What defines Christian Science beliefs and practices?

Historical Origins and Founding

Christian Science originated in the late 19th century through the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910). In 1875, Eddy published her primary work, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” which provides the foundational interpretations and methods that form the basis of Christian Science doctrine. The movement formally organized as the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879. Eddy’s writings emerged at a time of growing American interest in holistic health, alternative medicine, and what was sometimes called “mind-cure.” Christian Science subsequently spread through its churches and “Reading Rooms,” which were established worldwide to encourage study of the Bible alongside Eddy’s works.

Principal Texts and Interpretive Framework

Christian Science regards the Bible (often emphasizing the King James Version) as sacred. In practice, however, its members place great interpretive weight on “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” This text is treated as a guide to reveal what is believed to be the deeper metaphysical essence of Christianity.

By contrast, historic Christian theology consistently references Scripture as the complete and final authority. The Berean Standard Bible renders Genesis 1:1 as: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This statement profoundly affirms a material creation by God. In Christian Science, materiality is often reinterpreted as existing in a state subordinate to divine Mind, rather than accepted as tangibly created reality. This tension underpins many of the theological differences with traditional biblical interpretation.

Core Doctrines and Key Beliefs

1. God as Divine Mind

Christian Science teaches that God is infinite Mind or Principle. While there is recognition of God as Love (1 John 4:8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”), some formulations in Christian Science diminish the personal nature of God. Traditional Christian doctrine emphasizes the personal triune nature of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)—where God is understood as both transcendent Creator and intimately personal.

2. Christology and Jesus

Christian Science teaches that Jesus was a way-shower who lived in perfect alignment with the divine Mind. According to Mary Baker Eddy, Jesus exhibited the Christ-idea, but his humanity is sometimes distinguished from that “Christ” principle. In contrast, Scripture proclaims Jesus as fully God and fully man (Colossians 2:9: “For in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”), who physically rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4) to secure redemption. Hence, Christian Science often treats the atonement differently than traditional Christianity, downplaying sin’s gravity and the necessity of Christ’s sacrificial death and bodily resurrection.

3. View of Sin and Evil

Christian Science typically presents sin and evil as illusions resulting from misunderstanding God’s perfect reality. This stems from the concept that only Spirit truly exists. However, Romans 3:23 proclaims: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” illustrating that sin is not an illusion but a moral offense with real consequences (Romans 6:23). Traditional biblical teaching regards sin as a genuine barrier between humanity and God, remedied solely by Christ’s atoning work.

4. Healing through Prayer

One of the best-known aspects of Christian Science is its approach to spiritual healing. Practitioners rely predominantly on prayer and metaphysical affirmations to heal mental and physical problems. While Scripture underscores God’s power to heal (James 5:14–16), Christians throughout history have generally recognized both divine healing and the use of medicine (Luke 10:34 records the use of oil and wine in tending wounds). Christian Science’s near-exclusive reliance on spiritual healing often distinguishes it within the broader Christian sphere.

Distinctive Practices

1. Reading Rooms and Worship Services

Christian Science Reading Rooms serve as places where the public can study Mary Baker Eddy’s writings and the Bible. Worship services may include readings from the Bible and “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” with limited formal preaching. Traditionally, Christian worship spans prayer, teaching, communion, and congregational fellowship around core biblical texts, without an equal authority given to additional writings.

2. Emphasis on Practitioners

Specially trained “practitioners” offer Christian Science treatment and prayerful support to individuals seeking spiritual healing. This differs from many Christian traditions that embrace both prayer for healing and the use of conventional medicine. Biblical passages portraying Jesus and the apostles healing are cited by Christian Science adherents, though Christian orthodoxy contends that healing flows from God’s direct intervention (Acts 3:6–8) rather than a strictly mental reorientation.

3. Sunday School and Lesson Sermons

Christian Science congregations place strong emphasis on Sunday School instruction, where youths and adults study regular “Lesson Sermons” drawn from Scripture and Eddy’s writings. This structured curriculum seeks to present biblical texts through the lens of Christian Science interpretations.

Points of Departure from Traditional Christian Theology

1. Nature of Reality

Christian Science frames matter as an illusion and emphasizes spiritual reality as the only true existence. Traditional Christianity affirms that God spoke material reality into existence (Psalm 33:9: “For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded, and it stood firm.”), regarding both the spiritual and the physical as authentic.

2. The Person and Work of Christ

Christian Science descriptions of Jesus differ considerably from the biblical accounts that affirm his role as the divine Son and Savior (John 1:1,14). The bodily resurrection (Luke 24:39) is central to orthodox Christian faith and is historically attested in Scripture and early Christian witnesses, whereas some Christian Science interpretations spiritualize this event.

3. Meaning of Salvation

Christian Science typically teaches that salvation comes through realizing one’s inseparable relationship with God, thereby dispelling illusions of sin and suffering. By contrast, biblical doctrine presents salvation as forgiveness of actual sin, found only in the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Scriptural and Historical Reflections

Archaeological discoveries—such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and other manuscript findings—continue to confirm the textual reliability of the Bible’s claims, lending historical weight to accounts of creation, the life of Jesus, and the early church. Such discoveries align with the biblical assertion that every word is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16–17). This consistency of scriptural authorship underscores that spiritual healing as recognized in the Bible sits within a broader context of genuine sin, the necessity of the Cross, and a literal resurrection rather than purely metaphorical interpretations.

Observations for Further Study

• Examine parallels and divergences in how Christian Science and historic Christian teaching approach medicine, sin, the atonement, and the reality of matter.

• Investigate original sources like Mary Baker Eddy’s “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” alongside comprehensive Bible study, to compare textual claims.

• Explore manuscript evidence confirming scriptural unity that undergirds traditional Christian doctrines of a risen Christ and a created, literal world.

• Consider testimonies of believers throughout history, many of whom have experienced divine healing, while still recognizing the legitimacy of medical means (Luke 5:31).

Conclusion

Christian Science is defined by a distinctive blend of metaphysical theology, prayer-based healing, and reliance on Mary Baker Eddy’s writings to interpret the Bible. Its emphasis on the power of divine Mind, the denial or reinterpretation of matter, and the view of sin as an illusion set it apart from the broader stream of historic Christian teaching. While Christian Science congregations observe practices like Sunday services, Reading Rooms, and healing prayer, their conceptual framework diverges significantly from the traditional doctrines of Scripture that emphasize the physical creation by God, the genuine reality of sin, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by His redemptive work.