pool with fountain. 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The organ of Bristol Cathedral, Bristol, England. ... Aeolian-Skinner was a builder of a large number of pipe organs in the first part of the 20th century. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1971 to 1980, inclusive. ... Enormous colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg. ... This page is about the general memorial; for the one in Washington, D.C. see Reflecting Pool. ...

Branch churches of The Mother Church may take the title of First Church of Christ, Scientist; Second; but the article The must not be used.

The Mother Church is the church's world headquarters, and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. (An international daily newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, founded by Eddy in 1908 and winner of seven Pulitzer prizes, is published by the church through the Christian Science Publishing Society.) Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Official website: www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq. ... The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The gold medal awarded for Public Service in Journalism The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ... The Christian Science Publishing Society is the publishing arm of the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Branch Christian Science churches and Christian Science Societies are subordinate to the Mother Church, but are self-governed in the sense that they have their own constitutions, bank accounts, assets, etc., but in order to be recognised must abide by the practices that Mary Baker Eddy laid out in the Manual of The Mother Church. Church services, along with every other aspect of church government, are regulated by the Manual, a constitution of sorts written by Eddy, and consisting of various regulations covering everything from the duties of officers, to discipline, to provisions for church meetings and publications. The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is the governing document, or in effect constitution, of the Christian Science Church. ...

The Manual enacted a rule of law over the Mother Church, though some controversy and historical ambiguity surround the Manual's current edition (the 89th), causing a minority of Christian Scientists to dispute the Manual's authority and authenticity.

Churches worldwide hold a one-hour service each Sunday, consisting of hymns, prayer, and readings from the King James Version of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. These readings are the weekly Lesson-Sermon, which is read aloud at all Sunday services in all Christian Science churches worldwide, and is studied by individuals at home throughout the preceding week. The Lesson, as it is informally called, is compiled by a committee at the Mother Church, and is made up of alternating passages from the Bible and Science and Health. This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their... Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy, is the foundation of the Christian Science movement. ...

There are 26 set topics for the Lesson-Sermon, selected by Eddy herself. The topics follow each other in an unchanging, predetermined order, and the progression starts over mid-year so that every week in the year has a topic devoted to it.

The topics are:

• God
• Sacrament
• Life
• Truth
• Love
• Spirit
• Soul
• Mind
• Christ Jesus
• Man
• Substance
• Matter
• Reality
• Unreality
• Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?
• Doctrine of Atonement
• Probation After Death
• Everlasting Punishment
• Adam and Fallen Man
• Mortals and Immortals
• Soul and Body
• Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced
• God the Preserver of Man
• Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?
• Christian Science

In years in which there are 53 Sundays, the topic "Christ Jesus" occurs a third time, in December.

There is also a Lesson-Sermon for Thanksgiving Day.

Because there are no clergy in the church, branch church leadership consists of two Readers: the First Reader, who reads the passages from Science and Health at Sunday services, and the Second Reader, who reads the passages from the Bible. First Readers determine the beginning "scriptural selection", hymns to be sung on Sundays, and the benediction. The vast majority of the service is the reading of the weekly Bible lesson supplied by Boston, and order of service set out by the Manual. To be the First Reader in one's branch church is one of the highest and most prestigious positions the lay Christian Scientist can aspire to.

Churches also hold a one-hour Wednesday evening testimony meeting, with similar readings and accounts of healing from prayer by those attending. At these services, the First Reader may choose to read extended passages from church literature; they often choose Science and Health or Mary Baker Eddy's other writings. They may also choose alternate Bible translations at these services (i.e. Phillips). The Phillips New Testament in Modern English (Phi) is an English translation of the New Testament of the Bible translated by Anglican clergyman J. B. Phillips. ...

Recently some branch churches, following the lead of the Mother Church in Boston, have started to hold a social fellowship meeting at the conclusion of Sunday services. Branch churches also sponsor annual public talks given by speakers selected annually by the Board of Lectureship in Boston.

Recent history

Beginning in the mid-1980s, church executives undertook an ambitious foray into electronic broadcast media. A monthly half-hour television production was followed by a nightly half-hour news show on the Discovery Channel, anchored by veteran journalist John Hart. The Church then purchased a Boston cable TV station for elaborate in-house programming production. In parallel, the church purchased a shortwave radio station and syndicated radio production to National Public Radio. However, revenues fell short of optimistic predictions by church management, who had ignored early warnings by members and media experts. Most of these operations closed in well under a decade. Public accounts in both the mainstream and trade media reported that the church lost approximately $250 million on these ventures. Discovery Channel is a property of Discovery Communications primarily packaged as a network entertainment brand distributed in virtually every pay-television market in the world. ... For other people named John Hart, see John Hart (disambiguation). ... Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional... This article is about an album. ... NPR logo NPR redirects here. ...

The media collapse brought the church to the brink of bankruptcy. However, with the 1991 publication of The Destiny of The Mother Church by the late Bliss Knapp, the church secured a $90 million bequest from the Knapp trust. The trust dictated that the book be published as "Authorized Literature," with neither modification nor comment. Historically the church had censured Knapp for deviating at several points from Eddy's teaching, and had refused to publish the work. The church's archivist, fired in anticipation of the book's publication, wrote to branch churches to inform them of the book's history. Many Christian Scientists thought the book violated the church's bylaws, and the editors of the church's religious periodicals and several other church employees resigned in protest. Alternate beneficiaries subsequently sued to contest the church's claim it had complied fully with the will's terms, and the church ultimately received only half of the original sum. The Destiny of The Mother Church is the primary and theologically disputed work of Bliss Knapp, the son of Ira O. and Flavia S. Knapp, students of Mary Baker Eddy. ... Bliss Knapp (June 7, 1877 – March 14, 1958), the son of Ira O. and Flavia S. Knapp, students of Mary Baker Eddy, was a Christian Science lecturer and teacher who became obsessed with the belief held by his father, who had been the first person to serve as chairman of... The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is the governing document, or in effect constitution, of the Christian Science Church. ...

The fallout of the new media debacle also sparked a minor revolt among some prominent church members. In late 1993, a group of Christian Scientists filed suit against the Board of Directors, alleging a willful disregard for the Manual of the Mother Church in its financial dealings. The suit was thrown out by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1997, but a lingering discontent with the church's financial matters persists to this day. The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is the governing document, or in effect constitution, of the Christian Science Church. ...

In spite of its early meteoric rise, it appears likely that the Christian Science Church has suffered a decline in membership over recent decades. Though the Church is prohibited by the Manual from publishing membership figures, the number of branch churches in the United States has fallen steadily since World War II. A 1992 study in the Christian Research Journal found that church membership had fallen from 269,000 in the 1930s to about 150,000. Some believe membership has fallen further since then, however current estimates for church membership vary widely, from under 100,000 to 400,000. The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is the governing document, or in effect constitution, of the Christian Science Church. ...

Dr. Stephen Barrett has reported that since 1971, the number of practitioners and teachers listed in the Christian Science Journal has fallen from about 5,000 to about 1,160 and the number of churches has fallen from about 1,800 to about 1,000.

In 2005 the Boston Globe reported that the church is considering consolidating Boston operations into fewer buildings and leasing out space in buildings it owns. Church official Philip G. Davis noted that the administration and Colonnade buildings have not been fully used for many years and that vacancy increased after staff reductions last year. The church posted an $8 million financial loss in fiscal 2003, and in 2004 cut 125 jobs, a quarter of the staff, at The Christian Science Monitor. Davis said however that "the financial situation right now is excellent" that the church is not facing financial problems. The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ...

Notable Christian-Scientists

Notable Christian Scientists, and issues discussed about them, are dealt with in detail at the List of Christian Scientists (religious denomination). However, a few entertainers and politicians had enough of a role in the history of the faith to merit brief mention here. For example, Big Band leader Kay Kyser was a Christian Science practitioner who was honored by the faith for being one of their leading lecturers. He also ran their TV-film department. Alan Young of Mister Ed founded a broadcast division for the faith. Lastly British diplomat Philip Kerr (Lord Lothian) was very vocal in the British Christian Science community and served as British ambassador to the United States. This list concerns the role members of the denomination called Church of Christ, Scientist had in world history. ... Kay Kyser (June 18, 1905, Rocky Mount, North Carolina - July 24, 1985) was a famous bandleader and one of the first to become a radio celebrity. ... A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who devotes his or her full time to the practice of healing through prayer according to the teachings of Christian Science. ... Alan Young with singer Olga San Juan at AFRS TALENT in the 1950s Alan Young (born November 19, 1919) is an actor best known for his television role opposite a talking horse, Mister Ed. ... Mister Ed was a popular US television comedy show that aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966. ... Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian (1882–1940) was a British politician and diplomat. ...

Perhaps not as notable, but interesting, is Dr. Laurance Doyle of SETI. Doyle is a physicist and is perhaps the best known Christian Scientist who is also a scientist in the secular sense. Dr. Laurance R. Doyle is a scientist who received his PhD from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg. ... Some SETI observations have been conducted using the 305m radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. ...

Other notable Christian Scientists include actress Ginger Rogers, Carol Channing (whose father was a very famous practitioner), Val Kilmer, Georgia Engel, Peter Horton, Jean Stapleton, Howard Hawks, King Vidor, Frank Capra, Dalton Trumbo, Danielle Steel, Theodore Dreiser, Mike Nesmith, Lionel Hampton, Shannon Miller, Doug Jenkins, John Simpson, George Sisler, and Conrad Nagel. Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was a legendary American actress and dancer. ... Carol Channing photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1956 Carol Channing (born on January 31, 1921 in Seattle, Washington) is an American actress whose career was built largely on two roles, Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello Dolly!. She is easily recognized by her distinctive... Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. ... Georgia Engel (born July 28, 1948 in Washington, D. C.) is an American film and television actress. ... Peter Horton (1953) is an American actor who is probably best known for his appearance on the TV series thirtysomething. ... Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray on January 19, 1923 in New York City) is an American actress. ... Howard Hawks Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... King Wallis Vidor (February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director. ... Frank Capra Frank Capra (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an American film director and a major creative force behind a number of highly popular films. ... Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist, and a member of the Hollywood Ten, one of group of film professionals who refused to testify before the 1947 House Un-American Activities Committee about alleged communist involvement. ... Danielle Steel (born Danielle Fernandes Schuelein-Steel on August 14, 1947 in New York City, New York) is one of the best-selling authors in the history of the United States. ... Theodore Dreiser, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American naturalist author known for dealing with the gritty reality of life. ... Michael Nesmith, born December 30, 1942 in Dallas, Texas, is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman and philanthropist. ... Lionel Hampton with George W. Bush Lionel Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002), was a bandleader, jazz percussionist and vibraphone virtuoso. ... Shannon Lee Miller (b. ... John Cody Fidler-Simpson (born August 9, 1944), commonly known as John Simpson, is a British journalist who currently holds the role of World Affairs Editor for the BBC. He also presents the current affairs programme Simpsons World and is a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. ... George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 - March 26, 1973), nicknamed Gorgeous George, was an American star in Major League Baseball, and one of the greatest fielding first basemen of all time. ... Conrad Nagel Conrad Nagel, born March 16, 1897 in Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, was a noted screen actor and matinee idol of the silent era and beyond. ...

Public controversy

Christian Science has been subject to significant criticism and public controversy throughout its history. The most publicized controversy surrounds Christian Science and medicine. While church members point out that followers are free to choose to seek traditional medical treatment, most rely heavily or exclusively on healing by prayer (Christian Scientists distinguish their method from “faith healing,” arguing that, while this term refers merely to blind faith, their method is a well-defined mental process which leads to healing.). Spiritual healing redirects here. ...

This issue is most controversial regarding children. In a small number of nationally publicized cases in the early 1990s, prosecutors charged parents belonging to the Christian Science church, whose children had died of curable ailments without being medically treated, with murder or manslaughter. Most of these parents were legally exonerated. Some outside observers see these tragedies, particularly among children, as unnecessary and irrational. Many members of the church also believe that the parents involved in these suits received poor guidance from church members, and failed to properly understand and apply the process of healing through Christian Science. They add that there are vastly more malpractice lawsuits against MDs, and that no healers are immune from the American obsession of suing for vast sums. The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

Since the episodes with regard to The Monitor Channel and the Bliss Knapp book, the church has at times been accused of attempting to silence dissenters by methods such as unlisting them as practitioners in the Christian Science Journal, or revoking their membership. Some dissenting groups continue to solicit support among current members of the church.

There has also at times been tensions over primarily theological and religious concerns. This is perhaps most important in the so called Bible Belt. While members of the Christian Science church claim their religion is based in, reconcilable with, and part of Christianity (being based upon the teachings of Jesus as interpreted by Mary Baker Eddy), there are orthodox Christian theologians and others that have disputed this.[1] These critics state that Christian Science diverges too greatly from basic tenets of Christianity. They often cite the faith's views on the nature/existence of evil or sin, the divinity and resurrection of Jesus, the trinity, and a few others as meaning that the faith can no longer be considered a Christian denomination. Members of the faith argue that these groups exaggerate any differences in interpretation on these issues. A quip often used to discuss this attributed to the non-Christian George Bernard Shaw[2] who was a friend of the well-known Christian Scientist Viscountess Nancy Astor. The quip states "Christian Science is neither Christian nor scientific" and has been quoted by many Evangelical Christians in relation to the faith.[3] Most of the mainstream scientific community believes that the reliance on spiritual healing, and some of the Church's other beliefs, are non-scientific. The approximate extent of the Bible Belt, indicated in red A Bible Belt is an area in which Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a pervasive or dominant part of the culture. ... A denomination, in the Christian sense of the word, is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and/or doctrine. ... (George) Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 – November 2, 1950) was an Irish playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. ... Painting of Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (May 19, 1879 – May 2, 1964) was a socialite politician and a member of the prominent Astor family. ...

The medical community (and others) have taken some interest in spirituality and healing. The Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education continues to offer a course entitled "Spirituality and Healing in Medicine; The Importance of the Integration of Mind/Body Practices and Prayer" which the Mother Church has supported. In addition, there have been research projects on the effectiveness of prayer on recovering heart attack patients. Some of these studies have shown a small benefit to prayer or other spiritual treatment in recovery. However, it is important to note that the patients in these studies received some form of spiritual healing in addition to, not instead of, conventional medical care. Additionally, later studies with larger numbers of heart patients showed prayer has no effect on recovery, hospital readmission or death [4]. Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ...

See also

• Christian Science - description of the beliefs/principles termed Christian Science.
• Christian Science Reading Room

Christian Science is a teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. ... Branches of the Church of Christ, Scientist normally maintain a Christian Science Reading Room in their community where the public can study, borrow, or purchase Christian Science literature. ...

External links

The Christian Science Church

• Home Page of The First Church of Christ, Scientist
• The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity
• "Reports of Healing" from the Christian Science Journal
• Spirituality.com The official website of the Christian Science Publishing Society
• The current weekly Bible Lesson in Webcast
• The Christian Science Monitor (International Daily Newspaper)
• Christian Science Statistics: Practitioners, Teachers, and Churches

The Christian Science Publishing Society is the publishing arm of the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Writings of Mary Baker Eddy

• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1906 edition) official site of the CSPS.
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Final 1910 Edition, independently published by AEQUUS
• Prose Works, Other Published Writings of MBE
• Manual of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts (88th Edition)
• Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures, available for free via Project Gutenberg
• Pulpit and Press (6th Edition), available for free via Project Gutenberg
• Rudimental Divine Science, available for free via Project Gutenbergjnj;jkh

The Christian Science Publishing Society is the publishing arm of the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ...

Christian Science Weblogs and Sites

• Laura Matthews, C.S.
• Mario Tosto, CSB
• Kim C. Korinek, C.S.
• Healing Unlimited
• List of Practitioners, independently-maintained
• AEQUUS Institute
• Christian Science Endtime Center
• Mary Baker Eddy Institute
• The Longyear Museum
• CSDirectory.com
• CSPractitioners.com Christian Science Practitioners available online
• CSinAfrica.com
• Plainfield Healing Thoughts Website of an independent Christian Science Church

Christian Apologetics Concerning Christian Science

• Apologetics Index on Christian Science
• CARM Apologetics: Christian Science
• Christian Way: Former Christian Scientists for Jesus Christ
• The Watchman Expositor: Christian Science Profile

Outsiders' views of Christian Science

• Willa Cather and Georgine Milmine. The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science (1909) began as a famous Muckraking magazine series 1907-08. It was based on elaborate original research and interviews. Scholars who are not Christian Scientists rely on it, but church members strongly disfavor it. It was reprinted with an important new introduction by the University of Nebraska Press in 1993.
• God's Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the Christian Science Church by Caroline Fraser (2000), an outsider's analysis of the entire spectrum of Church activities. Not sold in Christian Science Reading Rooms.
• Christian Science Mark Twain's famous, vitriolic 1907 polemic mocking Mary Baker Eddy, her writings, and the Church's financial arrangements; of Christian Science, Twain writes "Its god is Mrs. Eddy first, then the Dollar." Project Gutenberg classifies it as "Christian Science -- controversial literature."
• Photos of the grounds of the Christian Science Church in Boston The photographer is not a Christian Scientist, just someone that lives in the neighborhood.