Mary Baker Eddy was reared in a strict Congregational atmosphere, and in her early years she was exposed to all the current theological arguments. As a teenager she rejected the Calvinist notion that some people were foreordained to the hell of what was then orthodox theology. Her delicate health prompted her often to question why the Christianity of her day could not replicate the healing works of Jesus
In her middle years, as a semi-invalid, she experimented with various kinds of medicine and healing methods then in vogue—homeopathy, which came to America in the early nineteenth century, and even with early forms of hypnotism. She found them lacking and continually studied her Bible, feeling certain there was a way available that would enable one to experience the healing freedom which Jesus taught his followers.
In 1866 Mrs. Eddy slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk near Boston. A doctor and her minister gave little hope for her recovery. She asked for her Bible. While reading a description of one of Jesus' healings, she experienced an influx of spiritual illumination, convincing her that her life was in God, Spirit, and not in matter. In that moment she felt free. She got out of bed, dressed, and walked into the next room to the amazement of those who had thought she was going to die.
