ar 1867
she came forward as a healer by mind-cure. She based her teaching on the
Bible, and on the principles that man's essential nature is spiritual,
and that, the Spirit of God being Love and Good, moral and physical evil
are contrary to that Spirit, and represent an absence of the True Spirit
which was in Jesus Christ. There is but one Mind, one God, one Christ,
and nothing real but Mind. Matter and sickness are subjective states of
error, delusions which can be dispelled by the mental process of a true
knowledge of God and Christ, or Christian science. Ordinary _medical_
science--using drugs, &c.--is therefore irrelevant; spiritual treatment
is the only cure of what is really mental error. Jesus himself healed by
those means, which were therefore natural and not miraculous, and
promised that those who believed should do curative works like his. In
1876 a Christian Scientist Association was organized. Mrs Eddy had
published in the preceding year a book entitled _Science and Health,
with Key to the Scriptures_, which has gone through countless editions
and is the gospel of Christian Science. In 1879 she became the pastor of
a "Church of Christ, Scientist," in Boston, and also founded there the
"Massachusetts Metaphysical College" (1881; closed 1889) for the
furtherance of her tenets. The first denominational chapel outside
Boston was built at Oconto, Wisconsin, in 1886; and in 1894 (enlarged
and reconstructed in 1906) a great memorial church was erected in
Boston. Mrs Eddy's publications also include _Retrospection and
Introspection_ (1891), _Unity of Good and Unreality of Evil_ (1887),
_Rudimental Divine Science_ (1891), _Christian Healing_ (1886), &c. The
progress of the cult of Christian Science has been remarkable, and by
the beginning of the 20th century many hundreds of Christian Science
churches had been established; and the new religion found many adherents
also in England. A purely local and congregational form of government
was adopted, but Christian Scientists naturally looked to the mother
church in Boston, with Mrs Eddy as its guiding influence, as their
centre. A monthly magazine, _The Christian Science Journal_ (founded in
1883), and the weekly _Christian Science Sentinel_ are published
officially in Boston.

The profession of the paid Christian Science "healer" has been very
prominent in recent years both in America and in England; and very
remarkable successes have been claimed for the treatment. In