Christian Science

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Christian Science (German: Christian Science ) is the name of the teaching developed by Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) after 1866, which she formulated in her book Science and Health with Key to the Holy Scriptures and which she published in 1875 for the first time.

Names

First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, viewed from the Prudential Tower skywalk

Church of Christ, Scientist is the name for the worldwide faith community founded by Mary Baker Eddy, which sees itself as a mouthpiece for Christian Science. The mother church is The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston . The local congregations are branch churches of the mother church that are legally independent and democratically organized by the members of the local congregations. The Christian Science Church is often spoken of in general .

distribution

There is no official information about the total number of members, various estimates assume 400,000 members, of which around 100,000 are active.

The church is formed by the mother church, “The First Church of Christ, Scientist” in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and its approximately 2,000 branch congregations in 80 countries (according to Georg Schmid 3,000 branch congregations and university associations in 50 countries).

There are 42 branch churches, associations and university associations in Germany. There are 14 branch churches and associations in Switzerland and two in Austria (as of April 2020)

Christian Science counts 1,091 officially registered Christian Science practitioners worldwide , 40 of them in Germany and seven in Switzerland. (As of April 2020)

Teaching

Mary Baker Eddy - Discoverer of Christian Science

According to Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science is the law of good , the science of Christ , the Christian system of spiritual healing based on the teachings of the Bible .

Basic ideas are

  • God is divine love, highest father-mother.
  • The true nature of each individual as a child of God is spiritual.
  • God's infinite goodness, experienced in prayer, heals.

The starting point for what Eddy calls the discovery of Christian Science is her spontaneous recovery from the severe consequences of an accident in 1866. Eddy attributed her unexpected recovery to an inspiration while reading the healing of the paralyzed man depicted in the Bible (Matthew 9). Church representatives explain that the thought that the power behind the biblical healing process and the work of Jesus Christ was not limited to biblical times was the impetus for Eddy's many years of study of the Bible, which led to the publication of Eddy's main work Science and Health with Key to Scripture led. The purpose of the Christian Science Church, defined in 1879, is, according to a central guideline, to “ bring the words and works of Jesus Christ to mind and thereby reintroduce original Christianity and its lost element of healing” ( Church Handbook , p. 17).

Mary Baker Eddy described the superiority of spiritual power over physical power as the central fact of the Bible and also as the core point of Christian Science. From their point of view, this “great fact” must be proven by healing the sick .

Christian Science sees God , spirit and mind as the only cause and principle of the universe. According to the first text of creation in Genesis (Gen 1, 1–2a), man is an image and likeness of God, and consequently he is spiritual. Matter and evil are considered - before God, spirit - unreal and temporal.

God is described in Christian Science using seven synonyms: mind, spirit, soul , principle , life , truth and love . “God is love”, a quote from the letters of John, is written on the front wall of many Christian Science church buildings. In order to clearly emphasize the names or synonyms for God, Eddy capitalized them in English - in German, small caps or capital letters are used accordingly; for example, the divine mind is distinguished from the human mind (see below the application in the “Scientific Explanation of Being”).

Before setting aside her thoughts, Eddy dealt with the mesmerism of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and the observations of homeopathy , the notions that diseases are of mental origin. Eddy's view, however, differed significantly from Quimby's suggestion therapy because of its Christian attitude, which sees God as the focus and not a manipulative human force. Eddy concluded that human beings as God's image and likeness must be spiritually perfect and therefore sin, illness and death can and must really be overcome (healed) simply by turning to the divine origin.

Baker-Eddy interprets the term science in a new way. Mary Baker Eddy answers the question about a Christian-scientific explanation of being as follows:

“There is no life, no truth, no intelligence and no substance in matter. Everything is infinite G EMÜT and its infinite manifestation, for God is all-in-all. Spirit is immortal truth ; Matter is mortal error. Spirit is real and eternal; Matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God and man is His image and likeness. Hence man is not material; he is spiritual. ” ( Science and Health with the Key to Scripture , Authorized Translation 1997, Printed 1998, pp. 468: 10-17)

Eddy puts her "scientific explanation" in a direct connection with the Bible text from 1 John 3: 1–3, which is read out as a so-called "corresponding scripture" every Sunday at the end of the service:

“See what love the Father has shown us that we should be called God's children - and so are we! That is why the world does not know us; because she doesn't know him. Dear ones, we are already God's children; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we know that when it is revealed, we will be like it; because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has such hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. " (Lutherbibel, standard edition, 1985, German Bible Society, Stuttgart)

The reading of these two texts is followed by the blessing.

A guideline for motives and actions for the members of the mother church is given as follows in the church manual:

“Neither hostility nor purely personal affection should be the driving force behind the motives or actions of members of The Mother Church. In science alone divine LOVE rules man and a Christian scientist reflects the gracious grace of love in the rebuke of sin, in true brotherhood, mercy and forgiveness. The members of this Church are to watch and pray daily to be redeemed from all evils, from erroneous prophecy, judgment, judgment, counseling, influencing or being influenced. ” (Church Manual , Article VIII, Section 1.) This text is published every first Sunday read every month at Sunday services.

Creed

In the textbook, Mary Baker gives Eddy six beliefs that must be signed by anyone wishing to join the Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston. These beliefs are against a literal historical interpretation of the Bible and against the Trinity . Forgiveness is defined as the spiritual understanding that evil is unreal. Redemption be done through Christ, through truth, life and love, and the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is "to raise faith to the understanding of eternal life, to the allness of soul, of spirit, and to the non-existence of matter".

Worship and practice

Unlike in the early days of the Church, the Church today has no ordained ministers; the Bible, along with the book Science and Health with Keys to the Holy Scriptures, forms the pastor of the Christian Science Church.

The services on Sunday consist of singing, prayer and reading of quotations from these two books, which are read by two readers . The Bible reading and Science and Health include the sermon. Followers study the week through Sunday's readings. There is also a short reading from both books at Wednesday evening meetings, while the other part of the meeting is occupied by contributions and testimonies of healings from the meeting attendees. Twice a year, a sacrament service is held in the branch churches, during which the congregation kneels to celebrate “spiritual communion”. There is no baptism with water or the Lord's Supper with bread and wine.

Christian-scientific nurse

An idea of ​​practical Christianity is also expressed in the activity of the Christian scientific caretaker. If necessary, he supports the work of the Christian-Scientific practitioner until the patient is cured. Its role is set out and described in the Church Manual of Christian Science. “A member of the mother church who describes himself as a Christian scientific nurse must be a person who has a demonstrable knowledge of the practice of Christian science, who has the practical wisdom necessary in the sickroom and who adequately care for the sick can. ”VIII 31. He gives practical assistance in dressing, eating, moving, bathing, etc. The basis and only aid are prayer, they are medicine for him and God is his doctor. The Christian scientific nurse is not trained in the sense of a medical nurse and cannot provide medical care. It is only available to those who rely on Christian science for healing. Care decisions remain in the hands of the patient or the family.

Christian scientific practitioner

Another idea of ​​a practical Christianity finds one of its forms in the activity of the Christian-scientific practitioner who helps others to find healing through prayer, in the sense of Jesus' healing mission.

This mostly full-time religious practice, which is based on the healing mandate of Jesus, usually finds its form in what is called Christian-scientific treatment in Christian-scientific theology and comprises a systematized form of prayer. This includes the affirmation of the spiritual facts of being, of the perfection of God and of man, who in Christian science and based on the first account of creation in the Bible is understood as a reflection of God.

The ideal basis for this form of religious practice can be found for the Christian scientist in the Bible and in the book Science and Health with Key to the Holy Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

The Christian Science Practitioner is not an official church title and is not a clergyman , but they are usually officially listed in the official organ of the Christian Science Mother Church, the Christian Science Journal , as well as for Germany in The Christian Science Herold and thus declare their availability for those seeking help. One of the requirements for such registration is the completion of a class teaching mentioned 12-day course at a Christian Science teacher .

Christian science teacher

Christian Science teachers must have attended a class on the Teaching Council of the Mother Church, First Church of Christ, Scientists in Boston, MA, USA. The prerequisite for this is at least three years of full-time work as a Christian scientific practitioner.

Teachers are only allowed to teach one class of a maximum of 30 students per year. The fee for the tuition was set out in Mary Baker Eddy's manual and is a maximum of US $ 100 per student. Subject is the chapter "Summary" from the textbook of Christian Science Science and Health with Key to the Holy Scriptures .

organization

The Constitution of the Church is Mary Baker Eddy's Church Manual. The church is governed by a five-person board. The board of directors elects the successors if there are vacancies on the board of directors. The Church is represented externally by a President of the Mother Church elected annually by the Board of Directors; in fact, however, all power rests with the five-member board.

The branch churches regulate their own affairs independently and democratically. They also know different conditions for the admission of members in the individual branch churches.

Membership can be acquired in either a branch church or in the mother church. Certain functions in the branch churches, such as reading office, may only be performed by members who also belong to the mother church. In order to join the Mother Church, all connections to other denominations must be broken.

history

Mother Church of Christian Science in Boston

The first church was organized in Boston , USA in 1879 . In 1881, Mary Baker Eddy was ordained pastor of her church. In 1892 the so-called Mother Church in Boston (The First Church of Christ, Scientist) emerged from the now dissolved congregation. This church is part of a larger ensemble of buildings in the center of Boston. The original building of the mother church was consecrated in 1895, and an extension was opened in 1906.

In Germany

  • In 1896 Christian Science was introduced in Dresden and in 1899 in Berlin by Frances Thurber Seal
  • 1903 Der Herold der Christian Wissenschaft (today Der Christian Science Herold ) appears, the first non-English Christian Science magazine ever
  • In 1912 there were recognized churches in Germany in Berlin, Dresden-Neustadt, Frankfurt / Main, Hanover and Stuttgart
  • In 1937 the National Socialist regime began to hinder the free activity of Christian Science. Since the end of May this ban has been strictly enforced by the Gestapo, including criminal proceedings, interrogations and finally a ban. Numerous members and practitioners of Christian Science were arrested and also deported to concentration camps. The parents of the resister Helmuth James Graf von Moltke were supporters of the movement. The father was head of the Publications Committee, Germany from 1928 to 1933. The mother played a key role in the first German translation of the book "Science and Health with Key to the Holy Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy.
  • After the war lively church reconstruction
  • In 1951 Christian Science was banned in what was then the Soviet occupation zone.
  • In 1989 (on November 3rd), six days before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Christian Science was re-approved by the GDR government.
  • 2003 Berlin hosts the Mother Church's annual meeting (usually held annually in June in Boston, USA).

Christian Science has the status of a corporation under public law in numerous federal states .

Todays situation

After initially strong growth, the movement has been struggling with a steady decline in membership since 1955. It can be assumed that in 2006 fewer than 1,000 practitioners and teachers were active in the USA. The Church opened its archives to the public with the opening of the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity , as well as other activities to try to regain meaning. In 2004 the first Christian Science congregation in Ukraine opened its doors. New churches are emerging mainly in Africa. In 2009, for the first time, more new members were accepted from Africa than from the USA.

Publications

Publications are the non-religious daily newspaper The Christian Science Monitor , which is also distributed outside the church in the USA, and the religious publications Der Herold der Christian Wissenschaft , The Christian Science Journal , The Christian Science Sentinel , Vierteljahresheft (Bible lesson booklet).

The Herald of Christian Science

Der Herold der Christian Wissenschaft (former name: Der Christian Science Herold) has been published since 1903 and is the first non-English-language Christian Science subscription magazine at all. It is intended to provide readers with practical examples of the availability and applicability of God's laws, as Mary Baker Eddy envisions, and contains articles and healing reports, as well as a directory of Christian Science churches, Christian Science practitioners, and other information. In addition to the German-speaking Herald of Christian Science (monthly), the publishing company Christian Science Verlagsgesellschaft supplies 12 other languages ​​with magazines.

Broadcasts

Christian Science produced a radio program in five languages ​​that was broadcast on shortwave stations . In German it was available for an hour every Sunday. It was discontinued in 2011.

Articles by Christian Science are also represented on the church radio of Bayern 2 and the Hamburg Tide Radio

Ecumenism and Dialogue

Christian Science is not a member of the World Council of Churches . The background is the non- trinitarian creed, as the recognition of the Trinity is a requirement of the council.

At the local level, Christian Science (Christian Science) actively participates in the dialogue between religions. For example, as a member of the working group of churches and religious societies in Berlin or the Long Night of Religions.

Controversy

The Christian Science (Christian Science) is criticized because the teaching of classical medicine as well as medication is critical to negative. The denomination itself gives its members the freedom to choose how they deal with this issue and what type of health care they want to choose individually.

The church has its own medical facilities and nursing staff who have not completed any classical medical training. In the United States, however , the costs of these treatments in Christian science institutions are covered by the state-funded Medicare program . Furthermore, some cases of children are known who have died at a young age from diseases or injuries that could have been treated. In the USA in particular, however, it is difficult to take legal action against the parents of these children, as Christian Science also makes great efforts in lobbying to obtain a legal basis that protects the neglect or negligent killing of children under religious freedom .

Christian Science defines terms such as sin, Christ, Creator, or Spirit differently than they are defined in traditional Christian churches. Mary Baker Eddy's interpretation of the Bible is rejected by traditional Christian churches.

Separations from the mother church

The organizational separations from the "Boston mother church" that can be perceived in German-speaking countries include:

The Kappeler Institute , named after Max Kappeler, which, in the tradition of the former Christian scientist John Doorly, undertakes an independent, highly abstract development of Mary Baker Eddy's theology. Doorly broke away from the Boston Mother Church in the 1920s. The German branch of this direction has its seat in Berlin.

The Swiss National Association of Free Christian Scientists , which is a continuation of the “Christian scientific movement of the German branch”, which was based on the German idealism of Johann Karl Passavant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte , and which split from Boston in 1904 under the direction of Marie Schön. This direction stands for an expansion of Mary Baker Eddy's teaching to include idealistic and spiritualistic approaches from other directions. The textbook Science and Health is no longer considered inviolable here.

The Christ Congregation in Bremen, not to be confused with the “Christ Congregation Bremen”, a Free Evangelical Congregation, is a former “First Church of Christian Scientists”, which broke away from Boston after violent disputes and tries to include teaching aspects of Far Eastern religions with the teaching Mary Baker Eddys join.

literature

  • Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson: Christian Science in the Land of Luther. An American religious group in Germany, 1894–2009. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-515-09380-4 .
  • John DeWitt: The Christian Science Way of Life. Christian Science Publishing Society, Boston 1974, ISBN 0-87510-068-6 (German The attitude to life of the Christian scientist ).
  • Oswald Eggenberger : The churches, special groups and religious associations. Tvz, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-290-11639-5 .
  • Max Kappeler: Introduction to the Science of Christian Science. Foundation Book Company, London 1977.
  • Max Kappeler: New Developments in Christian Science. 2nd Edition. Kappeler Institute, Zurich 1999.
  • Michael Klöcker: Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist). In: Handbook of Religions. 1997, II-5.3.
  • Hans-Diether Reimer: Christian Science - Christian Science. In ... next to the churches. 1985, p. 311 ff.
  • Hans-Diether Reimer: Christian Science. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia . Volume 8, 1981, pp. 62-64.
  • Marie Schön: Foundations of Christian Science . Collected lectures. German Publishing House for Christian Science, Berlin 1929.
  • Mark Twain : Christian Science. Tauchnitz publishing house, Leipzig 1907.
  • Stefan Zweig : Healing through the spirit . Fischer-Verlag, 1930.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The church officially uses the traditional word scientist in German , the newer and nowadays common, meaning-identical form scientist is less common.
  2. ↑ Attending a church service. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  3. ^ The Christian Science Journal Directory. Retrieved April 9, 2020 (American English).
  4. ↑ The Beliefs of Christian Science. Accessed April 9, 2020 (German).
  5. ^ EZW: Lexicon. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Sunday and Wednesday services. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  7. ^ Nursing in Christian Science. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Practitioners of Christian Science. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Teacher of Christian Science. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  10. ^ Primary class instruction. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  11. ^ Christian Science Center. February 13, 2020, accessed April 9, 2020 .
  12. ^ Christian Science Statistics .
  13. ↑ Christa Case Bryant, "Africa Contributes biggest share of new members to Christian Science church" , Christian Science Monitor , June 9, in 2009.
  14. ^ Christian Science radio broadcasts . In: christian-science-nuernberg.de. October 30, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  15. ↑ die.interaktiv: Christian Science radio broadcast on TIDE Radio. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Long Night of Religions. Accessed April 9, 2020 (German).
  17. ↑ Member communities. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  18. ↑ How can I be healed? Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  19. ^ Insurance and Christian Science. Retrieved April 18, 2020 (English).
  20. ^ Caroline Fraser: Dying the Christian Science way: the horror of my father's last days . In: The Guardian . August 6, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed November 26, 2019]).
  21. ↑ Frankfurt line of the Passavant family .