Christian Science

A Christian movement that emphasizes healing. Christian Science began in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1866 Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) experienced a sudden healing that she attributed to GOD. In 1875 she published Science and Health to expound her teachings about divine healing. When the various churches showed little interest, she and several followers formed the fi rst Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1879. Since that time the teachings of Christian Science have spread throughout the world. Christian Science teaches that all genuine reality is spiritual. Sickness and distress result when people mistake the material for the real. Christian Science denies that JESUS was God, but it sees itself as thoroughly Christian. It uses Jesus's healings as the basis of its teaching that healing is possible for those who follow God's spiritual laws. The Church of Christ, Scientist, maintains a register of "practitioners" or healers. These are not exactly ministers; they do not lead congregational WORSHIP. Services consist of readings from Science and Health and the BIBLE. On Wednesday evenings congregations hold services at which people present testimonies of being healed. Many municipalities have Christian Science reading rooms. The church also publishes one of the leading American newspapers, the Christian Science Monitor. The Monitor does not, however, explicitly advocate the church's teachings.