Mary Baker Eddy
By Valerie Minard
Mary Baker Eddy,
born in rural New England in the 1800's, overcame many hurdles
to become an acclaimed author, publisher, and religious leader
whose impact is still being felt today. In 1995, she was
inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for "making an
indelible mark on society, religion, and journalism." How did
this independent New England woman rise from obscurity to become,
as Human Life magazine described in 1907, "the most famous, interesting
and powerful woman in America, if not the world, today"?
Eddy (1821-1910)
was born and raised on a farm near Concord, New Hampshire, in
the United States. Because of many bouts of illness, she
received most of her education at home, sometimes with the help
her brother, Albert, a student at Dartmouth College. This turned
out to be an advantage, given the many restrictions on women's
education in 19th century America.
She experienced
some difficult years as a young woman. She was widowed (and
pregnant) six months into her first marriage. Some six years later,
her family, thinking her rambunctious son was too taxing for her,
removed him from her and sent him to live with foster parents.
Hoping to regain a stable home life for herself and her son, she
married again, but eventually divorced her unfaithful second husband.
In poor health during much of this time, she experimented with
allopathic medicine and alternative therapies -- particularly
with homeopathy. She was seeking an understanding of the relationship
between mind, body, and spirit. Simultaneously, she continued
a life- long study of the Bible searching to uncover its promise
of spiritual healing.
In 1866, at age
44, in what marked a turning point, she was healed of a life-threatening
accident through spiritual insights gained from the Bible. Over
the next few years she studied the Scriptures deeply, looking
for a spiritual system behind the healing works of Christ Jesus.
She tested what she was learning by healing other people, including
some considered medically incurable. She also taught others to
heal using this system, which she later called: "Christian Science."
She called it "Science" because she saw it as the provable, universal
laws of God.
Eddy emphasized
both the motherhood and fatherhood of God in her teachings. Later,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the women's rights activist, published
"The Woman's Bible," also referring to God as the "Heavenly Mother
and Father."
Because Eddy's ideas
seemed so radical, challenging conventional, theological views,
she faced much opposition and prejudice. For a number of years,
she was forced to move frequently-as many as nine times within
a twelve-month period. She even returned home to find all her
belongings in the street on one occasion.
Although now in
better health, the next few years would continue to be bumpy.
Shunned by family, friends, and former students, amid financial
insecurity, Eddy continued with authoring a book that she had
been working on since 1872. Outwardly, her life hadn't
changed much. Yet, according to biographer Dr. Gillian Gill
"the changes in her life were inward and spiritual, but they were
to prove decisive.... Contrary to all practical logic...[Eddy]
in the early 1870's increasingly emanated a sense of power, authority,
and confidence" (Gill, Mary Baker Eddy pp. 234-235).
In 1875, Mary Baker
Eddy published the first edition of Science and Health (later
renamed Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures); a major
work on practical spirituality explaining how universal spiritual
ideas can be applied to everyday life. It describes the spiritual
healing system called Christian Science.
While the first
part of Eddy's life seemed to be mostly searching, the second
part of her life was devoted to sharing her ideas as she herself
continued to explore their meaning and impact. She remained driven
by an inner spiritual strength, which gave her the independence
and stability to break through social, civil, medical, and theological
barriers of the time. Her pioneer work continued, as she
went on to found a church, a college, a publishing company, and
a newspaper.
After her marriage
to Asa Gilbert Eddy, she founded a church in Boston, Massachusetts,
in 1879, serving as its pastor for about ten years. Later
she ordained the Bible and Science and Health as the church's
pastor. From the beginning, women, as well as men, conducted
Church services. But, now, instead of offering their own sermons,
they would read prepared passages from these two books. This practice
continues today. There are churches in over seventy countries
around the world, including many countries as unfamiliar with
women preachers as was 19th century America.
Several years after
founding the church, Eddy established the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College to teach others her system of healing - including doctors,
lawyers, businessmen, and homemakers. This was the first college,
of this type, established in the United States and she taught
hundreds of men and women over seven years.
Recently widowed,
Eddy also started a monthly magazine called The Christian Science
Journal, in 1883, and was its first editor. Eventually, she established
a publishing company, and added a weekly magazine to its publications
called The Christian Science Sentinel. And at age 87, she
founded The Christian Science Monitor; an international newspaper,
combating the yellow journalism of the day. Its motto being, "to
injure no man, but to bless all mankind." Since then it has received
six Pulitzer Prize awards for it's reporting.
Today, Eddy's ideas
about spirituality and healing are as timeless as ever. Similar
ideas are being explored in today's research by physicians and
scientists. Her book, Science and Health, has sold over 10 million
copies, with close to two million in just the last five years
of the twentieth century. It has been translated into 16
languages and was voted by the Women's National Book Association
as one of "75 books by women whose words have changed the world."
Additionally, Science and Health is the main inspiration for the
Web site www.spirituality.com, an interactive community
exploring how spiritual ideas become practical solutions.
In 2002, The Mary
Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity will open to
researchers, scholars, and the public, allowing access to hundreds
of thousands of documents and artifacts. It will house one
of the largest multi-disciplinary collections by and about an
American woman.
References:
Eddy, Mary Baker,
"Retrospection and Introspection," The Writings of
Mary Baker Eddy, Boston, Massachusetts, 1920
Gill, Gillian, "Mary
Baker Eddy," Perseus Books, Reading,
Massachusetts, 1998
von Fettweis, Yvonne
Cache? et al., Mary Baker Eddy: Christian
Healer, The Christian Science Publishing Society, Boston,
Massachusetts, 1998