“Eddy, Mary Baker” in the Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR)

Kreutziger-Herr, Annette. “Eddy, Mary Baker.” Pages 357–62 in vol. 5 of Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR). Edited by Thomas Römer, Christine Helmer, Steven Linn McKenzie, Jens Schröter, Barry Dov Walfish, and Eric Ziolkowski. 30 vols. New York: De Gruyter. 2012.

This brief encyclopedic entry, written at the request of The Mary Baker Eddy Library, offers in three pages a succinct outline of Mary Baker Eddy’s life and a clear and accurate portrayal of her importance as a student of the Bible and religious thinker. Kreutziger-Herr writes, “Her unique method of biblical interpretation will be of interest to biblical scholars around the world, independently of the religion she founded and the healing-system she established” (358). Eddy saw the Bible as a book with timeless meaning, demanding inquisitive study and consecrated practice. Through her own profound immersion in the Bible, Eddy came to an innovative perspective, that the first chapter of Genesis records the true spiritual creation without beginning or end by God (Elohim), whereas the second account with the Lord God (Jehovah) depicts the mythological nature of matter. Eddy was ahead of her time, setting forth in her textbook, Science and Health, a theology that understands God as the spiritual ‘Father-Mother,’ that reveres Christ Jesus, and that acknowledges the equality of the male and female of God’s creating.

ISBN-10: 3110183552
ISBN-13: 978-3110183559