Faith Facet Q & A: Christian Science

(Transferred from the blog Spirit Facet)

This post is to illuminate the facets of the Christian Science faith.  The answers for this Q&A are provided by Bob Clark.  He is the Christian Scientist media/legislative contact for the state of Florida. 

Christian Scientists worship one supreme and infinite, all good God. "God, our Creator, is a power we see as completely loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-active and ever-present. The synonyms we use to describe and understand God are Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Principle, Mind.  We see this God as an infinitely available source of healing for all mankind and for all time."

SF: Does your religion teach that divinity exists outside of humanity, within, or both?

Clark: We believe that God is available 24/7 to heal, bless, uplift and redeem humanity. No exceptions.

Christian Science does not teach of any supernatural beings.  In regards to a system of good vs evil, Mr. Clark elaborates that they, "believe that good is more powerful than evil. When the absolute all-ness and reality of God's love is understood, evil and fear lose their reality and their grip on human thought. Healing is the natural and necessary result."

"We teach that man's true spiritual identity is eternal, completely outside of body. We see man as the immortal expression or reflection of God or Soul."

SF: Does the soul have one manifestation or many?

Clark: God, Soul, is manifested in human experience in an infinite variety of ways.

SF: What happens to a person after they die?

Clark: Since the real, spiritual man is never contained or confined within a physical body, when the physical body ceases to function, that real man continues to exist.

SF: Do you teach of a pre-life soul existence, and if so, what was it?

Clark: We believe that man is created and maintained by God and actually has neither an ending nor a beginning.

SF: Do you have sacred scripture/s? 

Yes. We love and study the Holy Bible daily. Our religious textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, helps us to understand the Bible and put its teachings and wisdom to use in everyday life.

SF: Are these scriptures absolute, or interpreted by the individual? 

Clark: The spiritual truth contained in The Bible is absolute. As individuals study and understand this absolute truth and learn how to apply it and live it, healing is the inevitable result.

SF: Do you have a creed? What is it?

Clark: Below are the important points or tenets of Christian Science, as found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.

3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.

4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.

6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.

SF:Are there commandments/codes, and if so, what are they?

Clark: We cherish, study and try our best to live by Moses' Ten Commandments in The Bible, as well Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Jesus is our example in all things.

SF:How do you worship?

Clark: We have two church services per week. Our Sunday service is performed by lay readers, elected democratically by the church members. They read a prepared Bible Lesson Sermon from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The 26 Bible Lesson topics, repeated twice per year, were chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, discoverer and founder of Christian Science. A Bible Lesson Committee at our international church headquarters in Boston, MA, chooses the citations that form each Sunday Bible Lesson and are read as part of the service. 

Our Wednesday evening testimony meeting also utilizes readings from The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The lay reader conducting this service chooses the topic each week. The congregation is invited to share experiences of healing, brought about through the study and practice of Christian Science. At both the Sunday and Wednesday services, there are hymns, silent prayer, an audible repetition of the Lord's Prayer from The Bible, and musical selections. 

Mr. Clark illuminated that Christian Scientists have no rituals.  They also do not have any sacred sites.   

SF: Are all forms, or part, of worship available to public, or only members? 

All of our services are always open to the public.

 
SF: Do you have any holy days? What and when are they?

Clark: We have a special service on Thanksgiving Day. Our services at Christmas and Easter are aimed at helping congregants and visitors deepen their understanding of the significance of Jesus virgin birth and resurrection. We also have a Communion Sunday aimed at a a deeper understanding of Jesus' last days with his disciples and their significance for us, as modern day disciples. 


SF: Does your religion acknowledge holy people? Prophets, teachers, saints, gurus, etc. Please list them, or a few prominent people if the list is long, along with any particular aspect or teaching attribution.

We love and revere the patriarchs and prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible as well as Jesus and his disciples in the New Testament. The discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, is greatly loved and deeply appreciated, but never worshiped.

SF: What is your religion\'s pastoral structure? What terminology is used for church service people/leaders?

Clark: We don't have ordained pastors in our church. We find pastoral comfort, guidance and healing in The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Our Sunday sermons are read by lay readers from those two books. We have a board of directors in Boston which oversees the administration of our church and its worldwide branches and activities.

SF: What morals does your religion value?

Clark: Our moral guides are The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Addictive habits of any kind make it difficult to practice Christian Science, so we avoid those. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) in the Bible gives us a solid basis for living a moral life. 

SF: How does practicing your religion personally enrich your life?

Clark: Practicing Christian Science enriches my life by bringing me a constant source of comfort, joy, hope and healing.

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Many thanks to Bob Clark for his submission for this interview.  For further information on Christian Science:

Christian Science official Site

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