Searching for the Truth

How Christianity Compares to World Religions

Christian Scientist

Teacher: Tony Griffies

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The Church of Christ, Scientist

The Back-story

Widely believed to have been founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879.

Consists of the Mother Church (First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston), and roughly 2000 branch churches worldwide.

The first church was started four years after Eddy wrote Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

Some core beliefs

There is no life, truth, intelligence, or substance in matter—all is Infinite Mind.

There is no reality to the physical world around us—everything is a state of mind.

Evil, sin, sickness, disease, and death are “mere illusions of a mortal mind”.

Healings using Christian Science methods “prove” the authenticity of Christian Science.

View of God

Rejection of the (biblical) idea of a Creator God who is infinite, personal, good, and distinct from His creation

Christian Science teaches that God is not a person—God is a principle.

God is viewed as one; all-in-all (no acknowledgement of the concept of Trinity)

No use praying---Christian Science doesn’t believe in prayer to God

What about Jesus?

Because there is no belief in the Trinity nature of God, there is no belief in Jesus being God in flesh.

Jesus was God’s son—human only.

No belief in the saving nature of Jesus’ blood

Salvation

The sinner makes his/her own hell by doing evil.

The saint makes his/her own heaven by doing good.

It’s God’s design that all mankind starts out eternally saved.

Christian Science Reading Room

Much like a library

Provides research tools and reading materials for “spiritual seekers”

Also provides an opportunity for like-minded seekers to network

Online resources supplement the reading rooms (i.e. spirituality.com)

Important Writings

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy

The Christian Science Monitor (an international daily newspaper published by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass)

The Bible (must be interpreted through the higher, final revelation of Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health)

Bible Focus

II Timothy 3: 16
Hebrews 1: 1-4

Would you like to study this topic further?

Detailed lesson outlines, audio tapes, and compact discs of this lesson are available free of charge from the Highlands church of Christ.

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