|
Preface |
|||||||||||||||||
| Title page | Extract from a Letter | Table of Contents | Tenets | Historical Sketch | Church Officers | ||||||||||||
| Articles (Church By-Laws) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | . |
| Appendix |
|
. |
|
Biblical teachings represented in the Church Manual |
| Top of Page |
Manual of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, Eighty-ninth Edition (Title page)
Man 1
"Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and Author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures"
[Copyright holders and dates] (Man 2:1-11)
| Top of Page |
Extract from a Letter in "Miscellaneous Writings" (Man 3:1-16)
| Top of Page |
Table of Contents (Man 5:1-14:14)
| Top of Page |
[Introduction of the Tenets] (Man 15:1-2)
Man 15:1-2
"To be signed by those uniting with The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass."
Question.--Have Christian Scientists any religious creed? Answer.--They have not, if by that term is meant doctrinal beliefs. The following is a brief exposition of the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science:...
May the wanderer in the wilderness of mortal beliefs and fears turn hither with satisfied hope. May the birds of passage rest their weary wings amid the fair foliage of this vine of His husbanding, find shelter from the storm and a covert from the tempest. May this beloved church adhere to its tenets, abound in the righteousness of Love, honor the name of Christian Science, prove the practicality of perfection, and press on to the infinite uses of Christ's creed, namely,--"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Thus may First Church of Christ, Scientist, in this great city of Chicago, verify what John Robinson wrote in 1620 to our Pilgrim Fathers: "When Christ reigns, and not till then, will the world have rest."
One who is not a member of any church, excepting a branch church of Christ, Scientist, who loves Christian Science, and reads understandingly the Bible, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, and other works by this author, and who is Christianly qualified and can enter into full fellowship with the Tenets and Rules of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is eligible to membership.
[First Tenet] (Man 15:3)
[Second Tenet] (Man 15:6)
[Third Tenet] (Man 15:10)
[Fourth Tenet] (Man 15:14)
[Fifth Tenet] (Man 16:5)
[Sixth Tenet] (Man 16:9)
| Top of Page |
Historical Sketch (Man 17:0-19:9)
Man 17:8-13
Rev 3:8
Marcus Borg (The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, New York: HarperCollins, 1999, pages 241-243) comments on the message of early Christianity as exemplified by Jesus:
As a lens through which we see God, Jesus enables us to see much... Jesus as a lens becomes a magnifying glass of what is most central about God.
1. God is near, at hand, and can be experienced... God is not a distant being "out there" but the one in whom we live and move and have our being...
2. The near God is immediately accessible, apart from convention, tradition, and institution. Jesus' experience as a mystic, his activity as a healer, his wisdom teaching, and his inclusive community all point to this. The opposite is thinking of God as accessible only through the observance of sacred tradition and the mediation of sacred institution. The notion that God is accessible only through such mediation was widespread in Jesus' day, as it has been also in the history of Christianity. Voices in both Jewish and Christian traditions have often claimed a monopoly on access to God, even as other voices in both traditions have challenged the claim. Jesus did so: he taught and embodied and unmediated relationship to the sacred. God was accessible to those were were "not much" or worse, including the radically marginalized and outcasts.
3. God is compassionate. Jesus embodied the compassion of God and taught that God is compassionate: be compassionate as God is compassionate. Compassion is not simply the will of God, but the very quality of God. God as compassionate is life giving, nourishing, embracing: God feeds the birds, clothes the lilies, makes the sun rise on the just and the unjust, and sends rain on the righteous and wicked. God as compassionate feels for us, for all of us, even the birds and the lilies, as a mother feels for the children of her womb. And like a mother who sees some of her children being victimized by others, God's compassion can become fierce. The compassion of God is commonly and more abstractly spoken of as the love of God. God is love -- and can be a fierce love.
4. God is passionate about justice. God's passion for justice is central to Moses and the prophets, voices of religious social protest against the domination systems of their day. Jesus stood in this stream of the Jewish tradition. God's passion for justice led Jesus to side with the poor and marginalized and to indict the religious and political elites, including Jerusalem and the temple as the center of the native domination system. Indeed, Jesus' passion for justice in the name of God was the cause of his death: he challenged and suffered the wrath of the powers.
...The vision of Jesus I have sketched suggest five characteristics as most central: a life centered in the Spirit, lived by an alternative wisdom, marked by compassion, concerned about justice, and lived wiithin the alternative community of Jesus...
My 46:8-15
MBE: Years of Trial (Peel), page 63, footnote 9, footnote page 330
- MBE: Years of Trial (Peel), page 258, footnote 39, footnote page 373. Robert Peel writes:
...By January, 1890, the ground was metaphorically as well as literally cleared for a new kind of church to be built.
The one now dissolved had been modeled on the traditional Christian churches; it had been formed to "commemorate" the word and works of Jesus and to "reinstate" primitive Christianity. It had reached out for ordained ministers to preach in its pulpits; it had sought to clothe itself in the respectability of an ecclesiastical tradition rooted in male dominance. It had been organized under a state charter; it had suffered from the rivalries and power struggles within and the social pressures and ideological infiltrations from without which are the normal lot of a temporal institution subject to variable human judgments. The vision of primitive Christianity had been swallowed up in just such ways in the first centuries. To recapture or even to purify the past was not enough, as the variuous periods of revival and reformation in Christian history had shown. A new idea of Church was necessary, Mrs. Eddy held.
In the Glossary of Science and Health she had defined Church as: "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." Such a structure could rest on neither matter nor history, person nor dogma. It must inhere in the nature of things but only as the true idea was perceived and established in human thought could it it take visible form in improved organization. There was a good deal of growth to take place in both her own and her students' thinking before the militant little church which had fought its stormy way through the 1880's would be superseded by the institution of which she would write:
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ; even the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal and Triumphant.
BibleTexts.com note: See Man 19:1-6 below for Savonarola's quote regarding the "Church Triumphant," from which Mrs. Eddy may have derived the term.
On pages 5-6 of Peel's article, "The Manual and Organization," as found in the 1972 pamphlet, "Church Manual -- Source of Strength," he further elaborates on some of his biography's points.
Elsewhere he emphasizes the new organization's transition from a congregational model to a model guided by Principle, not person or persons. The Church Manual was/is the vehicle for that transformation within The Church of Christ, Scientist. As evident in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, with its many references to earliest Christianity, Mary Baker Eddy clearly continued to have her eye on "primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing." (In Science and Health it is worthwhile to explore "primitive Christianity," "primitive Christian healing," "Christian Church," "Jesus," and "apostles." Even the books in Mrs. Eddy's library reflected her continuing interest in primitive Christianity. For a sampling, see http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/biblical-criticism.htm#mbebiblicalresources.)
Especially clarifying is her statement in S&H 269:21 (see also S&H 126:22 and 358:9):
The testimony of the material senses is neither absolute nor divine. I therefore plant myself unreservedly on the teachings of Jesus, of his apostles, of the prophets, and on the testimony of the Science of Mind. Other foundations there are none. All other systems--systems based wholly or partly on knowledge gained through the material senses--are reeds shaken by the wind, not houses built on the rock.
It may be concluded from this that primitive Christianity was not the problem. "The teachings of Jesus, of his apostles, of the prophets" do not represent "the testimony of the material senses;" they rested on "neither matter nor history, person nor dogma;" rather, they represented "houses built on the rock." (Cf. Man 19:1)
What needed to be purged and kept out of the new organization was 1700 years of corruption of Christian practice, theology, and church organization that Constantine began to mandate in 313 A.D. Interestingly, Mrs. Eddy -- without access to the now well-documented history of the early Christian church -- actually restored self-government to each local church (i.e., The Mother Church and each branch church), which was characteristic of the earliest Christian churches. Within The Church of Christ, Scientist, self-government was to be founded on the consistent Principle-based guidance of the Church Manual, adaptable to the needs of each individual community. (For more primitive Christian church parallels with the Church Manual design, see http://www.bibletexts.com/manual/index.htm#23.) Science and Health restored and explained much of the theology and many of the practices of primitive Christianity.
With controversies that have arisen within The Church of Christ, Scientist, the Church Manual has always been the safest and most scientific instrument to provide guidance through apparent rough waters. It is helpful to recognize that Mrs. Eddy established five self-governed entities within The Church of Christ, Scientist. They are (1) The Mother Church, (2) individual branch churches, (3) Christian Science societies, (4) Christian Science Organizations at colleges and universities, and (5) associations of the pupils of authorized teachers of Christian Science. All five have their Manual-provided means of self-government.
(1) The Mother Church: "The business of The Mother Church shall be transacted by it Christian Science Board of Directors." (Man 27:1) "Local Self-government. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other churches, and it shall be controlled by none other." (Man 70:10)
(2) Branch churches: "Local Self-government. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other churches, and it shall be controlled by none other. Each Church of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own form of government." (Man 70:10-15) "In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government, and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its affairs." (Man 74:5)
(3) Societies (similar to branch church self-government): "No Interference. SECT. 10. A member of The Mother Church may be a member of one branch Church of Christ, Scientist, or of one Christian Science society holding public services, but he shall not be a member of both a branch church and a society; neither shall he exercise supervision or control over any other church. In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government, and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its affairs." (Man 73:26)
(4) Christian Science Organizations (CSO): "Privilege of Members. SECT. 8. Members in good standing with The Mother Church, who are members of the faculty, instructors, or students in any university or college, can form and conduct a Christian Science organization at such university or college, provided its rules so permit. Also members in good standing with The Mother Church, who are graduates of said university or college, may become members of the organization by application to, and by the unanimous vote of, the active members present, if the rules of the university or college so permit." (Man 73:7-18)
(5) Associations of pupils of authorized teacher of Christian Science: "Without Teachers. SECT. 2. Those beloved brethren whose teacher has left them, can elect an experienced Christian Scientist, who is not in charge of an association of students and who is ready for this high calling, to conduct the meetings of their association." (Man 86:9)
The Manual-described means of self-government should always be implemented in the context of the fellowship required in Man 74:15 and 51:7. This means that if one does not agree with decisions made by The Christian Science Board of Directors or any other officer or employee of The Mother Church, one should not be upset about it or organize opposition to it any more than one would if one does not agree with decisions made by another branch church, society, CSO, or association of pupils. Private correspondence with The Mother Church in accordance with Man 28:25 may sometimes be appropriate, but public gossip or organized opposition is always contrary to the Church Manual's guidance. (See Man 45:4 and http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/love-in-action.htm#5.) Fellowship, never division, should always prevail. The same attitude of fellowship also should be maintained towards churches of other denominations, even if some of those churches display bitter opposition to one's own church. Love-inspired prayers of forgiveness and blessing should always part of one's course of action towards all individuals and all churches.
Man 17:14-2
1Pe 2:6,7
Browse "the Comforter" at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/comforter.htm.
Joh 18:20
Mar 6:13
Mat 15:24
see "chief corner stone" above
Man 18:7
Psa 69:14
Act 16:5
When [in 1498] Florence was threatened with excommunication, Savonarola was thrown into prison and suffered a martyr's death. At the last when told that he was being cut off from the church, he declared, "From the church militant, yes, but not from the church triumphant."
| Top of Page |
Church Officers (Man 21:1-27)
CHURCH BY-LAWS
CHURCH OFFICERS
| Top of Page |
1.1. Names (Man 25:4)
1.2. President (Man 25:8)
1.3. Clerk and Treasurer (Man 25:15)
1.4. Readers (Man 26:12)
From the time of its first appearance in the Church Manual in 1902 to the final edition of the Church Manual, "the By-law of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, stipulating three years as the term for its Readers" only specified Readers of The Mother Church. That Mrs. Eddy intended that By-Law and other Mother Church Readers' By-Laws to be models (though not requirements) to which branch churches should aspire was made clear when she wrote (My 250:1-251:3):
WORDS FOR THE WISE
[originally appeared in CSS, Vol 4, 7/17/1902, page 736, and CSJ, Vol 20, 8/1902, pages 265]
The By-law of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, relative to a three years' term for church Readers, was entitled to and has received profound attention. Rotation in office promotes wisdom, quiets mad ambition, satisfies justice, and crowns honest endeavors.
The best Christian Scientists will be the first to adopt this By-law in their churches, and their Readers will retire ex officio, after three years of acceptable service as church Readers, to higher usefulness in this vast vineyard of our Lord.
The churches who adopt this By-law will please send to the Editor of our periodicals notice of their action.
AFTERGLOW
[originally appeared in CSS, Vol 4, 7/24/1902, page 752, and CSJ, Vol 20, 8/1902, pages 265-266]
Beloved Students:--The By-law of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, stipulating three years as the term for its Readers, neither binds nor compels the branch churches to follow suit; and the By-law applies only to Christian Science churches in the United States and Canada. Doubtless the churches adopting this By-law will discriminate as regards its adaptability to their conditions. But if now is not the time, the branch churches can wait for the favored moment to act on this subject.
I rest peacefully in knowing that the impulsion of this action in The Mother Church was from above. So I have faith that whatever is done in this direction by the branch churches will be blest. The Readers who have filled this sacred office many years, have beyond it duties and attainments beckoning them. What these are I cannot yet say. The great Master saith: "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter."
The Manual By-Law (Man 26:12) always has only specified Readers in The Mother Church:
Readers. SECT. 4. Every third year Readers shall be elected in The Mother Church by the Board of Directors...
In 1895, the First Edition of the Church Manual stated (First Edition, page 18):
ARTICLE III, READERS. SECTION 1. The Christian Science Board of Directors shall appoint a male and a female reader, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. They shall not read from copies or manuscripts, but from the Books. The readers from these books shall commence by announcing their full titles, and the name of the author of the text-book. The readers must devote a suitable portion of their time to preparation for reading the Sunday lesson, a lesson on which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends. The readers are expected to keep themselves unspotted from the world, uncontaminated with evil, that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health and holiness, even that spiritual animus so universally needed.
That year in The Christian Science Journal (TCSJ, April, 1895, Volume 13, pages 1-3; and later in Mis 313:25-6), Mrs. Eddy wrote:
Humbly, and, as I believe, divinely directed, I hereby ordain the Bible, and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," to be hereafter the only pastor of The Church of Christ, Scientist, throughout our land and in other lands. From this date the Sunday services of our denomination shall be conducted by Readers in lieu of pastors. Each church, or society formed for Sunday worship, shall elect two Readers: a male, and a female.
Just as Mrs. Eddy explicity stated her desire for three-year terms for branch church Readers, even though she never made that a Manual requirement for branch churches, Mrs. Eddy also explicitly stated her desire that Readers in branch churches be a man and a woman, even though she never made this a Manual requirement for branch churches.
In 1899 the first sentence of the original By-Law became a section by itself (Tenth Edition, page 23):
ARTICLE III. QUALIFICATIONS OF READERS. Election. SECTION 1. The Christian Science Board of Directors shall elect annually the Readers of this Church, a male a a female, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
The final wording of that By-Law for Mother Church Readers reads (Man, page 29:20):
Article II. READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH. Election. SECTION 1. The Readers for The Mother Church shall be a man and a woman, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
It is also instructive to note that Mrs. Eddy (My 249:22) also wrote:
The report that I prefer to have a man, rather than a woman, for First Reader in The Church of Christ, Scientist, I desire to correct. My preference lies with the individual best fitted to perform this important function. If both the First and Second Readers are my students, then without reference to sex I should prefer that student who is most spiritually-minded. What our churches need is that devout, unselfed quality of thought which spiritualizes the congregation."
This statement was written in the context of Mrs. Eddy's intent that "each church, or society formed for Sunday worship, shall elect two Readers: a male, and a female." Mrs. Eddy's words presupposed that "the First and Second Readers" were comprised of a male and a female. The only question Mrs. Eddy was addressing was: Which -- the male or the female -- should be First Reader?
Christian Science Board of Directors statements confirming Mrs. Eddy's intentions for Readers
The Christian Science Board of Directors also reiterated Mrs. Eddy's intentions for Readers in several statements, including the following:
"Three-year plan of rotation for Readers" - TCSJ, 1929, Vol 46, " Readers' Terms of Office," page 669-671
At this season, when many branch churches and societies are holding their annual elections of officers, various questions arise as to Readers' terms of office. Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has said much on the subject in two brief articles entitled "Words for the Wise" and "Afterglow," republished in her book, "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (page 250). She indicates that branch churches should provide for their Readers to "retire ex officio, after three years of acceptable service as church Readers, to higher usefulness in this vast ieyard of our Lord." Thus, the privilege of serving in this important office may be shared in turn by others who are qualified.
It is also to be noted that Mrs. Eddy does not make her wish mandatory, as she states that churches "will discriminate as regards its adaptability to their conditions" (ibid., p. 250). She gives a useful hint when she says that her words apply only to churches in the United States and Canada. It is obvious that conditions in lands where the Cause of Christian Science has not been so long established, and where services may be held in other languages, may render impracticable the three-year plan of rotation for Readers; nevertheless, Mrs. Eddy does not say that such churches should not adopt rotation when conditions warrant their doing so. Societies, too, are not included in our Leader's advice; but, as in other respects they may approach the standards for churches, so in this this they may also, when they have reached the point of demonstration and are ready for the blessings which Mrs. Eddy has said will follow.
"One Reader.. a man and one a women" - TCSJ, 1929, Vol 47, "Readers in Churches and Societies," page 30-32:
It is generally regarded as desirable that one Reader be a man and one a women; yet, in some cases, local conditions, including the qualifications of members, cause the election of two women or of two men to be expedient.
Both of the Board of Directors statements are very consistent with Mrs. Eddy's own statement that a provision for Mother Church Readers was explicitly desired but not unconditionally required of branch churches (My 250:1-251:3):
Doubtless the churches adopting this By-law will discriminate as regards its adaptability to their conditions. But if now is not the time, the branch churches can wait for the favored moment to act on this subject. I rest peacefully in knowing that the impulsion of this action in The Mother Church was from above. So I have faith that whatever is done in this direction by the branch churches will be blest.
1.5. Directors (Man 26:19)
1.6. Church Business (Man 27:1)
1.7. Publishing Building Buildings (Man 27:11)
1.8. Trusteeships and Syndicates (Man 27:25)
1.9. Duties of Church Officers (Man 28:3-29:17)
| Top of Page |
2.1. Election (Man 29:20)
ARTICLE III, READERS. SECTION 1. The Christian Science Board of Directors shall appoint a male and a female reader, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. They shall not read from copies or manuscripts, but from the Books. The readers from these books shall commence by announcing their full titles, and the name of the author of the text-book. The readers must devote a suitable portion of their time to preparation for reading the Sunday lesson, a lesson on which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends. The readers are expected to keep themselves unspotted from the world, uncontaminated with evil, that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health and holiness, even that spiritual animus so universally needed.
That year in The Christian Science Journal (TCSJ, April, 1895, Volume 13, pages 1-3; and later in Mis 313:25-6), Mrs. Eddy wrote:
Humbly, and, as I believe, divinely directed, I hereby ordain the Bible, and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," to be hereafter the only pastor of The Church of Christ, Scientist, throughout our land and in other lands. From this date the Sunday services of our denomination shall be conducted by Readers in lieu of pastors. Each church, or society formed for Sunday worship, shall elect two Readers: a male, and a female.
Just as Mrs. Eddy explicity stated her desire for three-year terms for branch church Readers (see above Article I, Section 4), even though she never made that a Manual requirement for branch churches, Mrs. Eddy also explicitly stated her desire that Readers in branch churches be a man and a woman, even though she never made this a Manual requirement for branch churches.
In 1899 the first sentence of the original By-Law became a section by itself (Tenth Edition, page 23):
ARTICLE III. QUALIFICATIONS OF READERS. Election. SECTION 1. The Christian Science Board of Directors shall elect annually the Readers of this Church, a male a a female, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
The final wording of that By-Law for Mother Church Readers reads (Man, page 29:20):
Article II. READERS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH. Election. SECTION 1. The Readers for The Mother Church shall be a man and a woman, one to read the BIBLE, and one to read SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES.
It is also instructive to note that Mrs. Eddy (My 249:22) also wrote:
The report that I prefer to have a man, rather than a woman, for First Reader in The Church of Christ, Scientist, I desire to correct. My preference lies with the individual best fitted to perform this important function. If both the First and Second Readers are my students, then without reference to sex I should prefer that student who is most spiritually-minded. What our churches need is that devout, unselfed quality of thought which spiritualizes the congregation."
This statement was written in the context of Mrs. Eddy's intent that "each church, or society formed for Sunday worship, shall elect two Readers: a male, and a female." Mrs. Eddy's words presupposed that "the First and Second Readers" were comprised of a male and a female. The only question Mrs. Eddy was addressing was: Which -- the male or the female -- should be First Reader?
The Christian Science Board of Directors later reiterated Mrs. Eddy's intentions for Readers in several statements, including the following from The Christian Science Journal (TCSJ, 1929, Vol 47, "Readers in Churches and Societies," page 30-32):
It is generally regarded as desirable that one Reader be a man and one a women; yet, in some cases, local conditions, including the qualifications of members, cause the election of two women or of two men to be expedient.
The Board of Directors statement is very consistent with Mrs. Eddy's own statement regarding another Reader By-Law that was explicitly desired but not unconditionally required of branch churches (My 250:1-251:3):
Doubtless the churches adopting this By-law will discriminate as regards its adaptability to their conditions. But if now is not the time, the branch churches can wait for the favored moment to act on this subject. I rest peacefully in knowing that the impulsion of this action in The Mother Church was from above. So I have faith that whatever is done in this direction by the branch churches will be blest.
For further details regarding Mrs. Eddy's intentions for Readers, refer to the references and historical information above under Article 1, Section 4, Readers.
2.2. Eligibility (Man 30:1)
2.3. Removal (Man 30:5)
2.4. First Reader's Residence (Man 30:11)
| Top of Page |
Some other Reader's duties specified in the Church Manual beyond what is specified in Article III:
3.1. Moral Obligations (Man 31:4)
3.2. First Readers' Duties (Man 31:15)
3.3. Suitable Selections (Man 31:19)
3.4. Order of Reading (Man 32:1)
3.5. Naming Book and Author (Man 32:10)
3.6. Readers in Branch Churches (Man 32:17)
CSJ, vol 17, page 356
"be well educated"
3.7. Enforcement of By-Laws (Man 32:26)
3.8. A Reader not a Leader (Man 33:5)
|
Article
IV. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP - See
first part of "APPENDIX" section below on membership
applications .
|
Top of Page |
4.1. Believe in Christian Science (Man 34:4)
4.2. Free from Other Denominations (Man 34:17)
4.3. Children when Twelve Years Old (Man 35:1)
| Top of Page |
5.1. Students of the College (Man 35:10)
5.2. Other Students (Man 35:17)
5.3. Student's Pupils (Man 36:4)
5.4. Exceptional Cases (Man 36:14)
5.5. Addressed to Clerk (Man 36:24)
5.6. Endorsing Applications (Man 37:1)
5.7. Notice of Rejection (Man 37:7)
| Top of Page |
6.1. Pupils of Normal Students (Man 37:16)
6.2. Members of The Mother Church (Man 37:22)
6.3. Election (Man 38:9)
| Top of Page |
7.1. Members who once Withdrew (Man 38:17)
7.2. Members once Dismissed (Man 39:7)
7.3. Ineligible for Probation (Man 39:16)
DISCIPLINE
| Top |
|
Article
8, Section >>
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
8.1. A Rule for Motives and Acts (Man 40:4)
8.2. To be Read in Church (Man 40:16)
8.3. Christ Jesus the Ensample (Man 41:1)
8. 4. Daily Prayer (Man 41:19)
8.5. Prayer in Church (Man 42:1)
8.6. Alertness to Duty (Man 42:4)
8.7. One Christ (Man 42:11)
8.8. No Malpractice (Man 42:19-4)
8.9. Formulas Forbidden (Man 43:5)
8.10. No Adulterating Christian Science (Man 43:13)
8.11. No Incorrect Literature (Man 43:21)
8.12. Obnoxious Books (Man 44:8)
8.13. Per Capita Tax (Man 44:12)
8.14. Church Periodicals (Man 44:16)
8.15. Church Organizations Ample (Man 44:23)
8.16. Joining Another Society (Man 45:4)
8.17. Forbidden Membership (Man 45:14)
8.18. Officious Members (Man 45:19)
8.19. Legal Titles (Man 45:23)
8.20. Illegal Adoption (Man 46:1) - "No person shall be a member of this Church who claims a spiritually adopted child or a spiritually adopted husband or wife. There must be legal adoption and legal marriage, which can be verified according to the laws of our land."
All the church fathers assume that Christians should not engage in premarital or extramarital sex. Some counseled the early marriage of Christian youths destined for secular life so that the probability of premarital sexual experience would be forstalled (e.g., John Chrysostom, Inani gloria 81-82) and were adamant that Christian marriage demanded absolute sexual fidelity from men as well as from women (e.g., 1 Cor. 6:15-20; 7:4; John Chrysostom, Hom. 5 in 1 Thess. 2)...
A Legal Ceremony. SECTION 1. If a Christian Scientist is to be married, the ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman who is legally authorized.
http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/10commandments.htm
8.21. Use of Initials "C.S." (Man 46:7)
This By-Law does not explicitly state that the initials C.S. should be used only by those who have completed Primary class with an authorized teacher, but other passages in the Church Manual would indicate that that was Mrs. Eddy's intent.
In the sample Mother Church applications on pages 114-115 and 116-117, "Mrs. Jennie W. Field, C.S" states:
My teacher in Christian Science is James B. Brown, C.S.D.
In contrast, in the sample application on page 118-119, "Miss Emma L. French" (without the intials "C.S.") states:
I have not studied Christian Science with a teacher.
In the applications on pages 114-115 and 116-117, where the applicant uses the initials C.S., the application states (Man 116:24-27):
If you have been taught by a loyal student who has taken a degree at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, or by one who has passed an examination by the Board of Education, fill this blank.
In the applications on pages 118-119, where the applicant does not use the initials C.S., the application states (Man 118:23):
If you have not been taught by a loyal student who has taken a degree at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, or by one who has passed an examination by the Board of Education, fill this blank.
Man 92:15-21 (and see also Man 89:11 and Man 91:19) states:
No person shall receive instructions in Christian Science in any class in the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, nor receive the degree of C.S.B. or C.S.D., who is not a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass.
This and other passages in Mrs. Eddy's writings strongly suggest that Mrs. Eddy considered C.S., C.S.B., and C.S.D as certifications or degrees earned by completing the requisite Manual-provided education taught by an authorized teacher of Christian Science. The initials C.S. only were to be used by Mother Church members who had completed the Primary class by a loyal, authorized teacher of Christian Science, and they only were to be used in a business context when that business was the practice of Christian Science.
It might be worth noting that to have a C.S.B. or C.S.D. certification / degree assumes Journal-listing, which requires having no occupation outside "the wide channels of The Mother Church;" whereas, having a C.S. degree does not even require being a member of The Mother Church, which is required to earn a C.S.B. or C.S.D. degree. Someone having just earned a C.S. degree is not yet Journal-listed, which would require having no occupation outside "the wide channels of The Mother Church. Thus, someone with a C.S. degree may still hold another job, with which the initial C.S. should not be associated.
Mrs. Eddy's described the other two degrees as follows (My 245:26):
Inquiries have been made as to the precise signification of the letters of degrees that follow the names of Christian Scientists. They indicate, respectively, the degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Christian Science, conferred by the President or Vice-President of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. The first degree (C.S.B.) is given to students of the Primary class; the second degree (C.S.D.) is given to those who, after receiving the first degree, continue for three years as practitioners of Christian Science in good and regular standing.
As to the use of other titles in conjunction with C.S., C.S.B., or C.S.D., those writing for The Chrisitian Science Journal and the Christian Science Sentinel periodicals regularly included with their bylines, "Rev.," "Ph.D.," and other titles. In the Church Manual (Man 45:23), Mrs. Eddy provided for the legitimate use of such titles:
Legal Titles. SECT. 19. Students of Christian Science must drop the titles of Reverend and Doctor, except those who have received these titles under the laws of the State.
8.22. Practitioners and Patients (Man 46:12-3)
8.23. Duty to Patients (Man 47:4)
8.24. Testimonials (Man 47:11)
8.25. Charity to All (Man 47:24)
8.26. Uncharitable Publications (Man 48:6)
8.27. The Golden Rule (Man 48:11)
8.28. Numbering the People (Man 48:16)
8.29. Our Church Edifices (Man 48:22)
8.30. No Monopoly (Man 49:1)
8.31. Christian Science Nurse (Man 49:7-16)
God is moving on the face of the waters of your thoughts and His creations will appear. I propose that the institution you found be called Sanatorium ... that it be a resort for invalids without homes or relatives available in time of need; where they can go and recruit. Our cause demands a wider circle of means for the ends of philanthropy and charity, and better qualifications for practical purposes. This latter lack in students of Christian Science is a great hindrance to our Cause and it must be met and mastered. The students need to be qualified so that under the fire of mortal mind they can stand and 'having done all, to stand.' (St. Paul)
| Top of Page |
9.1. A Legal Ceremony (Man 49:19) - "If a Christian Scientist is to be married, the ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman who is legally authorized."
Man 49:19
The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Second Edition (edited by Everett Ferguson, NY: Garland Publishing, 1998, page 1176) states in its article on "Weddings:"
The earliest evidence for a specifically Christian liturgy of marriage occurs in Tertullian [160-225 A.D.] (Pud. 4.4; Monog. 11; Ux. 2.8; Coran. 13.14-14.2; Virg. vel. 8.3; 11.3). He condemns clandestine marriages, common in pagan antiquity, and urges that the wedding ceremony should take place in the presence of Christian ministers. The basic procedure is that of contemporary Roman and Jewish culture and is in two parts: first a betrothal and at a later date the wedding ceremony itself...
10th Edition of the Church Manual (the first of four editions in 1899): Mary Baker Eddy introduced specific provision for wedding ceremonies to be held in Churches of Christ, Scientist, and performed by "a Christian Scientist who has been regularly authorized..." Under the article heading "Marriage," she wrote:
If a Christian Scientist is to be married, the ceremony shall be performed by a Christian Scientist who has been regularly authorized to preach the gospel and administer its ordinances according to the forms and rules of some ecclesiastical denomination.
The Christian Scientist who performs this ceremony shall read from Science and Health appropriate paragraphs on marriage, and repeat properly the pledge between bridegroom and bride. Such other matters as relate to a wedding in the church shall receive due attention.
12th Edition of the Church Manual (the third of four editions in 1899): the By-Law was revised to read:
Christian Scientists who desire to be married shall employ only those legally qualified to perform the marriage ceremony.
14th Edition of the Church Manual (the first of six editions in 1900): the By-Law was further revised to read:
If a Christian Scientist is to be married, the ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman who is legally authorized. According to our present laws a Christian Scientist alone cannot unite individuals in wedlock.
[This revision of the By-Law first appeared in the January, 1900, issue of The Christian Science Journal (TCSJ, Volume 17, page 702). This and other By-Laws had been: "Prepared July, 1899, and adopted by The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts, December 22, 1899."]
This By-Law received its final revision in the 29th Edition of the Church Manual , which was the second of eleven editions in 1903.
To read a comprehensive history of the "Marriage" By-Law and a history of weddings in early Christianity and in Churches of Christ, Scientist, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/weddings.htm.
To read a comprehensive history of weddings in early Christianity, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/churchwedding.htm.
See also a related By-Law (Man 46:1)
Illegal Adoption. SECT. 20. No person shall be a member of this Church who claims a spiritually adopted child or a spiritually adopted husband or wife. There must be legal adoption and legal marriage, which can be verified according to the laws of our land.
9.2. Sudden Decease (Man 49:23)
| Top of Page |
10.1. No Unauthorized Debating (Man 50:7)
| Top of Page |
11.1. Departure from Tenets (Man 50:13)
11.2. Violation of By-Laws (Man 50:22)
11.3. Violation of Christian Fellowship (Man 51:7)
11.4. Preliminary Requirement (Man 51:14)
11.5. Authority (Man 51:20)
11.6. Members in Mother Church Only (Man 52:3)
11.7. Working Against the Cause (Man 52:20)
11. 8. No Unchristian Conduct (Man 53:7)
11.9. Not to Learn Hypnotism (Man 53:15)
11.10. Publications Unjust (Man 53:23)
11.11. The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, Tenets (Man 54:7)
11.12. Special Offense (Man 54:19)
11.13. Members of Branch Churches (Man 54:25)
| Top of Page |
12.1. Probation (Man 55:10)
12.2. Misteaching (Man 55:21)
| Top of Page |
13.1. Annual Meetings (Man 56:10)
13.2. Meetings of Board of Directors (Man 56:17)
13.3. Called only by the Clerk (Man 57:8)
CHURCH SERVICES
| Top of Page |
14.1. Ordination (Man 58:4)
14.2. The Lesson-Sermon (Man 58:11)
CSJ, vol 16, page 879
Mrs. Eddy once said to a student that she longed for the day to come when no one could enter a Christian Science church, no matter how sick or how sorrowing that one might be, without being healed, and that this day can come only when every member of the church studies and demonstrates the truth contained in the Lesson-Sermon, and takes with him to the service the consciousness thus prepared.
[* The Church Manual later renamed "the Committee on Sunday School Lessons" to be "Committee on Bible Lessons," also known as the "Bible Lesson Committee." (See Man 104:13 and 124:1)]
| Top of Page |
15.1. Announcing Author's Name (Man 58:20)
| Top of Page |
16.1. The Leader's Welcome (Man 59:15)
16.2. The Local Members' Welcome (Man 59:20)
| Top of Page |
17.1. Continued Throughout the Year (Man 60:3)
17.2. Easter Observances (Man 60:12)
17.3. Laying a Corner Stone (Man 60:22)
17.4. Overflow Meetings (Man 61:3)
| Top of Page |
18.1. No More Communion (Man 61:8)
18. 2. Communion of Branch Churches (Man 61:11)
| Top of Page |
19.1. Soloist and Organist (Man 61:18)
| Top of Page |
20.1. The Sunday School (Man 62:8)
20.2. Teaching the Children (Man 62:18)
20.3. Subject for Lessons (Man 62:24)
| Top of Page |
Free Dispensary of Christian Science Healing (1887-1894)
Christian Science Reading Room (1888-present)
21.1. Establishment (Man 63:14)
21.2. Librarian (Man 63:19-2)
21.3. Literature in Reading Rooms (Man 64:3)
| Top of Page |
22.1. The Title of Mother Changed (Man 64:13)
22.2. A Member not a Leader (Man 65:3)
22.3. Obedience Required (Man 65:9-24)
22.4. Understanding Communications (Man 65:25)
22.5. Interpreting Communications (Man 66:6)
22. 6. Reading and Attesting Letters (Man 66:14)
22.7. Unauthorized Reports (Man 66:23)
22.8. Private Communications (Man 67:6)
22.9. Unauthorized Legal Action (Man 67:10)
22.10. Duty to God (Man 67:17)
HOLIDAY GIFTS
Beloved Students :--The holidays are coming, and I trow you are awaiting on behalf of your Leader the loving liberty of their license. May I relieve you of selecting, and name your gifts to her, in advance? Send her only what God gives to His church. Bring all your tithes into His storehouse, and what you would expend for presents to her, please add to your givings to The Mother Church building fund, and let this suffice for her rich portion in due season. Send no gifts to her the ensuing season, but the evidences of glorious growth in Christian Science.
Mary Baker Eddy
Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., October 31, 1904
[Boston Herald, April, 1908]
MRS. EDDY SENDS THANKS
Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy has sent the following to the Herald:--
Will the dear Christian Scientists accept my thanks for their magnificent gifts, and allow me to say that I am not fond of an abundance of material presents; but I am cheered and blessed when beholding Christian healing, unity among brethren, and love to God and man; this is my crown of rejoicing, for it demonstrates Christian Science.
The Psalmist sang, "That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations."
See also My 262:27-2
22.11. Opportunity for Serving the Leader (Man 67:24)
22.12. Location (Man 68:17)
22.13. Agreement Required (Man 68:23)
22.14. Incomplete Term of Service (Man 69:5)
22.15. Help (Man 69:13)
22.16. Students with Mrs. Eddy (Man 69:21)
22.17. Mrs. Eddy's Room (Man 69:25)
22.18. Pastor Emeritus to be Consulted (Man 70:1)
| Top of Page |
23.1. Local Self-government (Man 70:10-20)
Local Self-government. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other churches, and it shall be controlled by none other.
Each Church of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own form of government. No conference of churches shall be held, unless it be when our churches, located in the same State, convene to confer on a statute of said State, or to confer harmoniously on individual unity and action of the churches in said State.
Local autonomy of churches was a protection to the unity of all of the churches. Their individual church freedom resulted in collective church diversity. With no church being responsible for -- or having jurisdiction over -- the practices of any other church, judging or controling other churches was not on the agenda of faithful Christians. Instead there was a spirit of fellowship (1) with other Christians and (2) with other other churches. Interestingly both types of fellowship are requirements of Mother Church member and of branch churches. (See quotes below.) Even the apostolic Jerusalem church, to which some scholars today refer as "the mother church" of apostolic Christianity, did not control -- and was not controlled by -- other churches. Regarding both types of fellowship mentioned above, Mrs. Eddy states:
Man 51:7 - Violation of Christian Fellowship. SECT. 3. Any member who shall unjustly aggrieve or vilify the Pastor Emeritus or another member, or who does not live in Christian fellowship with members who are in good and regular standing with this Church, shall either withdraw from the Church or be excommunicated.
Man 74:15 - Recognition. SECT. 12. In order to be eligible to a card in The Christian Science Journal, churches and societies are required to acknowledge as such all other Christian Science churches and societies advertised in said Journal, and to maintain toward them an attitude of Christian fellowship.
23.2. Titles (Man 70:21)
23.3. Mother Church Unique (Man 71:9)
23.4. Tenets Copyrighted (Man 71:20)
23.5. Manual (Man 72:1)
23.6. Organizing Churches (Man 72:4)
23.7. Requirements for Organizing Branch Churches (Man 72:25)
23.8. Privilege of Members (Man 73:7)
23.9. No Close Communion (Man 73:22)
23.10. No Interference (Man 73:26)
23.11. Teachers' and Practitioners' Offices (Man 74:10)
23.12. Recognition (Man 74:15)
Man 74:15
In order to be eligible to a card in The Christian Science Journal, churches and societies are required to acknowledge as such all other Christian Science churches and societies advertised in said Journal, and to maintain toward them an attitude of Christian fellowship.
| Top of Page |
24.1. Church Edifice a Testimonial (Man 75:3-14)
24.2. Financial Situation (Man 75:15-6)
24.3. Report of Directors (Man 76:7)
24.4. Finance Committee (Man 76:15-77:17)
24.5. God's Requirement (Man 77:18)
24.6. Provision for the Future (Man 77:23)
24.7. Debt and Duty (Man 78:6)
24.8. Emergencies (Man 78:16)
24.9. Committee on Business (Man 79:1)
| Top of Page |
25.1. Board of Trustees (Man 79:18)
25.2. Disposal of Funds (Man 80:4)
25.3. Vacancies in Trusteeship (Man 80:12-21)
25.4. Editors and Manager (Man 80:22)
25.5. Suitable Employees (Man 81:5)
25.6. Periodicals (Man 81:14)
25.7. Rule of Conduct (Man 81:20)
25.8. Books to be Published (Man 81:25)
25.9. Removal of Cards (Man 82:10-21)
TEACHING CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
| Top of Page |
26.1. Motive in Teaching (Man 83:4)
26.2. Care of Pupils (Man 83:8)
26.3. Defense against Malpractice (Man 84:1)
26.4. Number of Pupils (Man 84:7)
26.5. Pupil's Tuition (Man 84:13)
26.6. Associations (Man 84:16)
26.7. A Single Field of Labor (Man 84:23)
26.8. Caring for Pupils of Strayed Members (Man 85:4)
26.9. Teachers must have Certificates (Man 85:11-22)
| Top of Page |
27.1. Authorized to Teach (Man 86:3)
27.2. Without Teachers (Man 86:9)
27.3. Basis for Teaching (Man 86:16)
27.4. Church Membership (Man 87:1)
27.5. Class Teaching (Man 87:8-22)
BOARD OF EDUCATION
| Top of Page |
28.1. Officers (Man 88:4)
28.2. Election (Man 88:10)
28.3. President not to be Consulted (Man 88:16)
28.4. Presidency of College (Man 89:1)
| Top of Page |
29.1. Normal Teachers (Man 89:11)
29.2. Qualifications (Man 89:18)
29.3. Certificates (Man 90:3)
| Top of Page |
30.1. Sessions (Man 90:8)
30.2. Special Instruction (Man 90:17)
30.3. Signatures (Man 91:4)
30.4. Remuneration and Free Scholarship (Man 91:7)
30.5. Surplus Funds (Man 91:15)
30.6. Primary Students (Man 91:19)
30.7. Healing Better than Teaching (Man 92:3-14)
Healing and Reports of Cases. Christian Science rests on proof not profession. It is not a theory, but a demonstrative system of healing, and it must be supported by proof of its power to heal. It is only in this way that the false Scientist and the true are discerned, and the people undeceived.
30.8. Not Members of The Mother Church (Man 92:15-6)
BOARD OF LECTURESHIP
| Top of Page |
31.1. Election (Man 93:4)
31.2. Duty of Lecturers (Man 93:10)
31.3. No Disruption of Branch Churches (Man 93:18)
31.4. Receptions (Man 94:6)
31.5. Circuit Lecturer (Man 94:14-21)
| Top of Page |
32.1. From the Directors (Man 95:3)
32.2. From Branch Churches (Man 95:9)
32.3. From Societies (Man 95:14)
32.4. Annual Lectures (Man 95:16)
32.5. No Lectures by Readers (Man 95:20)
32.6. No Wednesday Evening Lectures (Man 96:1)
32.7. Lecture Fee (Man 96:4)
32.8. Expenses (Man 96:6)
32.9. Exceptional Cases (Man 96:9)
| Top of Page |
33.1. In The Mother Church (Man 97:3)
33.2. Duties (Man 97:15)
33.3. In Branch Churches (Man 98:24-23)
33.4. Appointment (Man 99:24)
33.5. Removal from Office (Man 100:9-24)
33. 6. Case of Necessity (Man 100:25)
| Top of Page |
34.1. Building Committee (Man 102:3)
34.2. Designation of Deeds (Man 102:10)
34.3. The Mother Church Building (Man 103:3)
| Top of Page |
35.1. For The Mother Church Only (Man 104:3)
35.2. Seventy-third Edition the Authority (Man 104:12)
35.3. Amendment of By-Laws (Man 105:1)
APPENDIX
|
Special
Instructions Regarding Applications for Church Membership -
see also notes above on Article
IV, Qualifications for Membership
|
Top of Page |
Special Instructions Regarding Applications for Church Membership (Man 109:1-110:17)
To Applicants (Man 111:1-112:11)
Application Forms (Man 113:1-119:18)
Man 114:8 - "One who is not a member of any church, excepting a branch church of Christ, Scientist, who loves Christian Science, and reads understandingly the Bible, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, by Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, and other works by this author, and who is Christianly qualified and can enter into full fellowship with the Tenets and Rules of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is eligible to membership."
Man 114:8 - Christianly qualified
"Teachings of St. Paul"
Mrs. Eddy instructed The Christian Science Board of Directors, "Never abandon the By-laws nor the denominational government of the Mother Church. If I am not personally with you, the Word of God, and my instructions in the by-laws have led you hitherto and will remain to guide you safely on, and the teachings of St. Paul are as useful to-day as when they were first written." ("Permanency of The Mother Church and Its Manual," page 12)
Paul's seven unquestionably authentic writings (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon) have lots of food for thought regarding what it means to be "Christianly qualified." For example see Romans chapters 6 & 12-14; 1 Corinthians chapters 5-7, 2 Corinthians chapter 9, Galatians chapters 5-6; and 1 Thessalonians chapters 4-5.
In the churches of Paul's day, Christian baptism was the rite of passage by which individuals united with the church body of Christ. In other words, this was the membership application process of the earliest church. Being baptised -- becoming a member of the church body -- was considered the beginning of one's journey, a symbol and a Spirit-empowering component of one's commitment to the way of Christ -- not a recognition that one had already arrived. In the same way, it may be considered that joining The Mother Church and/or a branch church is the beginning of a new journey, not the point of arrival at the final destination. Paul himself wrote (Phi 3:12-15, TEV):
12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. 13 Of course, my brothers and sisters, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. 14 So I run straight towards the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above. 15 All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you.
One also should consider that in joining a church within The Church of Christ, Scientist, one is also uniting in loving fellowship with the entire church body of Christ, undivided by and inclusive of all Christian denominations.
The world must grow to the spiritual understanding of prayer. If good enough to profit by Jesus' cup of earthly sorrows, God will sustain us under these sorrows. Until we are thus divinely qualified and are willing to drink his cup, millions of vain repetitions will never pour into prayer the unction of Spirit in demonstration of power and "with signs following." Christian Science reveals a necessity for overcoming the world, the flesh, and evil, and thus destroying all error.
S&H 448:17
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Try to leave on every student's mind the strong impress of divine Science, a high sense of the moral and spiritual qualifications requisite for healing, well knowing it to be impossible for error, evil, and hate to accomplish the grand results of Truth and Love. The reception or pursuit of instructions opposite to absolute Christian Science must always hinder scientific demonstration.
Mis 43:12-16
The simple sense one gains of this Science through careful, unbiased, contemplative reading of my books, is far more advantageous to the sick and to the learner than is or can be the spurious teaching of those who are spiritually unqualified.
My 240:23-2
Mrs. Eddy thus replies, through her student, Mr. Adam Dickey, to the question, Does Mrs. Eddy approve of class teaching:--
Yes! She most assuredly does, when the teaching is done by those who are duly qualified, who have received certificates from the Massachusetts Metaphysical College or the Board of Education, and who have the necessary moral and spiritual qualifications to perform this important work.
"Christianly qualified" for church membership: Some questions that membership applicants and current members might regularly ask themselves
at http://www.bibletexts.com/manual/christianly-qualified.htm
"Radical reliance on Truth" -- Honestly exploring its meaning in the church membership application process
| Top of Page |
The First Readers... shall read the correlative texts...; and the Second Readers shall read the BIBLE texts
The Readers shall not read from copies or manuscripts, but from the books.
Sunday Services (Man 120:1-121:18)
Wednesday Meetings (Man 122:1-16)
Thanksgiving Day (Man 123:1-124:14)
| Top of Page |
Present Order of Communion Services in Branch Churches (Man 125:1-126:22)
| Top of Page |
Order of Exercises for the Sunday School of The Mother Church and Branch Churches (Man 127:1-20)
| Top of Page |
DEED OF TRUST (Man 128:1-138:14)
| Top of Page |
DEED CONVEYING LAND FOR CHURCH PURPOSES (Man 136:1-137:22)
| Top of Page |
Some By-Laws that were published in The Christian Science Journal that are no longer in the Church Manual
Explanations about the Church Manual as a whole, as given by Mrs. Eddy and in biographies
| Manual topical index |
Copyright
1996-2004 Robert Nguyen Cramer
|
Top of Page |
|
|
editor@bibletexts.com. |