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Mind, not matter for Christian Scientists

| August 19, 2014 9:00 PM

For Mary Baker Eddy, reality is purely spiritual.

Even God, believed this founder of the widely misunderstood Christian Science religion, is not person but principal cause - a "Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love" all-in-one. The material world, including evil, sickness (which may thus be corrected through prayer), and death, is therefore illusion. And if evil is illusion, then the only real world, the spiritual world, must be good.

So she wrote in her 1875 treatise, "Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures." Agree or disagree, this metaphysical approach to America's dominant religion of Christianity was revolutionary in the 19th century. Perhaps more revolutionary was that it came from a woman raised in a Puritan home.

Mark Twain was a critic, but he nevertheless called the impertinent Eddy, "the most interesting woman who ever lived, and the most extraordinary."

Eddy and 25 of her burgeoning followers were granted a charter in 1879 to found the Church of Christ (Scientist) in Boston. America's fastest growing religion in the early 20th Century, it had 270,000 members by 1936. Then membership dwindled as other Protestant religions took hold. Today Christian Science, which is rooted in the teachings of Jesus, has 100,000 followers in the U. S. and 400,000 worldwide.

Don't confuse their belief in prayerful healing with the notion of a rejection of all medicine, say adherents. This is not faith healing, nor is illness considered divine retribution or karma. This is neither New Age nor Scientology, often confused with Christian Science. The church encourages prayer as the answer, but does not require followers to avoid the medical profession. Christian Scientists get vaccines and may seek medical advice and treatment, if perhaps less often than do others and after - or in addition to - prayer. Injuries are treated. But if disease begins with the mind, it must also end with it according to Baker's philosophy.

"People who practice Christian Science are free to make their own choices about what to think and do in each situation, including health care. But Christian Science is so much more than a system of self-help or health care. Ultimately, it is a way to draw closer to our loving Father-Mother, God, as well as all of humanity," states the church website ChristianScience.com.

The church is well-known for its public Reading Rooms, which distribute Biblical and Baker's writings. But it's best known worldwide for its content-neutral (excepting two, well-labeled editorial pages) newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, which won seven Pulitzer Prizes in journalism - six for reporting and one for cartoons. The CSM, now The Monitor Weekly, is lauded in journalism for its unbiased, compassionate, and in-depth reporting of national and international news.

"The Christian Science Monitor has helped set the standard for journalistic integrity," wrote Sen. John McCain.

"The constructive service which The Christian Science Monitor has consistently rendered to better understanding between nations is widely appreciated in all parts of the world," wrote President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Such bipartisan respect is far too rare.

For more information on Christian Science, see ChristianScience.com. The Monitor weekly is at CSMonitor.com.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.