Thus Christ does not defeat evil but demonmstrates its lack of any reality beyond our belief in it. Christian Science emphasizes the impersonal aspect of God as Principle, Mind, Life, Truth and Love, though the personal aspect of God as Father is acknowledged. It also distinguishes between the man Jesus and the eternal spiritual selfhood, Christ, Son of God, which has been expressed by men and women throughout the centuries. Humans are saved through the Christ, which was demonstrated in Jesus and has been seen in others. Authority is vested in the Mother Church and its Board of Directors.
Individual congregations are democratically organized and elect their own oficers.
There is no separate ministry in the Church and the congregation is led by the first Reader. All officers of the congregation must be members of the Mother Church and, thus, fall under the direct authority of the Board of Directors, who are responsible for the correctness and purity of teachings. Each congregation is also in charge of at least one reading room where Christian Science literature is made available to the public. Almost as much as the medical controversy, charges of heresy from Orthodox Christian Churches have hounded the Church. Leaders of Christian Science insist that they are within the mainstream of Christian teachings and strongly resent any identification with the New Thought movement, which they see as having drifted far from their central Christian affirmations.