^CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. 



' Verilv, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth 

 in mi'.' the- works that I do shall he do also; and 

 greater works than these shall he do.' And, ' these 

 M-iis shall follow them that believe/ the word 

 till in instead of U<HI clearly making this assurance 

 applicable to Christians in all ages. Jesus's atone- 

 ment for sin was a human sacrifice, which demon- 

 -t rated man's life in God, divine Good; and this 

 \erity. when understood, is the way of salvation, 

 tor it destroys sin. (See Romans xn, 1.) Ihis 

 theory is corroborated by Jesus's. supremacy over 

 all phases of matter a control not supernatural, 

 but divinely natural in one abiding in God, Good, 

 the center' and circumference of the universe. 

 From this it tollows that genuine healing must 

 In- \\rought upon thought, not body. 



" When follow in-: these leadings of scientific 

 revelation, the Bible was the writers only text- 

 iMH.k. When apparently near death, her convic- 

 tions laid hold upon the sublime verity that all 

 evil, \\hethcr moral or physical, must be nonexist- 

 ent, because contrary to the omnipotent Good, God. 

 She found in the Bible a new meaning, whereby 

 xhe was snatched from the valley of shadows and 

 her feet set on the rock. As it was through the 

 understanding of God through Christ, God's idea, 

 all healing must come, she adopted Christian Sci- 

 ence as the name of this curative system." 



It was a spinal injury which medical science 

 deemed incurable in the case of Mrs. Eddy, and 

 several persons still living attest to it. The same 

 year that she regained health (1866) she began 

 healing others, and also taught her first pupil. 

 Science and Health was written while she lived 

 at her home in Lynn, Mass. On July 4. 1879, 

 The First Church o'f Christ, Scientist, was founded 

 in Host on. with 26 members and Mrs. Eddy as its 

 pastor, though she did not receive ordination till 

 |ssl For several years this congregation met in 

 a hall, gradually increasing, though not with the 

 _'iant strides it has attained of late. In the same 

 year Mrs. Eddy founded her metaphysical college 

 at Boston, the laws then enabling her to obtain a 

 charter for medical instruction, a privilege which 

 was withdrawn after 1883. Mrs. Eddy has been 

 from the beginning president of this college. Un- 

 der its auspices a yearly course of instruction is 

 given to a limited number of applicants, with a 

 view to" fitting them for authorized teaching. A 

 class in obstetrics is also instructed yearly under 

 the au-piccs of this college by a duly appointed 

 Christian Scientist, formerly a medical practi- 

 tioner of ex|H'rience and standing, who now teaches 

 and practices only Christian Science mind-healing 

 and its obstetrical system. In 1883 she estab- 

 lished the Christian Science Journal, becoming 

 its editor and proprietor. It still remains the 

 otlicial or<jan of the society. A weekly publication 

 called The Sentinel was established in 1898. 



< lui-tian Science was introduced to New York 

 in ISM;, the lii-t national association convening 

 there on March 11. The same year a denomina- 

 tional chapel was begun at Oconto. Wis., and 

 others soon followed elsewhere. Christian Scien- 

 ti-t- never dedicate a church until it is paid for, 

 and not until January. Is'.i;,. u : ,s the first impos- 

 ing edifice, known a- the Mother Church at Bos- 

 ton, dedicated as a testimonial to Mis. Kddy. It 

 \N;IS paid for by her followers throughout the world, 

 and it coM. including land, nearly *:>r>l.000. 



The church that began with 26 members had at 

 it- dedication .~>.<HM). with a local attendance of 

 about sun. At the present date its total general 

 member-hip in more than 20.IKM). In 1H!)4 there 

 were in the I'nited States :{<M) Christian Science 

 -ocietie- meeting regularly for worship, ~H\ teach- 

 ing institutes, and 06 dispensaries and reading 



rooms. At the present writing (November, 1900) 

 there are in the United States and other countries, 

 all told, 441 chartered churches, and of societies 

 organized but not yet chartered 134, making a 

 total of 575. Of reading rooms there are 284, and 

 of institutes 75. The total number of professing 

 Christian Scientists is officially estimated at 

 1,000,000 to 1,250,000. The headquarters of the 

 movement are in Boston. Chicago comes next, 

 New York third. There are now 8 congregations 

 worshiping in Manhattan. Philadelphia has 4 

 churches. Kansas City ranks next in active 

 growth, then Denver and Buffalo. In the Western 

 States the sect has grown rapidly, and it is mak- 

 ing headway in the South, even as far as Texas. 

 Salt Lake City is a thriving center. A church 

 has been begun at Dawson, Alaska. Next to the 

 United States the sect has grown most in Canada 

 and Australia. It has obtained foothold in Eng- 

 land, Scotland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, France, 

 and Italy. It has begun work in Hawaii, South 

 Africa, and Japan, and of late in China, where 

 Mrs. Conger, wife of the United States minister, 

 has been an indefatigable worker in its behalf. 



All the literature of the Christian Science body 

 is published at one place, 95 Falmouth Street, 

 Boston. Besides the Christian Science Journal 

 (monthly) and The Sentinel (weekly), tracts, pam- 

 phlets, hymnals, Bible lessons, etc., are issued. The 

 other published works of Mrs. Eddy include Chrir* 

 and Christmas, a poem; Retrospection and Intr 

 spection, Pulpit and Press, Unity of God, Rudi 

 mental Divine Science, Christian Science and Pan- 

 theism, Message to the Mother Church, No and 

 Yes, Christian Healing, People's Idea of God, Mis- 

 cellaneous Writings. 



All churches rank as branches of the Mothi 

 Church in Boston and, although independent i 

 the conduct of their own affairs, accept onl 

 the tenets of the Mother Church. Properly spea 

 ing, the church has no ministers. Each con] 

 tion has two readers, first and second, a worn 

 and a man, and these read the lessons and co 

 duct worship. This claims to be a revival of 

 ancient custom in the Christian Church. Eve 

 Wednesday evening all churches throughout t 

 world hold meetings at the same hour. At th< 

 meetings personal experiences and observations a 

 related by members of the congregation, and t' 

 manner of cures witnessed are told. 



In 1898 the Christian Science Board of Edu 

 tion, with headquarters in Boston, was establish 

 also the Board of Lectureship of the Moth 

 Church, composed of official lecturers who resi 

 in different parts of the United States. 



The Mother Church has also a Publication Co: 

 mittee, composed of a man who attends to t 

 press work of the movement, especially the correc- 

 tion of false statements and erroneous views per- 

 taining to Christian Science. Duly appointed per 

 sons throughout the world co-operate with this 

 committee and look after the presentation 6f 

 Christian Science in the press. 



To quote from a lately published article by a 

 member of the Christian Science Board of Lecture- 

 ship of New York, " the cardinal reasons given fo 

 the rapid growth of Christian Science are. first 

 the restoration of the Christian healing of tin 

 apostolic church: second, the establishment ol 

 Christianity on a scientific and practically demon 

 -liable basis; third, the metaphysical and spiritua 

 interpretation of Christ's teaching, representing ;i 

 general and world-wide reaction against material 

 ism and externalism in religion. Christian Scicm-t 

 -lands pre-eminently for the religion which hea 

 the sick, reforms the sinner, demonstrates th( 

 naturalness of divine science, and unites in oni 



