Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-05

The fierce tumult of religious contro.
versy resounds so thunderously about the
fabric that Mary Baker Eddy raised in
the name of Christian Science that it is
obviously not yet the time to estimate
finally the worth Of her contribution fc
the worlds thought and the worlds re-
ligion. 1t is not, however, too soon te
note the tremendous material proportions
of the edifice that has risen upon heI
foundation, and to indicate all too incom.
pletely something of its spiritual effect
upon the minds and lives of men.
It is fair to date the life of the Chris
tan Science cult from the first publica
ton of the text book Science an6
Health" in 1876. Prior to this time Mrs
Eddy had indeed preached her doctrines
instructed a few students and demon
strated the faith that was within her by
healing few invalids. When the text
book was published Science" had one
refuge, a little two-story house in Lynn
Mass. with a sign over the door, Chris
tian Science Home"
Churches All Over World.
Today. its churches are scattered all
over the world. There are approximately
1900 Churches of Christ, Scientist" al
branches of the stately mother church al
Boston, which is one Of the city's chief
architectural monuments. The ministers
or, as they are termed in the church.
readers, number 2,612. The communicates
regularly enrolled exceed $1,000, and the
total number Of attendants upon the
services exceed 100000. The great dis
proportion between the size Of the con-
gregations and the number of communi-
cants is due to the fact that church mem
bership involves certain preliminaries In
the way Of study which all are not will
ing to undertake. In the United States
at least these congregations in hundreds
of instances meet in handsome church
edifices Of a uniform style of architecture
and all under the discipline of the central
or mother church. South Africa, China
New South Wales and all the countries
of Europe appear in the list.
| If we set aside the effect of Mrs. Eddy
teachings upon the spiritual sense OF man
the creation and perfection of this won
derful church organization in one life
time Is alone sufficient to bring fame to
its creator.
Had Good Education.
Mary Baker was born in Bow, N. H.,
July 16. 1921. Her family was of the
familiar New England type, Of revolu-
tionary ancestry, never rich nor poor, in
tellectually alert and joining in the chief
mental diversion of the day. namely. the
illogical discussion. Her early education
was better than that of the average girl
of the time, her brother, Albert Baker
representative in Congress from New
Hampshire, giving much attention to
guiding her schoolgirl endeavors in clas-
sic tongues. In her later years the fierce
detractors of her creed attacked her fam
lily and her education, saying that heI
people were adventures and she herself
illiterate. Yet after the death Of her first
husband, Col. George W. Glover of North
Carolina, she earned for a time her live
lihood by writing. If portions of her book
Science and Health" seem difficult read
physics was never light literature, and
that the most difficult OF all literary tasks
is for the speculator in that field to re-
member that his readers minds do not
easily follow his own mental processes.
according to Mrs. Ecddy's own story
her conception Of Christian Science
sprung from having healed, without
premonitiOn of her power, a little child
of threatened blindness. Herself Ill, she
had been studying the Scriptures, expert
menting with spiritualism, dallying with
mesmerism and in vague way striving
to find some mental or spiritual cure for
disease. That such a cure existed she
was sure, but how to find it? 1t was at
this period Of her life that she came in
contact with some of the curious charac-
'ters-mesmerists. spiritualists and other
seekers after the occult-whose names
were used in later days to bring meas
ure Of discredit upon hers. But all these
schools she discarded after testing them.
She says that it was after three years of
uninterrupted study of the Scriptures and
reflection thereupon that she formulated
the answer to the problem of life and
called IL Christian Science.
Faith Basis Of Religion.
The nature of that answer and the
creed developed from 1t cannot be more
than indicated here. Perhaps as fair,
brief and dispassionate statement Of
Mrs. Eddy's position is this one, for
mulated by brilliant Journalist not
himself a believer I'm Christian Science:
'.In substance Mrs. Eddy's doctrines
merely take literally this verse from the
fourteenth chapter OF John:
Verify, verify, I say unto you, He