The following article was first prepared hastily as an address for a ministers' meeting and afterwards was written out in full; it has now been rewritten for publication.
The religious character of Christian Science is well shown, first, in the circumstances of its discovery. It really begins with Mrs. Eddy's early biography. From earliest childhood she was very religious; her parents were the typical religious New England people, Puritans in faith and teaching. The Bible, prayer, the church and the Sunday School entered largely into her early life. At the age of twelve years she joined the Congregational Church, and she then showed an understanding of theology much beyond her years.
The immediate cause of the discovery of this teaching was an accident—a fall, which caused injuries pronounced fatal. On a certain Sunday, after some members of the family had gone to church, she called for her Bible and began reading the account of Jesus' healing as recorded by Matthew. There came to her a deep conviction that the healing power of the Bible was as much for her as for them of Galilee, and she accepted it in such fulness of faith that she was immediately healed and walked out to greet those who were staying at home with her.
