The Universal Design of Life: Statement and Proof

Bill, Annie. The Universal Design of Life: Statement and Proof. Boston: A. A. Beauchamp, 1924.

Annie Bill was a member of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, London and The Mother Church until she resigned from Third Church in 1909. In 1918, eight years after Mary Baker Eddy’s death, Bill and a few others started a new (‘correct’) Christian Science church, “The Central and Universal Church of Christ, Scientist.” In 1924 (the year this book was published), with the aid of John V. Dittemore, she established “The Christian Science Parent Church of the New Generation.” The book is Bill’s explanation and defense of her argument that she was, indeed, the new Leader of Christian Science. Her argument is based on her interpretation of Eddy’s Church Manual estoppel clause (that certain decisions could only occur with the approval of Eddy, the Pastor Emeritus.) Bill argues that a Leader of the Church was required for the authority of Church By-laws, and that this ever-recurring cycle of new Leaders was to be identified by self-discovery (since, according to Bill, Eddy was unable to choose a successor herself). Bill writes, “This claim of legitimate inheritance will stand, in the face of all opposite claims by the counterfeit Mother Church organization… That organization ceased to function, and passed finally from the scene of legitimate human action on Mrs. Eddy’s decease” (118).

See also annotations:

Mrs. Eddy’s Expressed Intention: Legal Opinions by Clifford Smith and Walter H. Wilson

Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority Vol 3 of 3 by Robert Peel

This reference is written by an ‘independent’ Christian Scientist and is included in the bibliography because of its historical value. For further explanation, click here.