Christian Science (officially, the Church of Christ, Scientist) is a religion that focuses on spiritual healing through prayer. Its stated purpose is to restore the healing works of the early Christian church. Founded in the late 19th century C.E. by Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science teachings agree in many ways with Protestant theology while also significantly differing from that theology. In 1875, Eddy wrote about Christianity and healing in her major book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which is meant to explicate the Bible and especially the healings of Jesus. These two books are the joint Pastor of the Christian Science church, in place of clergy. Both are read in individual prayer and communal services. Some distinctive Christian Science teachings include the idea that the creation is entirely spiritual and whole, while matter and sin are the illusive "mist" that befogged creation. Jesus saved humanity from this "mist" of sickness, sin, and death and was therefore the "remedy for Adam." Heaven and hell are not literal places. "Heaven" is being in complete harmony with God and "Hell" is being outside that harmony. God is referred to as "Father-Mother" and Jesus is considered divine, but not God. Although there is no clergy, some members participate in full-time healing ministries. These "practitioners" treat and heal through prayer those who request help.
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The teachings of Christian Science date to 1866, the year Mary Baker Eddy reported recovering from the severe effects of an accident after reading a passage in the Bible's New Testament.
Eddy's Calvinist upbringing was her deepest early influence. Grappling with illness, she studied homeopathy and sought healing from Phineas P. Quimby, both profoundly significant contributions to Christian Science. Her papers show the Bible to be her most intimate, lifelong companion.
Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) is termed the "Discoverer, Founder, and Leader" of Christian Science and its institutional home, the Church of Christ, Scientist.
Christian Scientists consider the Christian Bible to be their Holy Scriptures. Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is termed the "textbook" that explains the Scriptures.
The historiography of Christian Science is storied and complex. Polemics appeared in an offensive/defensive pattern through the 1960s, when more balanced scholarship began to emerge. Scholarship has been scarce compared to other denominations and is focused largely on Eddy's biography.
Highlights of the faith's early history, from 1866 to 1910, include the publication and revision of Science and Health; the dismantling and restructuring of the church organization; Christian healing practice and the funding of periodicals, including the Christian Science Monitor.
A series of rifts have occurred between onetime adherents and Eddy's church. Internal disagreements have resulted in both division and dialogue among adherents.
Eddy believed that Christian Science allowed exploration and "demonstration" of the divine reality lived by Jesus. She also saw it challenging conventional science, theology, and medicine. Both have been at issue in controversies, polemics, and court trials involving adherents.
The Church of Christ, Scientist, is the institution designed to both shelter and spread Christian Science. Members do this through several avenues outlined in the Church Manual and adapted to local needs.
Recent Christian Science history, from 1910 to the present, includes the development of military, humanitarian, journalistic, and nursing ministries; key court decisions in 1922 and the 1990s; a peak and decline in western membership, and an increase in African membership.
The life, teachings, and healing work of Christ Jesus are the key narratives for Christian Scientists. The Christian Science textbook is thought to restore the spiritual and original meaning of the scriptures, so it, too, is considered sacred.
Ultimate reality is created and governed by a sole, supreme God and peopled by God's image or reflection, "man," both male and female, distinct from humanity. Christ Jesus is the divine mediator between God and humanity.
Humanity, unlike spiritual "man," often acts sinfully. These are not two beings, but one perfect creation obscured by the "mist" of sin. The point of human existence is to yield to Christ, which clears the mist and saves humanity.
Suffering is an error produced by sin or fear. Overcoming sin requires repentance and reformation. All human suffering is ultimately resolved by the victory of Love, God, over evil. Every Christian Science healing is a step in this ultimate direction.
Individuals are thought to "pass on" to an existence similar to that experienced before death, where they can continue making strides toward eternal salvation. Death is considered the "last enemy" that does not offer any advantage toward salvation.
Time is a mortal concept that Christ redeems to imbue human life with a degree of eternity. This results in holy times or occasions: special healing moments and experiences when humans are governed by spiritual law rather than mortal laws.
Space is a mortal concept that Christ redeems to imbue human life with a degree of infinity. Christian Scientists recognize sites where this has taken place. Congregations gather to welcome the Holy Spirit, but not to delimit Spirit.
Christian Science worship calls for no rites, ceremonies, or rituals. Adherents celebrate the sacraments of baptism and communion spiritually, in prayer, without material components.
Praying and studying the Christian Science Bible Lesson are foundations of daily worship.
The symbol of Christian Science is the cross of Jesus crowned with the victory of salvation, understood as available to all through the science Eddy discovered within Christianity. Symbolism is minimal and invested with representational significance, but not spiritual power.
Mary Baker Eddy leads the Christian Science church through her writings. Church officers are not leaders but executors of church bylaws. Instead of clergy, the ordained, dual Pastor is the Bible and Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, MA, known as The Mother Church, is the center of the worldwide community of Christian Scientists. Adherents congregate in democratically governed "branch" or local churches, societies, university organizations, and on the internet.
The Ten Commandments of Moses and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, particularly the Beatitudes, are considered the core of moral thought and action. Individual study, prayer, and inspiration are indispensable to applying these rules to daily life.
Christian Science calls for healing societal problems (such as sexism, racism, and environmental distress) as much as personal sins and bodily ills. This healing is considered an effect of Christ and one aspect of salvation, broadly understood.
The term Father-Mother God is metaphorical; God is unsexed, not androgynous. Expectations for human sexuality (including homosexuality) emphasize the emulation of biblical and spiritual standards and patterns. Chastity, marriage, fidelity, and equality of the sexes are strongly supported.
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