Mary Baker Eddy is the woman who is accredited with developing the concept of Christian Science. The ideology became a religious movement in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. “Science and health with key to the scriptures” is one of her books which was published in 1875. She later started the church of Christ in 1879 (Nowak, 2016). Consequently, she developed a publishing house which is operational till this date and seeks to explain the importance of spiritual healing rather than therapeutic treatments.
Mary was always ill through her childhood and subsequent two marriages. However, everything changed when she sought the services of Phineas Quimby who was a herbalist. Being a healer, he gave her hypotonic treatments which helped ease her nervous and physical conditions hence gave her a chance to engage in in-depth discussions with him about healing methods (Burr, 2015).
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The Lynn fall as is referred to by the Christian scientists is what led to the development of their movement. Mary claimed to have fallen and injured her spinal cord, and after reading the bible for two weeks, she became healed. According to her, a disease was as a result of sin by an individual, and it could be avoided by having a deeper communication with God. Mary believed that sickness would be healed through an awakened thinking of accepting God as the only person capable of healing just as Jesus did through the use of miracles (Burr, 2015).
Later, Mary claimed that hypotonic treatment was a mere trick by physicians to control their patients. In her view, Christian Science was better because a divine mind was able to heal contrary to the practice of hypotony, which makes a person unconscious of their body and soul.
References
Burr, N. R. (2015). Critical Bibliography of Religion in America, Volume IV, parts 3, 4, and 5 (Vol. 5). Princeton University Press.
Nowak, D. M. (2016). Women, the Church and Equality: The Religious Paradox. (History Theses). Retrieved from the State University of New York at Buffalo - Buffalo State College.
