Christian Science

Christian Science By: Mia Menard & KrystalCondie The church building, Huntington Ave. Boston, 1900

History • Founded by Mary Eddy Baker in 1879 following a personal healing in 1866 • She was convinced that: "The divine Spirit had [shaped] the miracle — a miracle which later [she] found to be in perfect scientific accord with divine law.“ • Spent the next three years investigating the law of God according to the Bible, especially in the words and works of Jesus. • The First Church is on Huntington Avenue in Boston and was built in 1900.

She was born as Mary Ann Morse Baker in New Hampshire in 1821. • was the daughter of a New Hampshire Congregationalist church member. • As a child, she was frequently ill and highly emotional. • In 1862, while suffering from an illness, she visited a man named PhineasQuimby. He taught a system of healing dealing with the mind. He taught that the mind had the power to heal the body. He exerted a significant influence on her thinking regarding spiritual matters. PhineasQuimby

In 1866, she fell and was seriously injured and she was not expected to recover. • She then read Matt. 9:2 ("And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing heir faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee") and experienced a miraculous cure. • This experience that convinced her of the truth of Christian Science.

First published "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" in 1875, when she was 54. • claimed it was the final revelation of God to mankind and asserted that her work was inspired of God. • The word "Key" in the title of her book is in reference to her being the woman of Revelation 12; that she is the key to unlocking the Bible which she called a dark book. She claimed the Bible had many mistakes and that her writings provided the "Key" spoken of in Rev. 3:7.

In 1879, four years after the first publication of Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy and some of her students voted organized the church of Christ (Scientist) in Boston Massachusetts. • In 1881 she opened a metaphysical college and charged $300 for 12 healing lessons. • The Church was reorganized in 1892, and the Church Manual was first issued in 1895 which provided the structure for church government and missions. • She died in 1910, a millionaire.

Cross and Crown Seal • The Christian Science Journal emphasizes, the Cross and Crown seal is the central emblem of Christian Science. The Cross and Crown is also a registered trademark of the Christian Science Board of Directors and has long been used on Mary Baker Eddy’s writings and the Christian Science journal to indicate the authenticity of these products. Further, the Cross and Crown is also symbolic of the united focus on healing that branches and church members have with The Mother Church and each other, and this unity is a result of members and branches, individually and collectively, committing to practice The seal of Christian Science is a cross and crown with the words, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons," and is a registered trademark of The Mother Church.

Sacred Texts • There are two scriptures: • Christian Bible • Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

The Bible is central to the study and practice of Christian Science and its system of healing. • In her seminal work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures she writes, “The Bible has been my only authority,” and “my only textbook,” and “contains the recipe for all healing,” and describes it as “the chart of life”. • the textbooks for self-instruction in Christian Science, and a weekly Bible Lesson, made up of selections from these two books, is available for individual study. • This same weekly Bible Lesson also serves as the Sunday sermon that is read in Christian Science church services throughout the world

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Christian Science