Good Essay On Religious Studies

Christian Science as a Form of Christianity in America

The Church of Christ, Scientist more popularly known as Christian Science was established by Mary Baker Eddy in 1875 after being treated by a mental healer named Phineas Quimby. One of the main dogmas of this denomination is that the mind has the power to abolish the illusions of sin, disease, and physical death. One must understand the spiritual nature of all reality- that God is a spirit or idea and God is everything. Humanity is a reflection of God and by nature, while matter on the other hand does not truly exist.
Christian Science is different from the older forms of Christianity such as Evangelicalism and Adventism for the reason that it is neither emotional/devotional or Scripture centered. It is in fact highly intellectual belonging to the novel movement at the time known as New Thought. If you look more closely, Christian Science adopts a Metaphysical point of view and has many similarities with Eastern Spirituality such as Buddhism, in contrast to the oral and written traditions of orthodox Christianity. Healing is also a major focus of this Church maintaining that illnesses result from errors of the mental body rather than a physical malady. Hence, sick people should be treated, not by conventional medicine, but by some kind of prayer.
One of its uniqueness presents the novel idea that Jesus Christ is a depiction of the divine spark which is present in everyone as opposed to being the one true Messiah of the Roman Catholic Church. As part of the New Thought Movement, it promises secret inner powers that comes with understanding the deeper meaning and principles of true Christianity.