WHAT IS CHRISTIAN SCIENCE?
Christian Science is a system of spiritual
healing. It is a religion and a science. In a
higher sense, it is the
term for the divine laws of God that govern His universe.
Mary Baker
Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defined
Christian
Science as "the law of God, the law of good, interpreting and demonstra-
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The complete explanation of Christian Science and
its teachings is found in
Mrs. Eddy's primary work, Science and Health
with Key to the Scriptures, (S&H)
originally published in 1875.
In Science and Health, also called the Textbook,
we read:
"In
the year 1866, I discovered the Christ Science or divine laws of Life,
Truth, and
Love, and named my discovery Christian Science. God had
been graciously preparing
me during many years for the reception of
this final revelation of the absolute divine
Principle of scientific
mental healing." (S&H 107)
"The author subscribed to an orthodox
creed in early youth, and tried to adhere to it
until she caught the
first gleam of that which interprets God as above mortal sense.
This
view rebuked human beliefs, and gave the spiritual import, expressed
through
Science, of all that proceeds from the divine Mind. Since
then her highest creed has
been divine Science, which, reduced to
human apprehension, she has named Christian
Science." (S&H 471)
"The term CHRISTIAN SCIENCE was introduced by the author to designate
the
scientific system of divine healing.
"The revelation consists
of two parts:
"1. The discovery of this divine Science of Mind-healing,
through a spiritual sense of
the Scriptures and through the teachings
of the Comforter, as promised by the Master.
"2. The proof, by present
demonstration, that the so-called miracles of Jesus did not
specially
belong to a dispensation now ended, but that they illustrated an ever-
operative
divine Principle. The operation of this Principle indicates the eternality
of
the scientific order and continuity of being." (S&H 123)
IS
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BASED UPON THE BIBLE?
Yes. The Bible is our authority.Science and Health is a "key" to the Scriptures,
helping to unlock
its spiritual meaning. Jesus is our Master and Way-shower. Mrs.
Eddy
explains:
"I have set forth Christian Science and its application
to the treatment of disease just
as I have discovered them. I have
demonstrated through Mind the effects of Truth on
the health, longevity,
and morals of men; and I have found nothing in ancient or in
modern
systems on which to found my own, except the teachings and demonstrations
of our great Master and the lives of prophets and apostles. The Bible
has been my
only authority. I have had no other guide in 'the straight
and narrow way' of Truth."
(S&H 123)
"Our Master healed the sick,
practised Christian healing, and taught the generalities
of its divine
Principle to his students; but he left no definite rule for demonstrating
this Principle of healing and preventing disease. This rule remained
to be discovered
in Christian Science." (S&H 147)
WHAT DOES
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DO?
Christian Science enables us to understand and
use the laws of God to demonstrate
His divine presence and power in
our lives. Mrs. Eddy explains:
"The term Science, properly understood,
refers only to the laws of God and to His
government of the universe,
inclusive of man. From this it follows that business men
and cultured
scholars have found that Christian Science enhances their endurance
and mental powers, enlarges their perception of character, gives them
acuteness and
comprehensiveness and an ability to exceed their ordinary
capacity. The human mind,
imbued with this spiritual understanding,
becomes more elastic, is capable of greater
endurance, escapes somewhat
from itself, and requires less repose. A knowledge of
the Science
of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It
extends
the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader
and higher realms. It
raises the thinker into his native air of insight
and perspicacity." (S&H 128)
"[Christian Science] has one God.
It demonstrates the divine Principle, rules and
practice of the great
healer and master of metaphysics, Jesus of Nazareth. It
spiritualizes
religion and restores its lost element, namely, healing the sick.
It
consecrates and inspires the teacher and preacher; it equips the
doctor with safe and
sure medicine; it encourages and empowers the
business man and secures the success
of honesty. It is the dear children's
toy and strong tower; the wise man's spiritual
dictionary; the poor
man's money; yea, it is the pearl priceless whereof our Master
said,
if a man findeth, he goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth
it."
(Miscellaneous Writings 252)
"Christian Science explains
all cause and effect as mental, not physical. It lifts the
veil of
mystery from Soul and body. It shows the scientific relation of man
to God,
disentangles the interlaced ambiguities of being, and sets
free the imprisoned thought.
In divine Science, the universe, including
man, is spiritual, harmonious, and eternal.
Science shows that what
is termed matter is but the subjective state of what is termed
by the
author mortal mind." (S&H 114)
"Christian Science brings
to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and
purifies.
Christian Science acts as an alterative, neutralizing error with Truth.
It
changes the secretions, expels humors, dissolves tumors, relaxes
rigid muscles,
restores carious bones to soundness. The effect of
this Science is to stir the human
mind to a change of base, on which
it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind."
(S&H 162)
"It
is sometimes asked, What are the advantages of your system of healing?
I claim
for healing by Christian Science the following advantages:
--
"First: It does away with material medicine, and recognizes the
fact that the antidote
for sickness, as well as for sin, may be found
in God, the divine Mind.
"Second: It is more effectual than drugs,
and cures where they fail, because it is this
divine antidote, and
metaphysics is above physics.
"Third: Persons who have been healed
by Christian Science are not only cured of
their belief in disease,
but they are at the same time improved morally. The body is
governed
by Mind, and mortal mind must be corrected in order to make the body
harmonious." (Miscellaneous Writings 255)
"Christian Science
translates Mind, God, to mortals. It is the infinite calculus
defining
the line, plane, space, and fourth dimension of Spirit. (Mis. 22)
WHAT IS THE MISSION OR PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE?
Those who have
studied the life of Mary Baker Eddy know that she desperately
sought
relief from years of physical suffering. When she found that God's
laws are
available to heal sickness, she devoted her life to learning
more and teaching others,
so that the whole world would benefit from
her discovery. She also recognized that
Christian Science does more
than heal sickness; it heals the root cause of what seems
to be physical
suffering: a belief in sin and mortality.
Under the marginal
heading "The main purpose," Mrs. Eddy writes: "To-day the
healing
power of Truth is widely demonstrated as an immanent, eternal Science,
instead of a phenomenal exhibition. Its appearing is the coming anew
of the gospel
of 'on earth peace, good-will toward men.' This coming,
as was promised by the
Master, is for its establishment as a permanent
dispensation among men; but the
mission of Christian Science now,
as in the time of its earlier demonstration, is not
primarily one
of physical healing. Now, as then, 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)
"It is not alone the mission of Christian Science
to heal the sick, but to destroy sin
in mortal thought. This work
well done will elevate and purify the race. It cannot
fail to do this
if we devote our best energies to the work." (Miscellaneous Writings 4)
"The motive of my earliest labors has never changed. It was to relieve
the
sufferings of humanity by a sanitary system that should include
all moral and
religious reform." (Retrospection and Introspection 30)
"Healing physical sickness is the smallest part of Christian Science.
It is only the
bugle-call to thought and action, in the higher range
of infinite goodness. The
emphatic purpose of Christian Science is
the healing of sin; and this task, some-
times, may be harder than
the cure of disease; because, while mortals love to sin,
they do not
love to be sick. Hence their comparative acquiescence in your endeavors
to
heal them of bodily ills, and their obstinate resistance to all efforts
to save them
from sin through Christ, spiritual Truth and Love, which
redeem them, and become
their Saviour, through the flesh, from the
flesh, -- the material world and evil."
(Rudimental Divine Science 2)
HOW DOES CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DEFINE GOD?
The Glossary of Science and
Health defines various terms found in the Bible. It
offers this definition
of God:
"GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting,
all-wise, all-loving,
and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit;
Life; Truth; Love; all substance;
intelligence." (S&H 587)
A similar definition is given in the chapter "Recapitulation" in answer
to the
question, "What is God?" It reads: "God is incorporeal, divine,
supreme, infinite
Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love."
(S&H 465)
Mrs. Eddy goes on to explain that those terms are synonymous,
and writes: "They
refer to one absolute God. They are also intended
to express the nature, essence,
and wholeness of Deity. The attributes
of God are justice, mercy, wisdom, goodness,
and so on." (S&H
465)
Topics in the next section include:
What are the Essential
Points of Christian Science?
Have Christian Scientists Any Religious
Creeds?
How Can Christianity Also Be a Science?
How Does One Become
a Student of Christian Science?
Advice for Studying and Practicing
Christian Science Effectively
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