Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker Eddy – Life, Beliefs, and Enduring Influence

Discover the life of Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), founder of Christian Science. Explore her early struggles, spiritual discovery, theological legacy, famous writings, and lessons from her life.

Introduction

Mary Morse Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader, author, and healer who founded the Christian Science movement. Through her writings and teachings she proposed a spiritual interpretation of Christianity, emphasizing prayer, divine Mind, and healing by spiritual means. Her best-known work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, served as the doctrinal text for her church, and she also founded The Christian Science Monitor newspaper and several periodicals.

Her life story is one of personal adversity, spiritual quest, intellectual effort, and institutional building—a rare example in American religious history of a woman founding a global movement.

Early Life and Family

Mary Baker Eddy was born Mary Morse Baker on July 16, 1821, in a farmhouse in Bow, New Hampshire. Mark Baker, a farmer, and Abigail Ambrose Baker.

Her father was known for strictness and strong opinions, while her mother is often described as more gentle and spiritually encouraging.

In her teenage years, the family relocated to Sanbornton Bridge, later renamed Tilton, New Hampshire.

At age 17, she became a member of the Congregational church.

Adversities and Personal Trials

Mary Baker Eddy’s life was marked by a series of personal losses and trials that shaped her spiritual path:

• In 1843 she married George Washington Glover, who died six months later of yellow fever. She was pregnant at the time.

• Her son, George Washington Glover II, was born in September 1844.

• Her mother passed away in 1849; shortly after, her fiancé died as well.

• In 1853, Mary married Dr. Daniel Patterson, a dentist, though their union was troubled; by 1873 she divorced him on grounds of adultery.

• In 1877, she married Asa Gilbert Eddy, one of her students, who died in 1882.

Her health remained a recurring concern throughout life; episodes of fainting, pain, and other mysterious illnesses punctuated her early and middle years.

Spiritual Search & the “Discovery” of Christian Science

Eddy engaged with contemporary healing and metaphysical ideas of her time, most notably through Phineas Quimby, a healer who practiced mental and spiritual healing without conventional medicine.

In February 1866, while living in Lynn, Massachusetts, she slipped on ice and sustained a serious injury that reportedly left her incapacitated.

Over the next years, she developed the theological foundation for what she called “Christian Science,” teaching that sickness and sin are not ultimate realities but errors to be corrected by understanding spiritual Truth.

She published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures in 1875, a book she considered the textbook of Christian Science.

In 1879 she formally founded The Church of Christ, Scientist (also known as Christian Science), initially with 15 students in Lynn, Massachusetts.

She also established the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881 to teach her healing method and spiritual principles.

In 1892, her church was reorganized as First Church of Christ, Scientist, with her as spiritual leader.

Beliefs, Teachings & Writings

Core Teachings

• Mind over matter / spiritual reality: Eddy taught that the divine Mind (God) is the only true reality, and that the physical world—including disease—is a mistaken belief to be corrected.

• Healing through prayer and Truth: She maintained that by aligning thought with divine Truth, spiritual healing would follow.

• “Malicious animal magnetism”: As a counterpart to her healing doctrine, she warned of spiritual misuse of mind, which she called “malicious animal magnetism,” a force that could harm if misapplied.

• Authority of Science and Health: In Christian Science doctrine, that book (along with the Bible) is considered the guide for interpretation and practice.

Other Writings and Institutions

• She authored The Manual of The Mother Church, which lays out bylaws, governance, and practices for Christian Science churches.

• She founded several periodicals:
    • The Christian Science Sentinel (weekly)   • The Christian Science Journal (monthly)   • The Herald of Christian Science, a religious magazine in several languages.

• In 1908, at age 87, she launched The Christian Science Monitor, a daily newspaper intended as an independent, nonsectarian press outlet.

Later Life, Controversies & Death

Eddy’s later years included both institutional challenges and public scrutiny:

• The “Next Friends” lawsuit (1907): A legal attempt was made by outsiders to remove her control over her church, arguing she was no longer mentally competent. Eddy was examined by psychiatrists; their reports declared her competent.

• During the trial, allegations persisted in some quarters about her use of morphine and erratic behavior.

• In her final years, she continued to revise her works, manage church affairs, and direct her publishing and institutional endeavors.

Eddy died on December 3, 1910, in her home at 400 Beacon Street, Newton, Massachusetts, of pneumonia. She was 89 years old. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a mausoleum designed by Egerton Swartwout.

Legacy and Influence

Mary Baker Eddy’s impact is multifaceted:

• She was the first woman in American history to found a worldwide religious movement.

• Science and Health has sold millions of copies and remains central to Christian Science teaching.

• The Christian Science Monitor, though founded under her leadership, has become a respected newspaper with its own legacy in journalism.

• The Christian Science church continues to have congregations and influence internationally.

• She is honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame (inducted 1995).

• Her approach to healing and theology has been both influential and controversial, stimulating debate about faith, medicine, and spirituality.

Memorable Quotes

Mary Baker Eddy is less widely quoted in secular contexts, but within her movement and among her writings, several statements stand out:

• “Prayer is the medium of Christian Science.”

• “God is not far off, but is nearer than breathing, nearer than hands or feet.”

• “Spirit is immortal truth; matter is mortal error.”

• “Life is action, demonstration; not theory nor speculation.”

• “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.”

(These reflect her theological vocabulary and emphasis on spiritual perfection, healing, and active faith.)

Lessons from Mary Baker Eddy’s Life

From her remarkable journey, we can derive several insights:

1. Adversity can catalyze spiritual transformation
   Many of Eddy’s spiritual breakthroughs arose during or after personal suffering.

2. Innovate from within tradition
   She did not abandon Christianity, but reinterpreted and re-emphasized aspects (healing, spiritual understanding) she believed had been neglected.

3. Institutional building requires both vision and persistence
   Her success in founding a church, a college, periodicals, and a newspaper shows the blend of spiritual insight and organizational skill.

4. Women can lead religious movements
   In a period when women’s public roles were restricted, Eddy’s leadership—and the enduring nature of her movement—is striking.

5. Writings matter
   Her texts and revisions over decades shaped doctrine and practice. The care she gave to language, structure, and clarity was a foundation of her authority.

6. Engage controversies with resolve
   As her movement grew, it drew criticism and controversy (legal, medical, theological). Eddy defended her views, sometimes contentiously, but remained active until late in life.

Conclusion

Mary Baker Eddy stands as a singular figure in American religious history. From her modest beginnings in rural New Hampshire to founding a worldwide movement, she combined personal resilience, intellectual labor, spiritual conviction, and institutional ambition. Her life challenges simplistic distinctions between faith and reason, health and belief, tradition and innovation.

Whether one accepts her teachings or not, her story invites reflection on how vision, persistence, and personal struggle can spark movements that endure beyond a single lifetime.