Questions & Answers

Below are questions and answers submitted by our visitors about Christian Science and how it relates to life, love, and our Group. If you would like to ask us a question, please Contact Us.

You may either select a specific question from the selection list below, or feel free to scroll downwards at your own pace.

Question: My mother was a devout (as they say) Christian Scientist. When she got cancer, she worked with practitioners for over twenty years, to no avail. Things got pretty bad. Finally, she accepted medical intervention -- which saved her life (or that's what I think). After the operation, not one of her Christian Science friends visited her. The practitioners didn't visit her. She wasn't allowed in a Christian Science rest home because she'd been to a doctor. My understanding of a cult is that it is an organization which doesn't allow members to mix, intellectually, and sometimes socially, with people and ideas who aren't part of the cult. I once read that C.S. is classed as a cult by government organizations. So, is it a cult? Why is there so much rigidity in the religion, or at least the church? I appreciate some things I learned in Science -- some of the teachings are invaluable, yes. But something's wrong. Cult? Not a cult?

Answer: There are many definitions of "cult", from groups that practice manipulation, brainwashing, and psychological abuse to groups whose teachings simply deviate from the "norms" of society. Christian Science has been classified by some governments and non-governmental organizations as a cult, but usually these organizations know very little about the religion. And it is a true religion, although it presents a different way of looking at the world: its people, its science, and health. Perhaps this is the source of the confusion.

Christian Science teaches no restriction no limits on the actions, abilities, or conditions of anyone. Students of Christian Science are free to live their lives any way they see fit. They are free to go where they want, do what they want, associate with whomever they want, and even seek medical help if the individual feels it's necessary, without consequence. In her writings, Mrs. Eddy strongly advocates self-government and personal responsibility. She writes in Science and Health, "'Work out your own salvation,' is the demand of Life and Love, for to this end God worketh with you." (pg. 22:11)

As to the question of rigidity in the church: all branch Churches of Christ, Scientist, are self-governing. The members of each church are solely responsible for the rules or by-laws that govern it. If there is any rigidity, it lies within the culture of the individual branch or membership. The Mother Church can assume no control over its branches or any other Christian Science institutions which are separate from its headquarters in Boston.

We are disappointed to hear about the unfortunate experience your mother had with her church friends. We hope you will not judge all of Christian Science by the failings of a few. Christian Scientists are instructed to live by the Golden Rule: "to do unto others as we would have them do unto us." In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love." (pg. 113:5)

Our group may take this up as a possible topic for one of our meetings. Please come back and visit us again.

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Question: I noticed there are virtually no African Americans (or Hispanic men and women) at Principia College. Why is that so? What is the college's policy on gays and lesbians?

Answer: Our understanding, based on recent discussions with Principia, is that before attending the school, students and faculty must agree to a "Code of Conduct", which states, in part: "Students are responsible for ... Abstaining from pre-marital and extramarital sexual activity, and from homosexual activity" (the full "code" can be read on Principia's web site at http://www.prin.edu/college/admissions/faq/campuslife.htm. We are unclear whether this refers merely to a Gay orientation or an actual sexual response. Indeed, would holding hands be grounds for expulsion?

Our own contacts with the administration have brought to light the recent expulsion of two homophobic students as well as the student they were harassing, who has come out as Gay.

As far as we know, Principia does not discriminate against any group, except, perhaps, homosexuals. You can read their non-discrimination policy on their web site at: http://www.prin.edu/college/academics/catalog/legal_notice.htm.Why are there so few African American and Hispanic students at Prin? That's a question we really can't answer. But perhaps we'll take it up as a topic for one of our meetings.

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Question: Do the following objects have a potential energy, kinetic energy,or both? (a) a book on a shelf, (b) a spring pulled out of its normal shape, (c) a book lifted from the table to a high shelf, (d) a book falling from a shelf to the floor, (e) a pendulum at the highest point of the swing, (f) a pendulum at the lowest point of the swing.

Answer: "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all." These statements are from the Christian Science Textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. They were written over one hundred years ago by a woman who did not have much training in the academic field of Physics, but through her study of the Bible she discerned the rule of divine metaphysics which enabled Jesus to heal the sick and sinning, raise the dead, and walk on the surging sea.

Elsewhere in Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes: "All substance, intelligence, wisdom, being, immortality, cause, and effect belong to God." The book on the shelf does not possess any type of energy of its own unless God provides it. The spring's normal shape is defined by Soul, God and it can never be out of shape. The arm that lifts the book from the table to a high shelf obeys the governor of all action, divine Mind, God. The book falling from the shelf to the floor is unaffected by the fall because it is a perfect idea in Spirit, God. The pendulum at either its highest or lowest point moves only by the volition of the one Principle of the universe, God.

Your question looks like it came from a student's textbook. If this is so, I have one more bit of wisdom to offer: "we are to work out our own salvation, and to meet the responsibility of our own thoughts and acts; relying not on the person of God or the person of man to do our work for us, but on the apostle's rule, 'I will show thee my faith by my works.'" (Christian Healing, by Mary Baker Eddy)

If you would like to read more of Science and Health, you can visit Spirituality.com and read it on-line. If you would like more information about Christian Science and its unique perspective on man, woman, and the universe, or about the New York City Christian Science Group, please feel free to ask us more questions.

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Question: What type of questions should I ask a gay person about what is it like to be gay in a black community?

Answer: We favor asking the Gay African American how they feel about being a member of a double minority in this society. They may be OK with it, or maybe not. That way you get their feelings on the subject and know what to address if there is a problem.

There are many documented cases of the healing of racial prejudice in Christian Science. While the church has only recently come to a clearer understanding of Gay people, many individual students of Christian Science have seen healing in the area of homophobia.

You may want to support your friend's well being by seeing his divine individuality, of which his racial and sexual orientation are merely human indications.

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Question: How do I go about identifying a teacher for Class Instruction?

Answer: Students of Christian Science whom we've talked to about how they selected a teacher report various avenues. Some went through The Christian Science Journal, found the teachers in their area and interviewed them one by one. Some were initially attracted to a teacher through their writings in the Journal. Others were turned on by a lecturer who happened to be a teacher. All seemed to agree that the teacher should be someone who inspires but also makes one comfortable in their presence.

While the official position of The Mother Church is that no teacher should exclude a person from class solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, a Gay person should probably check out the teacher's level of knowledge and comfort in this area.

Emergence International (http://www.emergence-international.org) maintains a list of gay-friendly practitioners and teachers. For more information, please visit their web site.

For more information about Christian Science Primary Class Instruction, we suggest reviewing the following articles:

* From The Manual of The Mother Church, by Mary Baker Eddy, Articles XXVI & XXVII.

* From The Christian Science Journal: "Only One Teaching", Ella, W. Hoag, July, 1926, and "Selecting a Teacher", Carl J. Welz, June, 1971

* From The Christian Science Sentinel: "Spiritual Education", Helen Wood Bauman, June 27, 1964, and "When Shall I Take Class Instruction?", William F. Marquardt III, April 10, 1971

Articles from the Journal and Sentinel can be found at your local Christian Science Reading Room.

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Question: What is the Christian Science Committee on Publication?

Answer: The Christian Science Committee on Publication is an office of The Mother Church. There are State Committee offices in all of the United States and in many countries throughout the world, and for the Internet. The responsibility of the Committee on Publication is "to correct in a Christian manner impositions on the public in regard to Christian Science, injustices done Mrs. Eddy or members of this Church by the daily press, by periodicals or circulated literature of any sort." (The Manual of The Mother Church, by Mary Baker Eddy, Article XXXIII, Section 2)

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Question: In your notes you refer to the "Textbook". What is the Christian Science Textbook?

Answer: By the Christian Science Textbook, we mean, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. Throughout her writings, Mrs. Eddy refers to Science and Health as the Textbook, such as in the following statement: "A Christian Scientist requires my work SCIENCE AND HEALTH for his textbook, and so do all his students and patients." (Science and Health, p. 456:25)

Science and Health may be purchased at your local Christian Science Reading Room, or by visiting Spirituality.com.

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Question: In your notes you sometimes refer to Genesis 1 or Genesis 2. What do you mean by this?

Answer: Genesis 1 and 2 refer to the two stories of creation in the Bible, the first being the chapter in which man is made in the image and likeness of God, and where "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31) The second chapter paints a different picture of creation, where God created man as a mortal, sinful being, and woman as subservient to mortal man.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Spiritually followed, the book of Genesis is the history of the untrue image of God, named a sinful mortal.

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Question: What is a Christian Science Practitioner?

Answer: A Christian Science Practitioner is a Christian Scientist who is in the public practice of Christian Science healing. Those listed in the back of the Christian Science Journal depend on this practice as their sole means of financial income.

In an article entitled "The Basic Goal of Christian Science Practice," Naomi Price writes: "The essential purpose of Christian Science practice is much more than the improvements of human conditions. It is the total spiritualization of human thought -- the demonstration of the fact that being is wholly spiritual, immortal, good. Christian Science practitioners aim to establish in consciousness the true, Christly understanding of God and His idea as all that really exists. Their goal is to prove that God is Love, the one divine Principle, or creator, of all, and that the universe is the expression of His unique being, the perfect reflection of His nature and substance." (The Christian Science Sentinel, December 8, 1973)

Emergence International (http://www.emergence-international.org) maintains a list of gay-friendly practitioners and teachers. For more information, please visit their web site.

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Question: What do the initials "C.S." and "C.S.B." mean?

Answer: The initial "C.S." after a person's name denotes that the person has taken Primary Class Instruction and is working professionally as a Christian Science Practitioner. The initials "C.S.B." denotes that a person has taken Normal Class Instruction and has been authorized to teach Christian Science by the Christian Science Board of Education -- the "B" stands for "Bachelor".

The initials "C.S.D." were used by members of The Mother Church who were taught by Mary Baker Eddy and were authorized to teach Christian Science -- the "D" stands for "Doctor". Because of the requirement to be taught by Mrs. Eddy, you will not see these initials attached to anyone's name today, but you may see them in historical documents and letters.

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Question: What and Where is The Mother Church?

Answer: The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the church Mrs. Eddy built, and is the "headquarters" of the Christian Science movement. For more information about this church, please visit their web site at http://www.tfccs.com.

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