Annotations Related to War

Anti-apartheid activist and future president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, visited The Christian Science Monitor as part of his 1990 world fundraising tour. On his visit, he told reporters of the Monitor’s impact on him while he was in prison. “It [the Monitor] continues to give me hope and confidence for the world’s future.”

Mary Baker Eddy’s support for the emancipation of slaves in the confederate states is shown through her correspondence with Union Army generals Benjamin Butler and John Fremont in their efforts and support of the emancipation of slaves. Along with regular correspondence, Eddy took initiative and drafted a petition in support of the Emancipation Proclamation.

This article features the records and testimony of Christian Scientists held in the Japanese Stanley Internment Camp of captured Hong Kong civilians during World War II. It covers their primary concern of getting enough food, and their resourcefulness in holding their own services in spite of the lack of access to hymnals and current issues of the Christian Science Quarterly.

Mary Baker Patterson [Eddy] responded to newspaper accounts of the courage and wisdom of the Union Army General, Benjamin F. Butler. As commander of the fort where three enslaved men sought refuge, Butler’s defense became a foundation for legal freedom for slaves. Eddy’s letter to Butler sheds light on her anti-slavery convictions and willingness to advocate for them. 

Voorhees offers new scholarship on a broad array of topics related to Christian Science identity focusing on reception history. With attention to fully resourced details and modern scholarship, Voorhees outlines the reception history of Christian Science in fields of religion, women studies, American history, politics, medicine, and metaphysics. She probes Mary Baker Eddy’s relationships with contemporary scholars, religion leaders, and students.

Henniker-Heaton’s meaningful life and Christian Science healing of ten years of paralysis are accompanied by selections from his poetry and other writings. The book’s purpose is to “present the spiritual ideas of this prolific writer in chronological order, setting them in the context of his life.”

Hussey examines how Christian Science guided and sustained Nancy Astor as the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons in 1919. Her political career of 26 years focused on temperance and support of women and children. Astor found healing by reading Mary Baker Eddy’s textbook, and with her husband, founded Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, London.

Matsukata’s article, “History of the Church Universal as Unfolded in Tokyo, Japan” is the 20th-century history of Christian Science in Japan, which began with visits by Christian Science lecturers sent from Boston. Traditions were challenging and hostile to the growth of Western and Christian sects at the time. Translations of articles were deemed ineffective because Japanese culture was so alien.

This book examines the relationship between American literary history and Christian Science by looking at Christian Science as an influence on the restitution narratives in the writings of Mark Twain and others. Civil War, Reconstruction, and industrialization had left American society searching for how to restore and heal the nation, and Christian Science influenced restitution narratives and stories of recovery.

…her textbook as co-pastor in 1894. Finally, she profiles those who studied Eddy’s textbook and practiced “the principle or science behind the healing in the Christian Scriptures” (14).   Access…

Although written for young readers, “A World More Bright” contains details for those interested in the personal side of Mary Baker Eddy’s life story. For those more familiar with other biographies on Eddy, this book offers new facts that may be useful for filling in gaps of historical interest. Typical biographical controversies are mentioned but not critiqued by the authors.

Sandford gives a definitive account of the history of Christian Science in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) based on his experience as a U.S diplomat and extensive research in official GDR archives. He covers the country’s initial hostility toward Christian Science as a foreign institution, to a post-war relaxation of restrictions, to recognition and re-establishment of rights just before the Berlin Wall fell.

Dorothy von Moltke’s letters to her parents contain significant insight into Christian Science in Germany from 1902 until her death in 1935, with a focus on troubles within Germany after WWI. Dorothy and her husband, Count Helmuth, served on the 1912 committee translating Science and Health into German, and Helmuth was the church’s designated liaison with the German government during early phases of Nazi control.

Waldschmidt-Nelson meticulously presents, in German, the history and status of Christian Science in Germany from its beginnings to the present. It is based on a documented examination of historical records, published and unpublished writings ranging from panegyrical to dismissive, interviews and correspondence with representatives of the Christian Science church, the medical profession and the Christian clergy (both Protestant and Roman Catholic), and conversations with private individuals.

Schuette, a former U.S. Army chaplain representing the Christian Science Church, cites records of the Christian Science chaplaincy during WWI and WWII. But his focus is on the post-WWII years where he presents insights into the service of Christian Science chaplains as well as the context and issues faced by chaplains of all faiths.

Within the context of the interaction of cultural, intellectual, and religious influences, Prentiss positions Christian Science as a response to orthodox theologies, the lingering effects of the Civil War, horrific medical practices, and the suffrage movement. Christian Science theology appeared to subscribe to Platonic dualism, but its view of matter as a product of a false consciousness distinguishes it from dualism.

This autobiography by John Wyndham opens with his three-year experience as a prisoner of war during WWII. His faith, grounded on his study of Christian Science, kept him alert and strong during years of solitary confinement. His personal story, a window on the serious practice of Christian Science during trying times, illustrates the basis of faith inspired by its teachings. 

Gartrell-Mills’s Part II continues her study of Christian Science in 20th century Britain, examining the initial negative reaction of the public, medical establishment, and Anglican Church. But then she finds ways in which Christian Science eventually contributed to more favorable medical attitudes toward spiritual considerations, and the Anglican Church’s opening up to spiritual forms of healing. 

This is a 1977 talk focused on Nazi reactions to Christian Science influence in Germany. Even though many Christian Scientists originally swarmed to join the Nazi Party, changing Nazi rules put the faith in jeopardy. By 1936 and through 1941, the church’s activities and periodicals were banned and church members were prohibited from joining the Nazi Party.

Houpt’s book contains valuable primary sources for the history of Christian Science in the decades before and after Mary Baker Eddy’s death in 1910. It covers the life and career of Bliss Knapp, who devoted his life to serving Eddy and her cause. He is best known as the leading proponent of Eddy’s prophetic role as the woman in the Apocalypse.

The individuals interviewed for this book were active Christian Scientists whose life stories represent significant success in their widely diverse careers of the twentieth century, and they span the globe. Researchers will appreciate the detailed descriptions of the impact Christian Science made on these individuals during the building years of their careers. These sketches focus on the way Christian Science established their attitudes and worldviews.

Canham, editor of The Christian Science Monitor during the height of its public successes, gives an insider’s story of the newspaper up to the time of the book (1958). He recounts its ideals and struggles–its founding, growing pains, achievement of maturity, and his vision for its future.

This book constitutes Beasley’s response to requests from readers of his first book, The Cross and the Crown, for the history of the Christian Science movement from 1910 to the book’s 1956 publication. Not a Christian Scientist himself, he made good use of public documents covering the controversial ‘Great Litigation,’ court cases on health-laws, as well as successful church programs.

Nazi persecution of some Christian denominations preceding and during WWII, particularly Christian Science, involved censorship and economic and political restrictions on circulating religious literature and the freedom to practice religion. Stories of authenticated testimonies include statements by those dealing with formidable challenges, along with stories of courage and fidelity of Christian Scientists standing before prying eyes of the Gestapo in Germany.

The War Relief Committee was established by The Mother Church in Boston in 1914 after the outbreak of WWI to relieve families and individuals who were adversely affected by the war. This book is a report of those activities by individuals and groups (Camp Welfare Committees) in the various states and in the countries of France, Great Britain, Holland, and Switzerland from 1914 to 1918.