Writing from the big state of Texas, friend and colleague Keith Wommack shares his thoughts on the discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy.
In 1907, a New York newspaperman was sent, with other reporters, to dig up sensational stories about a woman in Concord, New Hampshire. It was said that they were a belligerent bunch of old-timers looking for a scandal. After staying in Concord for some time, they were surprised at the loving treatment they received from the woman’s workers and friends. They wanted to hold the woman up to scorn and ridicule.
The New York newsman was known as a hard-nosed reporter. For many years he suffered with a cancerous growth on his throat that left him unable to speak at times and in extreme pain. But the only scoop he took back to New York was knowledge of the healing power behind this women’s spiritual discovery. He had come looking for dirt about a woman. Yet, he went away cured because of the woman.
Here was a woman who wasn’t a punching bag, but a powerhouse, at a time when society considered men superior to women. Here was a woman who was the founder and leader of a worldwide religious movement at a time when women held only subordinate positions in Church and State. Here was a woman who was the founder and president of a teaching college at a time when women were denied equal access to education and kept out of most professions. Here was a woman who was front-page news at a time when women’s history was being suppressed. This woman was Mary Baker Eddy.
Throughout her youth and early adulthood, Eddy had struggled with poor health and financial and emotional hardship. Yet, she overcame these challenges to become, as Human Life magazine described her, “The most famous, interesting and powerful woman in America, if not in the world, today.”
One hundred years ago, December 3, 1910, Mary Baker Eddy passed away peacefully at the age of eighty-nine.
A century has passed, yet, today, her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, is still read throughout the world. The ideas in its pages continue to heal. One hundred years and still The Christian Science Monitor, the prize-winning newspaper she founded at the age of 87, is in print (and now on the Internet). One hundred years, yet, still, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, which Eddy founded and designed to “reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing,” is alive and active. A century later, the Massachusetts Metaphysical College she founded is still teaching, as well.
What a legacy. Yet, before there was a book, a newspaper, a church, or a college, Eddy discovered a Science. This Science of Christ, Christian Science, is still inspiring and healing people. Her writings explain her Science of spiritual healing. Her church promotes, protects, and publishes the Science. Her college prepares teachers of this Science. Her newspaper provides unbiased news reports that allow its readers to pray about world conditions.
Eddy’s life, love, and work influenced the world of her time. Right now, they are still touching lives.
Today, especially, I believe you will enjoy exploring The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity.
Keith Wommack is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, as well as the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Texas. You can read more of his insightful blog posts here. Thanks, Keith!
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