Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
| A dime a dozen |
 |
| Divine scribblings |
“”Strange and frantic and incomprehensible and uninterpretable. |
| —Mark Twain[1] |
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, first published in 1875, and written by 19th centuryspiritual leaderMary Baker Eddy, is the primary source for the theology ofChristian Science, laying out its theology ofreality-denial, the nonexistence ofevil, and the primacy ofspirit overmatter.
Most of the book is set up in commentary form, somewhat similar to the final form of Blaise Pascal'sPensées, but a large section at the end of the book consists ofpersonal testimonies, mostly offaith healing experiences. Readings fromScience and Health are used in lieu of a sermon in church services, according to a schedule set down by Eddy early in the church's history.
The text of the book is in the public domain in theUnited States due to the 1987 vacating of a 1972copyright extension granted at the behest of Church of Christ, Scientist members in theNixon administration. Since the intent of the law that gave a copyright extension specifically to the book was to assist a specific religion, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it violated theseparation of church and state.[2]
External links[edit]
- Science and Health text at Project Gutenberg
References[edit]
- ↑Christian Science (essay)
- ↑Christian Science Text's Copyright Is Ruled Illegal by Appeals Court September 23, 1987The New York Times.