C U L T S S Part 3
C h r i s t i a n S c i e n c e | W ith this w ell-docum en ted article Dr . Talbot begins a ser ies on Christian Science that candidly I presen ts the h istory o f M a r y Bak er Eddy and the central ideas o f this cult
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ne of the greatest religious perils of the day; full of folly and yet of wisdom; full of a simplicity akin to
is evident that I cannot go into the personal life of the founder, although from a spiritual and psychiatric stand point her personality and manner of life had great bearing upon the re ligion she originated. For those who desire to read a fair, readable ac count of the life of Mrs. Eddy, I rec ommend Mrs. Eddy, by Edwin Fran- den Dakin, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons. It is now out of print but may be secured in libraries and second-hand bookstores. It deals in facts, not abuse, and is very well documented. Needless to say, it is not “ authorized” by the Christian Science Church, as a great number of biographies of their founder are. In fact, every effort was made to suppress the book when it was first published, but all attempts met with failure, due to the commendable cour age of the publishers. Mrs. Eddy's Personal History M rs. Eddy, born in New Hampshire in 1821, had a liberal education for a woman of her day. She was always interested in religious subjects. At the age of 12, when be ing examined for membership in the Congregational Church to which her parents belonged, she began to dispute theological matters with the elders. A personal experience of what she claimed was a healing miracle turned her attention to the matter of mind healing and metaphysics, which were a popular fad in New England at the time. She came under the influence of the metaphysicians of the day, par ticularly one Phineas P. Quimby, many of whose ideas she later incor porated in her books. In the preface of the 74th edition of Science and Health, sh" writes of herself: “ The first school of Christian Science Mind healing was begun by the author in Lynn, Mass., about the year 1867, with only one student. In 1881, she opened the Mass. Metaphysical Col-
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silliness and a subtility that, at mo ments, appeals to reason; denying the Scriptures and quoting it; a false sys tem breathing the name of Christ; an angel of light talking of righteous ness, it is a concealed hand seeking with a grip of steel to lead the sons of men downward to darkness and woe.” * So wrote Dr. I. M. Haldeman in regard to Christian Science, which we will now examine under the light of Holy Writ. Origin of Christian Science In the 74th edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy stated: “ In the year 1866,1 discovered the Science of Metaphysical Healing and named it Christian Science,” (p. 1) but this was amended in a later edition to read: “ In the year 1866, I discovered Christ Science or divine laws of Life, Truth and Love and named my dis covery Christian Science” (p. 107, lines 1-3). However, Christian Science was not officially launched until the publi cation of this book in 1875, arounu which, with Mrs. Eddy’s other writ ings, the system is built. Christian Science is unique among all the cults in this respect, that it has but one head, and one whose teachings alone are authoritative. While the organi zation consists of boards and officers, readers, and the like, the supreme power was vested in Mrs. Eddy while she lived, and since her death her writings have been her only suc cessor. So far as I know, it is the only cult that claims a single founder and that a woman. In such a brief treatise as this, it *Used by permission of Fleming H. Revell, Westwood, N J.; publishers, from Christian Science in the Light of Holy Scripture.
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