As a newly interested student of Christian Science, a friend of mine was troubled by some things she had read in a book that painted a distorted picture of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. She had been reading Mrs. Eddy's own book Science and Health, though, and as she continued to read she became convinced that the hostile portrayal of her simply was not true. Later, study of documented biographies showed that my friend was right.
Science and Health demonstrated to my friend something of the love and truthfulness that characterize its author. These qualities shine through all of Mrs. Eddy's writings. But they represent even more than the personal integrity and goodness of a certain woman. They reflect the Christ, the spirit of Love and Truth that inspired Mrs. Eddy and impelled her discovery.
In an interview that appeared in the New York American in 1908, Clara Barton said of Mrs. Eddy, "Love permeates all the teachings of this great woman,—so great, I believe, that at this perspective we can scarcely realize how great." Quoted in Irving C. Tomlinson, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1966), p. 91. Mrs. Eddy's writings show a tender regard for the reader—indeed, for all mankind. Sometimes the tenderness is obvious. At one point in Science and Health, for instance, after discussing the comforting implications of a certain Bible passage, Mrs. Eddy writes: "Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares." Science and Health, p. 574. More often, though, the love is seen in the careful explanations, guidance, or needed rebukes that lead the reader to a spiritual understanding of God and of man's relationship to Him.
