Resources Published between 1911 and 1955

Moses’s 1916 book intended to foster a Jewish spiritual renaissance and to prove that Judaism long held what appears so attractive to the early 20th-century Jewish converts to Christian Science: divine healing, affirmative prayer, and a religion of love and law. He catalogs Jewish scripture illustrating healing and divine love, and contrasts Christian Science tenets with Jewish faith.

Nineteen years after the publication of Haushalter’s charges of Mary Baker Eddy’s plagiarism, Dr. Moehlman, a member of First Baptist Church of Rochester, NY, published this scholarly rebuttal to those charges. Moehlman, a professor of the history of Christianity, specialized in the study of literary forgeries and demonstrated how Haushalter’s employment of concordance cannot be substituted for scientific analysis of content.

This 2013 reprint of an article from a 1954 pamphlet emphasizes the legal opinion of Mary Baker Eddy’s intention and authority to provide for the permanency of The Mother Church and its Manual. Some had claimed that because Eddy’s personal approval could no longer be given on business matters for The Mother Church, the Church should cease to exist.

England, an emeritus professor of sociology, studied 500 testimonies from The Christian Science Journal from 1929 to 1946 to evaluate characteristics of church adherents. Testimonies include a great deal of self-diagnosis and show indifference to the natural healing power of the human body. Most testimonies fell into four categories: physical health, financial concerns, intoxicants, and discord, depression or general unhappiness.

d’Humy’s ‘new light’ is now (in 2020) a dated attempt to depict the drive behind Eddy’s life work. His resource options were extremely limited: either polemic writings or Wilbur’s nearly hagiographic biography. Choosing Wilbur’s historical record and no primary documents, d’Humy speculates on Eddy’s wisdom, decisions, struggles, prophetic inclination, and human circumstances in favorable comparison with other important historical figures.

Claiming Mary Baker Eddy would have disapproved of anything in the way of a monopoly on spiritual enlightenment, Corey fully published his authorized two-week class teaching, precisely as he did it while under the public certification of the Christian Science Board of Directors. But the act of its public disclosure in writing also constituted his resignation from membership in The Mother Church and his local branch church. 

After two disastrous experiences with printers, Mary Baker Eddy found a printer who was both knowledgeable and respectful of her work. According to Orcutt (the author of this book), Wilson enjoyed a 16-year friendship and successful professional relationship with Eddy. Orcutt’s career began under Wilson’s tutelage; he concurred with Wilson’s assessment of Eddy’s keen business sense and value as an author.

After leaving the Christian Science Church in the late 1940s, Goldsmith continued his flourishing healing and teaching practice. The Early Years is a compilation of weekly ‘Letters’ to his patients worldwide while still active as a healing practitioner in the Church. The book covers such topics as: God, Reality, Nature of Error, The Law, Prayer, Spiritual Healing, Business, Malpractice, Faith, etc.

Organized around Principia’s symbolic sheaf of wheat, As the Sowing is a history of The Principia, a school for young Christian Scientists, from its beginnings (Seedtime) as an idea of Mary Kimball Morgan in the late 1890s through the Golden Anniversary years of 1947-48 (Years of Reaping). The ‘good seed’ underlying the foundation and unfoldment of the school is to serve the cause of Christian Science.

Steiger sought a philosophical analysis from which he could account for the metaphysical coherence of the doctrine of Christian Science. He would classify Christian Science as a biblically based idealism, employ Eddy’s definitions of God, man, and ‘mortal mind’ into a unique study of dualism versus monism, and examine the doctrine as a science confirmed through its healing practice.

Despite Mary Baker Eddy’s prohibition against the use of formulas for Christian Science treatment, Kramer establishes a five-step pattern of treatment based on Eddy’s Scientific Statement of Being. He claims that healers needed these fixed rules at that time (1948) because the presentation of Christian Science and its exact science must improve with the advancing age.

This unique outsider-insider perspective is apparent in this biography. He seeks to present a full, frank, and generally appreciative picture of Mary Baker Eddy’s life and thought, and details her development in ways not portrayed at that date in biographies published by her Church. However, Aruthur Corey, a dissident critic of Eddy’s Church, later redacted portions unlike Studdert-Kennedy’s original work.

The mere publication of Knapp’s 1947 book by the Christian Science Church in 1991 caused great internal Church controversy. But from a distance of 30 years, researchers can study the meaning and role of prophecy in the early development of Christian Science. Knapp’s argument stems from his creative biblical justification of Eddy as the Woman of the Apocalypse.

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.

This self-published book by an AIA architect includes 67 Christian Science branch churches in the United States and Canada, and the Chapel at Principia College (a college for Christian Scientists). Alphabetical indexes include the church locations, 11 architectural styles and 44 architects (including 16 churches by the author).

Doorly, a long-time Christian Science practitioner, teacher and lecturer, resigned from the Church in 1929, but continued with an extensive series of talks and books.This published Statement proclaimed his loyalty to Eddy, and explained his two concerns: the increasing tendency to substitute belief and religious sentiment for exact spiritual understanding and demonstration; and a lax sense as to the ‘essentially democratic’ government of The Mother Church.

Ross’s collection of lectures and his essays on the act of lecturing as a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship offer present-day researchers some insight regarding the evolution of Christian Science lecturing. His comments range from self-improvement to critique on the management of lecturers. With a tone of self-appointed authority, he explains what a good lecture should embody.

A long-time favorite among Christian Scientists, Tomlinson’s work presents Eddy’s life and work in the most favorable light. A sincere student who knew her well in her last years, Tomlinson left to history his impressions of a leader inspired and guided by God. Witnessing her emotional and physical struggles, his admiration for her spiritual courage and strength inspired his hagiographic memoires.

Hiltner, a leading mid-20th century pastoral theologian, analyzed the shifting relationship between religion and science within the realm of health care and healing. Christian Science was the most successful movement with Christian backgrounds making large claims for the place of religion in healing. Hiltner could not conceive the future of religion without contemporary medical cooperation, though, even in Christian Science.

This book is an interpretation of Mary Baker Eddy’s illustrated poem, Christ and Christmas, a symbolic expression of the evolution of Eddy’s Church, and especially Orgain’s argument against the legal finding of the ‘Great Litigation’ of 1921. Each verse of Christ and Christmas is developed into a full chapter of exegesis on the biblical account of Jacob and his wives.

​​According to Van Baalen’s 1938 account, Christian Science, along with several other American-born religions, qualified as a cult which challenged orthodox, evangelical Christianity. He began his section on Christian Science by stating that there can be no doubt as to the following few and sober facts (which are not documented), and he criticizes those who claim to be healed as foolish.

Before Conrad Moehlman’s scholarly 1955 rebuttal of Haushalter’s accusations of plagiarism against Eddy was published, Haushalter’s 1936 book had garnered a great deal of publicity. His charge that Eddy lifted Hegelian theology and established her chief doctrinal points in Science and Health from Hegel stems from a complicated (undocumented) tale of secret passage through one of Eddy’s early students.

Orgain is known to have authored this ‘anonymous’ book, a comparison of editions of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health. Orgain’s goal was to show that each step for the Christian Science movement was the fulfillment of Jesus’s prophecy of the church he promised to build. Orgain thought Jesus’s church must necessarily await demonstration in the lives of Christian Scientists.

This compilation of both authentic and questionable statements recalled by students close to Mary Baker Eddy remains controversial, as acknowledged by the compiler, R.F. Oakes. Better known as the “blue book,” it consists of notes recorded in Eddy’s home. These students made collected copies of writings attributed to Eddy and her students available to those they considered ‘advanced’ students.

The value of Studdert-Kennedy’s 1933 work for researchers in the 21st century lies in the fact that it offers a rare depiction of Mary Baker Eddy shortly after her death that is neither hagiographic nor polemic. He also critiques other biographers for writing pseudo psychoanalyses rather than true biographies, a pretense for lashing out at will.