Article April 16, 1990 Issue

SECOND THOUGHT

Looking again at news and commentary

Noreen C. Frisch

Journal of Holistic Nursing

From the Journal of Holistic Nursing, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1989 by Noreen C. Frisch, Ph.D., R.N.

"Christian Science is a religious movement emphasizing Christian healing as proof of the supremacy of spiritual over physical power .... Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879, the ideas of the religion grew from Mrs. Eddy's personal experiences with illness and recovery .... Mrs. Eddy recovered from ... injuries she sustained during a fall by turning to God and prayer. This experience represented a turning point in her life and work, leading to the establishment of the religion. A major premise of Christian Science is that 'understanding of God must include a changed view of reality itself (Eliade [Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 3], 1987) .... In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (... originally published in 1875), Mrs. Eddy sought to awaken readers, the 'seekers of Truth,' to experience God directly and to explore the saving and physically healing effects of that experience. For the Christian Scientist, the Bible and the textbook Science and Health provide a guide for spiritual thought and are carefully studied. Healing takes place through prayer, which Christian Scientists understand to be a consistent, spiritual discipline based upon a divine order or spiritual law. Illness and disease are seen as evidence of a more basic disharmony in human thought.

"Theologically, Christian Science rejects materialism, the philosophical doctrine that matter is the only reality. Rather, Christian Science teaches that God's creation is wholly spiritual, that true being is spiritual and good, and that the conventional material sense of things represents a misconception of reality. Christian Science places great emphasis on 'putting off' this misconception through spiritual growth and Christian regeneration.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

SECOND THOUGHT

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access