Articles About Mary Baker Eddy

7/30/2019 Articles About Mary Baker Eddy

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PUBLISHED MONTHLY. PRICE, 2.00 PER ANNUM. SINGLE COPIES, 20 CENTS.

VOL. XI. JUNE, 1893. NO. 3.

THE

CHRISTIAN

SCIENCE

JOURNAL.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF

NATIONAL CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS' ASSOCIATION.

FOUNDED APRIL, 1883, by the Author of SCIENCE AND HEALTH,

TH E REV. MARY BAKER G. EDDY.

PUBLISHED BY

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING SOCIETY,


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REVEREND MARY BAKER G. EDDY.

TH E Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy , discoverer and founder

of Chr istian Science, was born in the town of Bow,

New Hampshire . Her parent s were Mark and Abi

gail B . Baker. Among her ancestors may be mentioned,

Gen. John Macneil and Gen. Henry Knox. The family lineage goes back to Scotland, and among the more remote

ancest ry was Sir John Macneil, a Scottish kni gh t who

attained to much prominence in his day and generation as a

statesman and diplomat.

He r great grandmother on the paternal side was Marion

Moor, whose family were said to have belonged to the origi

nal stock from whom was descended Hannah More, "the

pious and popular English authoress."

Among her relations of the present day who have attained

to prominence in law and politics, are Hon. Hoke Smith ,

President Cleveland's Secretary of the Interior, and Gen. H.

M. Baker, now a member of Congress .

Her brother Albert Baker, was a lawyer of unusual bril

liancy and abili ty and at the early age of th ir ty years had

won high dist inction a t the bar. He had been elected to

Congress, but was prevented by death from taking his seat.

In her work Retrospection and Introspection, Mrs. Eddythus refers to her parents:

" My father possessed a strong intellect and an iron will.

Of my mother I cannot speak as I would, for memory recalls

qual ities to which the pen can never do just ice. The follow

ing is a brief extract from the eulogy of Rev. Richard S.

Ru st D. D., who for many years had resided in T ilton, and

knew my sainted mother in all the walks of life."

The character of Mrs. Abigail Ambrose Baker was distinguished fornumerous excellencies. She possessed a strong intellect, a sympathizinghear t, and a placid spirit. Her presence, like the gentle dew and cheer


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102 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL.

the tone of conversation in the circles in which she moved, and directed

attention to themes at once pleasing and profitable.

As a mother , she was untiring in her efforts t o secure the happiness

of her family. She ever enterta ined a live ly sense of the parental obli

gation, especially in regard to the education of her children. The oft-

repeated impressions of that sainted spirit, on the hearts of those

especially entrusted to her watch-care, can never be effaced, and can

hardly fail to induce them to follow her to the brighter world. Her life

was a living illustration of Christian faith.

The religious element was strongly marked in Mrs. Eddy's

character from her earlies t chi ldhood. She early imbibedhigh conceptions of the office of divine Love. She was un

able to reconcile the doctrine of eternal punishment with the

Biblical teaching th at God is Love, and that he is infinite.

She could th ink of no place within the infinite where God 's

love was inefficacious, much less, a place where it could be

transformed into eterna l hate. These reflections, and her

Scr iptu ral studies , led her at the ear ly age of twelve years

to begin " disputing with the doctors " upon this and kindred

subjects . She avowed her inabi lity to accept the Calvinistic

doctr ine of election, or foreordination and predestination.

But notwithstanding these reservations, she was admitted to

membership in the Congregational church of her native place.

She maintained her connection with this church until she or

ganized her own Christian Science Church in Boston.

At the age of sixteen she had formed such literary habits

that she became a valued contributor to the press and periodi

cals. Her literary tastes took the form of poetry as well as

prose, although but few of her poems have been published.

But it is not as much of her early life and writings that

we wish to speak, as of her " greater works " since she became

imbued with that spirit of Truth which led her to the

investigations a nd labors re sulting in giving to the world

t ha t wonde r f u l book S C I E N C E A N D H E A L T H , W I T H K E Y T O

THE SCRIPTURES.

SCIENCE AND HEALTH is unique in liter ature. It is the

first book to announce the fact tha t, as a system, " Christian ity must be Science, and Science must be Chris tiani ty,

l h h i f l d l " i i i


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REVEREND MARY BAKER G. EDDY. 103

ble, according to the system enunciated by this book, to be atrue Christian withou t leading a tru ly Scientific life; and it

is impossible to be a true Scientist without leading a truly

Christian life.

The author draws the line sharply between pseudo-science

and Science. T ha t is, between those systems of human

speculation and hypotheses which assume to be science, bu t

which are lacking the element of s tabil ity and are ever-

changing, and tha t unchanging T ru th which is absolute and

eternal in its method and operation. T he former is of man ;the latt er is of God. And the more nearly the human mind

lives in at-one-ment with the divine Mind, the more nearly i t

approaches to an understanding of the one absolute Science.

From this standpo int of God and man, therefore, the

author very natu rally and very wisely adopted as a name by

which to designate the system thus revealed to her, the

words, Christian Science. Nor did she inte nd that this

name should be applied alone to designate a parti cula r sect

or class of people . I t will be seen by the careful reader , that

whatever partakes of eterna l T ru th (which she often refers

to as Ch rist -T ru th ) is Christian Science, so far as it does so

par take , and so far as it is demonstrated to be T ru th .

T he highest conception of T ru th is Christ-knowledge, or

knowledge of the Christ. This knowledge includes the

teach ings of the Bible as a whole. " Jesus the man was the

fleshly embodiment or representative of the Christ-Truth

upon this earth," and hence SCIENCE AND HE AL T H refers tohim as " the greatest Christian Scientist the world has ever

known." W h y ? Because he had the grea test knowledge of

God, and " reflected more of the divine charac ter than any

one else who appeared in the flesh." He was therefore more

Christianly Scientific than any one else.

T he name selected for this book is not less unique than

the name its author has given to religion or Chris tianity.

Science and He al th ! Science (knowl edge) and Health

(wholeness) ! Knowledge of God is wholeness, and there isno wholeness apart from this knowledge , this Science.


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healing, conspicuous as that is in this system, and importantas it is to hum anity. I t also is th at " he a l th " which

includes universal harmony , spiritua l wholeness, the full-

grown man, the spi ritual idea of God. This is the hea lth to

be attained throug h right-liv ing and earnest Christian

striv ing. To show mankind how to reach th is goal upon

its immortal Principle or pure ly spiritual basis is the grand

purpose of SCIENCE AND HEALTH. It unfolds the Scriptures

in such a way as to lead to clearer and bet ter conceptions of

God, and the universe including man. I t opens to humanvision a new view of life and its purposes, of man and his

capabilities and possibilities. I t lifts the sorrowing and de

pressed out of the mortal "s loug h of d es po nd " into which

they have fallen as the result of wrong conditions and

systems, and points them with unerring certainty to the

consolations, hopes and aspirations of the Gospel of Jesus

Christ.

Its results, as testified to by thousands who have been up

lifted by its teachings, warrant the claim that it is that " Spirit

of T ru th " and that " Comfort er" which Jesus said should

come after him.

I t is not a commentary of or upon the B I B L E . It is an

interpre tation of it in its ent ire ty. I t teaches no doctr ine of

man, bu t the law of God. I t does not select fragmentary or

isolated passages of Scripture and endeavor to conform them

to preconceived opinions or hypotheses. I t touches that

mighty book at all sides, and brings its infinite meaning downto hum an comprehension. Those who have for years been

studying it in connection with the B I B L E , are more and more

deeply impressed with its far-reaching interpretation, and the

marvelous manner in which it clears up otherwise obscure,

perplexing, and often apparently contradictory statements.

It is the uniform testimony of its oldest and most painstaking

students that they have never yet found a statement of

SCIENCE AND HEA LT H which has not its basis in the B I B L E .

This is not a hasty or biased conclusion, but is the resu lt ofclose application and s tudy by persons, many of whom had


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old interpretations , for many years. I t is not too much then,to claim for the authorship of this book the distinction of

inspiration, as that term is properly used.

The intelligent reading of this book, according to their

unsought testimony, has healed hundreds of persons of dis

eases and complications of diseases, which had baffled the

best skill of all the schools of medicine, as well as all other

known means ; and while healing them physically, it has up

lifted them spiritually in such manner that they have come

into this temple of the bet ter unders tanding of divine law,literally "l eap ing and shouting and praising God." I t has

already passed to its seventy-fifth edition, and the demand

for it exceeds present ability to meet it.

I t has found its way into almost all parts of the world.

Among othe r notable places where it has been received and

read, is the Academy of Greece. T he earnest Science worker

through whose good offices it was presented to this Academy

thus speaks of the manner of its introduction there :

" T h e conditions unde r which the book, SCIENCE AND

H E A L T H , was presented to the Academy of Greece were very

suggestive. The Board of P hilosophers were scattered all

over the world trying to find the solution of the great question,

' Wha t is life ? ' I told the director of the Musee tha t I had

a book which gave the solution of this great problem, and I

should take great pleasure in presenting their Library with a

copy, and requested him to call the attention of their philos

ophers to it when they returned . He promised to do so.About six months after my re tu rn I received the certificate

of its reception in their Library, and of its being given a place

ther e. As this is the one educational institution of Greece,

I th ink this book will be read, and will do its own work . I

was pleased to hear from the book many months after, and it

appears it was not overlooked."

The author has similar certificates from all the chief classi

cal sources in Europe, America and Russia.

Mrs. Eddy refers to the motives by which she was governedin entering upon her great undertaking in the following ten


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I saw before me the sick, wearing out years ofservitude to an unrealmaster, in the belief that the body governed them, rather than Mind.The lame, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, the sick, the sensual, the sinner,I wished to save from the slavery oftheir own beliefs, and from the educational systems of the Pharaohs who to-day hold the children ofIsraelin bondage. I saw before me the awful conflict, the Red Sea, and thewilderness; but I pressed on, through faith in God, trusting Truth, thestrong deliverer, to guide me into the land of Christian Science, wherefetters fall, and the rights of man to freedom are fully known and ac-knowledged.

She again writes:

When apparently near the confines ofmortal existence, standing alreadywithin the shadow of the death-valley, I learned these truths in DivineScience: that all real Being is in the divine Mind and idea; that Life,Truth, and Love are all-powerful and ever-present; that the opposite ofTruth called error, sin, sickness, disease, deathis the false testimonyof false material sense; that this false sense evolves, in belief, a subjective state ofmortal mind, which this same mind calls matter, therebyshutting out the true sense ofSpirit.

Speaking of her experiments along the line of homeopathic

treatment of cases she writes:

The drug was attenuated to such a degree that not a vestige of itremained; and from this fact I learned that it was not the drug whichcured, or changed the symptoms. I have attenuated Natrum muriaticum(common table salt) until there was not a single saline property left." The salt had lost its savor;" and yet with one drop ofthat attenuationin a goblet of water, and a teaspoonful of the water administered atintervals ofthree hours, I have cured a patient sinking in the last stageof typhoid fever.

As the result of such experiments she very naturally

arrived at the conclusion tha t " the highest attenuation of

homeopathy, and the most potent, steps out of matter into

Mind ; and thus it should seem that Mind is the healer, or

metaphysics, and that there is no efficacy in the drug ."

By this teaching, the divine Principle of Jesus ' healing is

rendered humanly practical, and a definite rule taught , upon

which could be founded a system of healing for all . The

great fact is found demonstrable, that "all causation is Mind,

and that divine Mind is at once supreme and infinite Intelligence, and is the living Principle or omnipresent and omnip

t t Lif f th i " Al th t " thi ll di


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Intelligence is absolute Good, containing no admixtur e oradulteration of evil, and knowing not evil, because Good

is itself omnipotent and infinite, leaving no room for the

presence of evil as a fact of the univer se. " I t has only such

reality or existence as depraved mortal conceptions have

given it.

Mrs. Edd y's other writings consist of " Un ity of Good,"

" Retrospection and Introspection ," " No and Yes," " Rudi

ments and Rules of Divine Science," " Christian Heal ing ,"

"Pe opl e's idea of God," " P o n d and Purpos e," and many

articles which have at different times been publ ished in this

J O U R N A L .

These smaller works are, of course, based on SCIENCE AND

H E A L T H , but many of them are intended to, and do answer,

in concise form, the questions which are most frequently

asked concerning Christian Science, its aims, and underlying

principles. As helps to the study of SCIENCE AND HEA LT H,

they are most valuable.We have the pleasure, through the kindness and generosity

of Mr. S. A. Bowers, a leading photographer of Concord,

New Hampshire, of presenting to our readers as a frontis

piece in this issue a very correct view of " Pleasant Vi ew,"

the count ry home of Mrs. Edd y. An inte rest ing feature of

this picture is the pond, the contributions for ma king which,

brought forth from Mrs. Eddy' s pen, that remarkable pro

duction, " Pond and Purpose." E D I T O R .

NOTICE.

The article in May JOURNAL in relation to the use of Church

Rules by other churches of Christ, Scientist, was not designed to

give them the right to publish and print said Rules, but to give

notice that they would be supplied by the Christian Science

Board of Directors, who hold the copyright of said Tenets and

Rules. All communications to be addressed to Wm . B. Johnson,41 G St., So. Boston, Mass.


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Mary Baker Eddy

New England in the first quarter of the nineteenth century was little

different from what it had been at the time of the revolution. Life was

relatively simple; the dark satanic mills had not yet marred the charms

of the rural landscape, as they were to do as the century progressed.

Traditional Calvinist belief still probably dominated much of the thinkingalthough challenged by Unitarianism and Transcendentalism.

The village of Bow in New Hampshire could readily serve as the

model community for later writers seeking to evoke, in a more worldly

age, the charms of the simple life. The orthodoxy of religious thought

determined the moral character of the community, but the relative

rigidity of belief was leavened by the ideas of progress and democracy.

The Yankee denizens with such concepts could readily regard

themselves as the beau idal citizens of the republic.

Mary Morse Baker was born in 1821. She was the sixth andyoungest child of Noah and Abigail Baker. (Eddy, which is the name

most commonly associated with her she assumed upon marriage to

her third husband.) As a child Mary Baker was somewhat frail, but

her ailments were never precisely defined. Her general malaise was

such that she was indulged by her parents and brothers and sisters.

Her attendance at school was irregular, but her second brother, Albert,

took it upon himself to encourage her general reading. He introduced

her to such compilations as The English Reader, which ensured thatshe became acquainted with the accepted best prose and poetry of

the day.

Like many of her contemporaries in the 1830s and 1840s, she

amused herself in writing poetry or what passed for poetry. These

literary effusions, of no great merit, were decidedly typical of the

period. One brief example will serve to illustrate this fact.

Love, Lady Love

There is a joy in lovingBut sigh not when you find


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112 Deviating Voices

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Takes wings through beautys bowers

And knows not where to choose

Among so many flowers

Love, Lady Love

Laetitia Elizabeth Landon or Marguerite Blessington would have

appreciated such sentiments and written in a not dissimilar fashion.

Although she was accepted as a full member of the Sanbornton

Congregational Church the family had acquired a new home in

Sanbornton when she was fifteen she was somewhat unorthodox in

her personal beliefs. She declined to accept the generally assumed

Calvinism, and found it impossible to believe that salvation was the

privilege of the few. It was not the stern judgemental Jehovah butrather the loving Father that appealed to her.

When she was twenty-two she married George Glover. The latter,

although born in New Hampshire, had business interests in South

Carolina. Glover, according to report, was friendly and gregarious

with a positive and optimistic outlook on life. Mary Baker knew that

her new life would be very different from that previously experienced.

Following their marriage the young couple made their home in

Wilmington, North Carolina. The brides health improved, and goodprospects for the future seemed to be assured. Sadly, such was not to

be the case. Glovers business interests fell into difficulties, but far

worse the young man caught yellow fever and expired. He died in

June 1844 after only six months of marriage. His widow was left

virtually penniless, and, moreover, she was pregnant. The obvious

solution was for her to return to New Hampshire where she could

expect to be supported by her family.

Mary Glovers child was born on 12 September 1844. He was

christened George Washington Glover after his late father. The infantwas put into the care of Mabola Sanborn since his mother was too

frail to care for him properly. The subsequent story of George

Washington Glover is a somewhat melancholy one. Mary Glover was

not really a maternal person. The boy was farmed out for much of

the next decade. When he was aged eleven it was decided that he

should accompany his foster parents when they moved to one of the

western states.

Although in later years Mary Baker Eddy seems to have convincedherself that she had been duped by others into agreeing to this


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Deviating Voices 113

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decades.

Mary Glovers own life took a turn for the better when she met

Daniel Patterson. He was handsome, gregarious and appeared

reasonably prosperous. He was a dentist with a decent practice, and

marriage to him would ensure a happy and secure future. His financial

situation was, however, not what it seemed, and under a faade of

respectability the newly married couple were very impoverished. Since

she was unable to participate as an equal in the local society, she

became something of a recluse. To occupy her time she entertained

herself reading the Bible and she, like the mediaeval contemplatives,

fixed her mind on other-worldly matters to escape from the miseries

of her present situation.

Whatever the exigencies of her existence she experienced at thistime, she seems to have retained a generally orthodox theology. She

had no doubts about the eternal life in the hereafter being convinced

that she would rejoin her deceased mother and favourite brother. She

was not attracted to spiritualism, but she was uncritical about the Fox

sisters. At no time was she tempted to attempt contact with the

other side, and later, in fact, she was to reject spiritualism totally.

In September 1859, the fortunes of the Pattersons reached their

nadir, their furniture went to auction and their property was sold. Theywere reduced to the indignity of boarding house life. In an attempt to

alleviate the situation, Mary Patterson made modest contributions to

various newspapers. Her endeavours had some success and she

received a little money for her efforts.

The outbreak of the Civil War brought her in contact with her son.

She had heard nothing from him for a decade. He wrote that he had

joined an infantry regiment in Wisconsin. She seems to have been

relatively pleased to have news of him, but was not overly encouraging

and did little more than to acknowledge receipt of his letter.She continued to be a semi-invalid and, in an attempt to find a cure,

took an interest in homeopathic medicine of various sorts. One form

of treatment that she tried was to place herself in the care of a

hydropathic practitioner. His efforts on her behalf were not particularly

successful. While experiencing the hydropathic treatment, she learned

about the work of Phineas Quimby who, according to what she read,

seemed to have almost miraculous powers.

What was Quimbys method exactly? He asserted that patientswere not cured by drugs or any medicines but through something


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effected through mesmerism, and that his patients would need to be

hypnotised, but ultimately he rejected this idea. Rather he used

suggestion and a sort of physical manipulation which embodied what

he called animal magnetism. Apparently a force passed from

Quimby to the patient, and that in consequence he could explain the

nature of the illness. By so doing he could effect a cure by ensuring

the patient knew the truth of the particular malaise. A later writer

noted that Quimby seems to have cured disease through the mind. To

be effective the patient had to have implicit faith, and to believe there

was no pain. Quimby was to play a special role in the ultimate teachings

of Mary Baker Eddy.

It appeared as if Quimby were able to bring about an improvement

in Mary Pattersons health after she had visited him in Portland, Maine.She had no doubts of the effectiveness of his method. She collected

Quimbys ephemeral writings, and enthusiastically wrote and even

delivered some lectures to popularise his activities. She even attempted

to use his so-called transference practice herself on some friends

and acquaintances with considerable success. She did not feel totally

secure in these activities, and was in constant contact with Quimby

to ensure that somehow she herself did not fall into ill health. This

relationship came to an end when he died in January 1866 and shefelt very bereft indeed.

However, a month later an event occurred which was to change

her life. She had a serious accident, and fears were expressed that

she would die. She did not die, but apparently experienced something

very unusual for it was from this time forward one can date her special

mission. She now believed that fear, pain and death were irrelevant

and that this life being the sole reality of existence and that everything

in it being spiritual, divine, immortal and wholly good.

Her domestic life did not reflect her renewed vigour. Pattersonwas notoriously unfaithful, and she finally informed him they would

have to part. He agreed to the separation possibly in the belief that it

was only temporary but he was wrong, and they were divorced seven

years later. He lived until 1896 and made nothing of his life. His wifes

decision was perhaps somewhat unforgiving, but she gained a freedom

without which she could never have undertaken the great mission for

which she became so famous.

With no husband and no further contact with her son, MaryPatterson was able to occupy herself as she chose. She began to put


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the healer; that it was a divine principle not a human one. Man, she

said, was made in Gods image, a spiritual idea that is perfect and that

in his likeness of God wholly good and wholly spirit.

Her first convert was Hiram Cofts. He and his wife were impressed

by her seeming healing powers, and he asked to become her pupil.

Initially she was reluctant to accept him, but in due course she did so.

He became a professional healer. The agreeable relationship between

teacher and student did not long continue. The two parted in an

acrimonious fashion.

After moving to Amesbury Mary Glover, as she now called herself,

was to acquire two new disciples. One, Sarah Bingley, was to practice

as a healer using her teachers method for some three decades. The

other was Richard Kennedy. He was to be the first of a series ofyouthful male protgs, almost all of whom were to have disagreements

with their mentor. Richard Kennedy became an accomplished healer,

and his success brought her to the attention of other potential pupils.

Inevitably, not all were satisfied with her tuition. For example, Wallace

Wright, initially a success, had doubts of the efficacy of her instruction

and when reproved by her he became angry. The upshot was that he

wrote a letter to The Lynn Transcript declaring that her so-called

moral science was but a form of mesmerism. The matter mighthave ended there she totally rejected his remarks but Richard

Kennedy himself agreed with Wright and therefore all contact between

Mary Glover and her erstwhile protg ended. Such schisms were to

become part and parcel of the whole development of Christian

Science. Mary Glover was to require a total commitment to her

teachings, any deviation meant disloyalty and ultimately expulsion.

The one positive result of the quarrel was that she was able to cast

aside permanently any influence Quimby might have had on her

formerly, magnetism and mesmerism were to be replaced by her ownvery personal religious beliefs. It was obvious that some sort of corpus

evolve for the future. She began to write what was to be her major

opus under the title Science and Health. It was published in October

1875. By then she had bought a house in Lynn, Massachusetts, had

some real adherents and had received a form of approbation from

Bronson Alcott. The reviewers in general seem to have greeted her

book in a favourable fashion. She could congratulate herself on her

modest successes.What was she like? She was in her early fifties having retained her


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generally associated with middle-aged females; rather she selected

blues, mauves, pinks and shades of green. Her dresses were not plain

and severe but embellished with bows and flounces with touches of

lace at the neck and wrists. Her hair was not yet grey but a light

brown in colour and always handsomely coiffed. Middle-aged women,

particularly if they have good looks and intelligence, are very attractive

to younger men. Mary Glover was to be no exception.

At this juncture, three relatively youthful admirers entered her life.

The first was Daniel Spofford who ultimately became a most successful

healer. He was to fall in love with her, and would have liked to marry

her if he had been able to divorce his wife, which he could not do.

The second was George Barry who unlike Spofford was content to

exist in the role of son. He appears to have been useful acting asan amanuensis, and coping with domestic affairs. He always addressed

Mary Glover as Mother. The third individual was Asa Gilbert Eddy,

and he was to have a role much more important than the other two.

In March 1876 Asa Gilbert Eddy enrolled in one of her classes. He

quickly became totally committed to a belief in Christian Science.

Indeed, on a later occasion, Mary Glover was to say that he was the

first person other than herself to designate himself as such. He was

apparently a thoroughly nice person with an endearing character. Hecould under no circumstances be thought scintillating, but he was

sociable and kind. He proposed to her and she accepted, and they

were married on 1 January 1877 in a quiet and unostentatious fashion.

The reaction of the other two swains was mixed. Barry was quietly

accepting while Spofford was deeply wounded. While Barrys position

in the domestic life of the household was necessarily lessened, Spofford

continued, despite his jealousy, to be in favour, and he was charged

with the responsibility of the publication and sales of Science and

Health. Financial difficulties ensued and the anticipated new editiondid not appear. On 20 December 1877 he was formally expelled from

the Christian Science Association. He was given a month to submit to

direction and to admit error, but he declined to do so. A second vote

was taken which re-affirmed the first, he was officially expelled for

what was called immorality. This word in the vocabulary of Mary

Baker Eddy meant immorality of belief. Attempts were made by

friends of both parties to patch up the quarrel, but without success.

In the summer of 1879 Mary Baker Eddy formally established theChurch of Christ Scientist. The basic tenets of the church can be


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Secondly, All is infinite mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is

all in all. Thirdly, Spirit is immortal truth; matter is mortal error.

Fourthly, Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and

temporal. Fifthly, Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness.

Lastly, Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual. She was to

write, erring finite human mind has an absolute need of something

beyond itself for its redemption and healing. This healing is from

sin primarily and disease secondary; healing is not just a bodily change

but an aspect of full salvation from the flesh as well. She rejected the

idea that healing was an end in itself, healing was one essential aspect

of salvation.

Certain words, which she used in her correspondence and writings,

served to express ideas in a sort of shorthand form. The first waschemicalise, which meant an individuals behaviour was irritating,

obdurate and tactless, and it required admonishment. The second was

immorality, which implied opposition to the ideas and leadership of

Mary Baker Eddy. Individuals who were deviationists were expelled

from the society under the term immorality. The third word was

malpractice. This was a sort of mesmeric or animal magnetism

expressed and directed to another to cause acute distress. Mary Baker

Eddy was to aver that malpractice was the cause of her husbandsdeath.

In June 1882 her husband Gilbert Eddy died. It was a devastating

blow; she was convinced that he was the victim of mesmerism and

malicious malpractice all emanating from the machinations of those

who opposed her leadership. A medical practitioner, Rufus King

Noyes, one who was not opposed to the idea of metaphysical healing,

was convinced rather that Gilbert Eddy had succumbed to a fatal

heart attack. She rejected Noyess opinion completely. She believed

that mesmeric poison had murdered her husband.After a brief sojourn away from Boston, she returned, determined

to continue her teachings. She had asked her son to come and stay

they had met again a few years previously though the encounter was

only marginally successful but he declined to accept her invitation.

The orthodox religious bodies initially had paid scant attention to her

teachings, but with success, criticism and attacks became more

common. One critics comment annoyed her particularly in that he

associated her with Madame Blavatsky. As a result, she gave a publiclecture in Boston in which she firmly rejected such an idea. To promote


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The potential teachers were carefully selected by Mary Baker Eddy

herself, and were to be the recipients of the message in twelve lessons.

The neophytes were to study the writings of the leader and to heal

since they had experienced truth and could set others free. Mary

Baker Eddy inspired her pupils, as a mentor she praised and

admonished. Of course, there were those who failed, who fell into

malicious mesmerism or malpractice and per force became

separated from her society. Her Journal of Christian Science

became the principal source for the dissemination of her ideas and

precepts. Her close assistant and editor was James Harvey Wiggin

who never himself became a Christian Scientist, but he was able to

revise her writings in a professional fashion, thereby to ensure that

her ideas were expressed in a more cogent manner.Although George Washington Glover had rejected his mothers

request to come to Boston when his stepfather Gilbert Eddy died, he

and his wife and children came for a lengthy sojourn in 1887. Like the

earlier visit, this present one was not overly happy, and he and his

family were easily persuaded after some six months to return to South

Dakota. His mother provided the funds for the journey; indeed, over

the years she continued to augment the resources of her son, which

enabled him to live comfortably. However, after this visit contactsbetween Mary Baker Eddy and George Washington Glover continued

but in a restrained fashion.

In 1889, she closed the Massachusetts College of Metaphysical

Science, which she had established a few years previously. She also

officially dissolved the Christian Science Association, and declared

that she had ceased all pastoral duties. She announced that she was

retiring from Boston. Had her critics triumphed and driven her into

exile? The crucial clue to the future had they but known where to

look was the fact that she had acquired land in that part of Bostonknown as Back Bay where in the fullness of time she was to build

the great edifice, The Mother Church.

She moved to Concord in New Hampshire establishing herself in a

pleasant rural situation. She was now 68 years of age, still attractive

and stylish in dress. Her special air of serenity made her most agreeable

company. She proceeded to produce a new and revised text ofScience

and Health. This was to become the authoritative version. Her life

was comfortable, friends ensured that she had an adequate incomeand the household consisted of Calvin Frye, her secretary, a cook, a


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This young man had followed another protg, William Gill, in her

affections. Gill was essentially a person of little real understanding

and after the most inevitable quarrel was expelled from the Society

for the usual reasons. Benny Eddy regarded Mary Baker Eddy

Mother as he called her with obvious affection. Initially the

relationship was a happy one, but almost inevitably there was to be

friction between the two of them. He began to act as if he were the

anointed successor, and implied that Mother was a fragile being,

mildly senile who required his directing hand. In fact, she allowed him

little real power, real authority other than her own was vested in the

three associates or trustees in Boston.

At the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, there was a world

congress of Christian Scientists. Some four thousand people attended.She did not personally address the assembly preferring to have a

chosen friend, Judge Septimus Hannon, deliver the speech which she

had written. The Christian Science congress was part of a larger

body, the Parliament of Religions, which was convened at the same

time. The significance of this joint assembly assured that Christian

Science could be seen as part of a global movement; it was no longer

an isolated and obscure sect.

The decision to erect what was The Mother Church was takenearly the next year. Forty friends students, teachers and believers

each contributed one thousand dollars to defray expenses. The building

was completed by late December of that year and the first service

was held on the thirtieth of the month. She, herself, was not present,

and on the formal dedication she was again absent. The speech which

she had written for this occasion was read on her behalf by Henrietta

Clark, a professional elocutionist. Her adopted son was much

displeased by this procedure as he had hoped to be the centre of

attention himself. By excluding him in this fashion Mother knewprecisely what she was doing and why.

Her initial visit occurred in April and it was a moment of triumph.

The huge building was the visible proof of her success. On this occasion

she conducted a form of service incorporating a favourite hymn and

the ninety-first psalm. To add to the sense of occasion she actually

arranged to sleep in one of the side rooms in the church. Two months

later on a second visit she delivered a short homily. The topic of the

discourse was not one of self-congratulation, but rather on repentanceand sin. There never seems to have been much humour or lightness


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observed the purpose of Christian Science was not to give the

neighbours sleepless nights.

In the midst of these triumphs the relationship between Foster Eddy

Benny and herself was to end. Initially she tried to keep

something of the earliest affection for him, but finally recognised that

he did not have the necessary capacity to sustain any real position in

the church or in her life. She banished him from Concord and observed,

Flattery and pleasure seeking. He ceased to be regarded as a son,

and only emerged from the shadows a few years later and in a

somewhat despicable fashion. Each protg, and they were inevitably

younger men, brought to her a sense of renewal, each must owe

everything to her and if the individual attempted any form of

independence for whatever reason, he was cast into outer darkness.The fall of Lucifer could not have been more complete.

Christian Science was no longer just a North American phenomenon.

In 1897, a church was formally inaugurated in England and soon after

in Australia and New Zealand. Branches were to be found also in

France and Germany. In the latter, a somewhat nationalistic

organisation was to develop which was not entirely in keeping with

the announced precepts of The Mother Church. There were few

inroads made in the Latin countries as the Roman Catholic hierarchyregarded Christian Science as a most dangerous heresy.

Success brought more critics inevitably. One of her most famous

opponents was Mark Twain. His hostility arose in no small part because

he had hoped that through Christian Science he might find a cure for

his daughters infirmities. Sadly this did not occur. In his anger, he

felt that Mary Baker Eddy had traded on hope for her own nefarious

purposes. He decided she was a charlatan who had acquired wealth

and power through devious means. He felt it was hypocritical that

she allowed herself to be addressed as Mother thereby usurpingthe Virgin Mary herself. He regarded her as being intellectually

pretentious, her writings superficial and he observed, She has no

more intellect than a tadpole, until she comes to business she is a

marvel.

The turn of the century saw the First Church of Christ Scientist in

a situation of almost euphoric prosperity. The Church did not however

participate in social, cultural or philanthropic activities, the membership

were to be active in such matters as individuals not as the Churchitself. She herself was relatively generous with donations to selected


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did, however, allow the French government to name her as an officier

dAcadmie.

Public admiration brought her to the attention of the gutter press.

Articles that appeared in The New York Worldimplied that she was

either senile or worse, that the person who purported to be the Concord

Saint was an impostor. She actually allowed herself to be interviewed,

but when the reporters were received, they were very chagrined to

find her very much in charge of herself and the church. McClures

Journal, a well-known muck-raking periodical, also published some

very negative commentary. These articles were written by the author

Willa Cather and ultimately appeared in a book. The church in due

course acquired the manuscript and arranged also that a number of

copies ofThe Life of Mary Baker Eddy and the History of ChristianScience were deliberately destroyed.

A further attack on Mary Baker Eddy was conjured up by William

Chandler, who declared she was incompetent to handle her own

affairs. He enlisted the support of George Washington Glover.

Ebenezer Foster Eddy also joined this camarilla. A judicial suit ensued.

The court-appointed witnesses reported that she was totally sane and

totally able to manage her own affairs. Chandler, Glover and Eddy

gained nothing, and were regarded by the public at large as villainousschemers preying on an old woman. They also had to pay all of the

court costs.

Mary Baker Eddy surprisingly forgave George Glover and Ebenezer

Foster Eddy. To the former she gave nearly a quarter of a million

dollars and to the latter some fifty thousand. Both had to agree that

neither would contest her will. Sensibly, they accepted her proposition.

George Washington Glover returned to South Dakota, Foster Eddy

retired to rural Vermont. Neither played any further role in her life

and both were extremely lucky to receive anything from her,considering their behaviour.

After the conclusion of the case, she abandoned her home in

Concord and bought a mansion in Boston. At the same time she decided

to become the publisher of a newspaper that was to cover international

affairs and intellectual and cultural matters. The Christian Science

Monitor, as the newspaper was called, was to become one of the

most respected in the United States. The editorial board over the

years were to maintain the highest standards, and the paper wasrecognised as being intellectually stimulating.


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Eddy I am the weakest of mortals, but as the Discoverer and Founder

of Christian Science I am the bone and sinew of the world. She

retained to the last her stylish outward appearance. Death per se

meant nothing to her, she was totally serene. She died on 3 December

1910 and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge,

Massachusetts. Her detractors asserted that in her tomb was a

telephone so that she could communicate with the world on some

occasion upon her return.

Mary Baker Eddy was a curious individual. She had what might be

described as a sort of divine madness. That she was paranoid cannot

be denied; that she was despotic and autocratic can be seen in her

treatment of her church and her protgs. Disobedience to the orders

of the leader was followed by instant punishment, the ultimate beingbanishment from her presence. Her role as Mother allowed her to

express herself in the pretence of moral and intellectual justification.

She was able to disguise personal hostility in the guise of mentor. She

frequently was purely whimsical in her metaphysical pronouncements

and the logicality of her commentary quite lacking. She used the

language of the philosopher or the scientist but tended to put her own

gloss on whatever she wrote. Science and Health contained all that

one needed to know; through its authors writings one became awareof the truth.

At the time of her demise there were some 50,000 members of the

Church, a quarter of a century earlier there had been about 60. The

Church came to be regarded as a comfortable billet of the middle

classes but how does one account for Lady Astor, the actress Joyce

Grenfell, Lord Lothian, sometime British ambassador to the United

States, and Sir James Butler, an eminent Cambridge historian?

Christian Science has a minor role in feminist history. Activity in

the church is one in which women have taken a major role. MaryBaker Eddy was often commended in her own day for her brilliant

organisational skills which were generally assumed to be masculine

attributes. Her successes were not due to sweetness and light.

Revolutionaries, and she was a revolutionary, do not object to destroy

the deviant in the name of the cause. The latter is more important

than any individual, except perhaps for the leader, and she was always

the leader.


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future, but the here and now, and our challenge is to become aware of the reign of

God through the awakening of the spiritual sense and to prove this by healing.121

The theologies of Julian of Norwich and Mary Baker Eddy are not only

transformative and healing, but relevant to contemporary issues, particularly

considering the resistance to feminine images of God, and the need for a strongtradition of women in Christianity. I believe that theologians and those involved in

pastoral education need to give more attention to these women and their work than

is the current situation.

121 Gottschalk, 97.

220 COLLOQUIUM 32/2 (2000) 220

future, but the here an

God through the awa

The theologies o

transformative and h

considering the resisttradition of women in

pastoral education nee

is the current situation

121 Gottschalk, 97.


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