Question 1

What is Christian Science?

Accepted Answer

Christian Science is a spiritual practice based on principles found in the Bible, particularly the teachings of Christ Jesus. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defines it as “... the law of God, the law of good …” (Rudimental Divine Science, p. 1) and “... the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord …” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 134).

Question 2

Is Christian Science the same as Scientology?

Accepted Answer

No. Christian Science and Scientology have no relation to one another. Christian Science is a Christian religion discovered in 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the church to commemorate the word and works of Christ Jesus and to “reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing” (Manual of The Mother Church, p. 17). Scientology was developed by L. Ron Hubbard nearly a century later in the 1950s. Scientology is not based on the Bible but rather, according to the Scientology website, “bridges Eastern philosophy with Western thought.”

Question 3

Is Christian Science actually Christian?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Christian Science is based wholly on the Bible and on the life and teachings of Christ Jesus. Although Christian Science does not have a formal creed, Mary Baker Eddy did establish a set of tenets or core principles:

Tenets of Christian Science (as found in Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 497)

1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.

3. We acknowledge God’s forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.

4. 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.

5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.

6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.

Question 4

Who is Mary Baker Eddy?

Accepted Answer

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, defined Christian Science as “the law of God, the law of good . . ." (Rudimental Divine Science, p. 1).

She’d learned that God is infinite Love, and completely good. A clear glimpse of this through prayer has power to heal and transform anyone.

Mary Baker Eddy grew up in New England in the 1800s as the daughter of devout Christian parents. During her childhood and young adult years, she struggled with one health issue after another and therefore yearned to find healing for herself and others. In 1866, she suffered an injury considered by her doctor to be fatal. Turning once again to her Bible, specifically to one of Jesus’ healings, she experienced a profound insight into the nature of God and man as entirely spiritual and found that she had been completely healed. She devoted the rest of her life to understanding the principles by which she had been cured and to making those principles available to all mankind.

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Mary Baker Eddy was one of the most well-known women in the United States. The Women’s National Book Association recognized her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as one of 75 books by women whose words have changed the world. She is also an inductee at the U.S. National Women’s Hall of Fame, which honored her for making “an indelible mark on society, religion, and journalism.”

Question 5

What is Christian Science Healing?

Accepted Answer

Jesus instructed, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also” (John 14:12). Clearly, Jesus didn’t consider spiritual healing to be a miracle but rather the natural outcome of spiritualized thought. And in fact, Christian healing was a common practice not only by Jesus and his immediate followers but into the third century following Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension.

Healing in Christian Science is based on the very same principles that Jesus taught. The application of these Christian principles help to lift thought above the problem we’re facing — whether it appears as a lack of health, supply, opportunity or companionship — and opens our eyes to God’s spiritual creation, which is always healthy and blessed. This uplift of thought then has a practical and reliable impact on what we experience in our everyday lives.

Question 6

What is a Christian Science practitioner?

Accepted Answer

Christian Science practitioners are individuals who are in the full-time practice of spiritual healing as taught in Christian Science. They help patients address problems of all kinds — physical, emotional, financial and so forth — through specific prayer-based treatment. To be listed in The Christian Science Journal directory of practitioners, a practitioner must have a proven track record of consistent healing.

Question 7

What is a Christian Science Reading Room?

Accepted Answer

If you need some uplift, feel like engaging in a discussion of ideas, or wish to have a quiet space for spiritual study, just drop by your local Christian Science Reading Room. What you’ll find is a place that’s one part book store, one part research library and one part community visitor center. And it’s filled with resources such as Bible translations, all the published writings of Mary Baker Eddy, issues of the award-winning Christian Science Monitor news magazine as well as publications containing thousands of authenticated examples of spiritual healing.

Question 8

How can something be Christian and Science?

Accepted Answer

From the dramatic healing works of Christ Jesus, it’s clear that he was doing more than promoting a religion. He was operating from a set of principles — principles that are wholly spiritual in nature yet powerfully applicable to the human experience. With scientific consistency, he demonstrated that a deeper understanding of God as unconditional divine Love has a profound healing effect on every facet of our lives.

As Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, describes it: “Divine metaphysics is now reduced to a system, to a form comprehensible by and adapted to the thought of the age in which we live. This system enables the learner to demonstrate the divine Principle, upon which Jesus’ healing was based, . . .” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 146).

FAQ

Have a question?

Like any scientific line of study, the Science of Christ is a deep topic that raises an endless list of questions. Below are answers to a few of the most common ones. You’ll find a lot more answers in the Christian Science textbook.