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Part Taken by Women in American History


lished the Christian Science Church, of which the name was afterwards changed to First Church of Christ, Scientist. This, the mother church of the denomination has at the present time a membership of tens of thousands, and it has branch churches in all parts of the United States and in many foreign countries. In this dissemination of her healing apprehension of Truth, Mrs. Eddy has contributed very largely to the health, happiness and general well being of mankind.

Christian Science is founded upon the Scriptural declaration that God is Spirit, Mind, Truth, Love, Good; that man is made in God's own image and is, therefore, spiritual, and not material, a point which accords with the generally accepted truism that "like begets like," and that, in accordance with the Master's teaching, "the flesh (matter) profiteth nothing," material sense is false, a deception which will vanish from consciousness through spiritual awakening. This teaching of Christian Science does not mean that the universe is unreal, but that it is not what it seems to be to uneducated human thought, to that quality of understanding which does not perceive objects from the spiritual viewpoint. Christian Science teaches that when one has attained to that spiritual perfection which St. Paul denominated "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," the creations of God will be recognized as spiritual, and will appear infinitely more wonderful and beautiful than are the projections of our present material concept of being. This corrected view of man and the universe, the Christ-idea, destroys the false foundation of human woe and thus heals the sick. Christian Science reforms the sinner by destroying his false belief of life, substance and intelligence in matter, and of pleasure or benefit in sin, and thereby removes the incentive to do wrong.

Mrs. Eddy was an indefatigable worker. Although her books brought her a liberal income she spent relatively little