By: Josilyn Gaudet
Who is Mary Baker Eddy?
Mary Baker Eddy was and influential religious leader. She is greatly known for founding Christian Science. She founded the religion with her radical ideas on spirituality, healing and health. Mary searched for solutions to the issues of human suffering. She herself had a rough, ill young life. Mary was also an author and a teacher.
What is Christian Science?
"The beliefs and practices of the Church of Christ Scientist, a Christian sect founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879. Members hold that only God and the mind have ultimate reality, and that sin and illness are illusions that can be overcome by prayer and faith."
Mary Baker Eddys fall in Lynn Ma:
On the night of February 1st 1866, Mary Baker Eddy had a detrimental fall when she slipped on a sheet of ice on the corner of Commercial and Oxford Street in Lynn Massachusetts. Mary suffered a terrible back injury, she had been knocked unconscious from the severity of her injuries. Life did not look good for Mary, everyone around her assumed the injury was leading her to her death. She was already 44 years old, and at this day and age that was considered the average life span of a woman. Mary appeared frail and ill. The day after Mary's injury she was returned home to her house on 23 Paradise road in Swampscott Mass where she was foreseen to die. Mary was the only one that believed she could survive this injury, she turned to the bible. Mary read a passage on Jesus's healing. While reading this account of Jesus's, Mary Baker Eddy miraculously started to feel well again. She considered herself cured. After curing herself, she sought to understand how she had been restored to her health. Mary spent her time studying the bible and eventually opened her own successful healing practice. This fall and her drive to research her healing lead her to the finding of Christian science. Above there is a picture of a monument in Lynn dedicated to Eddy. The monument reads "Near this spot, on the evening of February 1, 1866, Mary Baker Eddy fell on the ice and was critically injured. Prayer and Faith led to her healing, her writings, and the advent of Christian Science".
Mary Baker Eddy's house in Swampscott Mass:
Mary Lived at this very house during the time of her fall, this is where she spent her time healing herself. After healing herself, Mary went on to heal others who were sick or in need of help. She also wrote and published her first addition of "Science and Health in 1875. Also in 1875, Mary moved to another house in Lynn, 8 Broad street (shown below) where she continued her studies and the spread of her religion.
Nice job Josilyn. Christian Science is an influential world religion, although controversial too because they believe in prayer for healing mostly refuse modern medicine. There are many court cases involving Christian Scientists and medical care of their children. There is also a Christian Science church on Lynn Shore Drive and the Mother Church is on Massachusetts Ave in Boston. Both are worth a visit. http://www.christianscience.com/find-us/visit-the-mother-church
ReplyDeleteThis religion is practiced back in my homeland of Kenya as well, and most members do not believe in Modern medicine. It is also funny that people with terminal illnesses also tend to turn to this religion when there is nothing also left medically to help them heal or get cured.
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