What Do Christian Scientists Believe?
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known as the Christian Science church. It was founded in 1879 in New England by Mary Baker Eddy, who wrote the 1875 book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which outlined the theology of Christian Science. The book was originally called Science and Health; the subtitle with a Key to the Scriptures was added in 1883 and later amended to with Key to the Scriptures. The book became Christian Science's central text, along with the Bible, and by 2001 had sold over nine million copies.
Eddy, for her part, described Christian Science as a return to "primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing". Adherents subscribe to a radical form of philosophical idealism, believing that reality is purely spiritual and the material world an illusion. This includes the view that disease is a mental error rather than physical disorder, and that the sick should be treated not by medicine but by a form of prayer that seeks to correct the beliefs responsible for the illusion of ill health.
The church maintains that Christian Science prayer is most effective when not combined with medicine. The reliance on prayer and avoidance of medical treatment has been blamed for the deaths of several adherents and their children. According to my research, constituents don’t HAVE to avoid medical care; however, being told prayer is more effective than medicine would have been reason enough for those dedicated to this system to avoid medical treatment.
Metaphysical family
The term metaphysical refers to the movement's philosophical idealism, a belief in the primacy of the mental world. The metaphysical groups became known as the ‘mind-cure movement’ because of their strong focus on healing. Medical practice was in its infancy, and patients regularly fared better without it. This provided fertile soil for the mind-cure groups, who argued that sickness was an absence of "right thinking" or failure to connect to the Divine Mind.
Eddy saw her views as a UNIQUE & FINAL revelation. Eddy's idea of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ (that people can be harmed by the bad thoughts of others) marked another distinction, introducing an element of fear that was absent from the ‘New Thought’ literature. Most significantly, she dismissed the material world as an illusion, rather than as merely subordinate to the ‘mind’, leading her to personally reject the use of medicine, thus making Christian Science the most controversial of the metaphysical groups. Reality for Eddy was purely spiritual.
As already stated, when Eddy founded the Church of Christ, Scientist she wrote that she wanted to "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing". Later she suggested that Christian Science was a kind of second coming and that “Science and Health” was an inspired text. In 1895, in the ‘Manual of the Mother Church’, she ordained the Bible AND “Science and Health” as "Pastor over the Mother Church".
Since this group is without mention of man’s sin or Christ’s redemption, nor His deity, among many other critical tenets of our faith, it is classified as a dangerous cult that will take you nowhere but hell. They may be healthy, but they will still remain in sin, thus making them unfit for heaven.
Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
RL Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: www.christianity.com
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