Comparative religion part 7

The Church of Christ, Scientist
a.k.a.
Christian Science

 The founding and pillar church in Boston serves as
headquarters and is governed by a Board of Directors.
 All other churches are considered branches of the "Mother
Church."
 Instead of preachers, Christian Science uses readers who read
prescribed passages from the Bible followed by an
interpretive reading from Science and Health.
 Christian Science utilizes "practitioners" who pray for the sick.
Eddy believed in "Malicious Animal Magnetism" (M.A.M.),
which is negative mental energy or power, on the level of black
magic.
 "Reading Rooms" are local Christian Science libraries where
members go to read Eddy's works to aid their spiritual
evolvement.
Organizational Structure

1821: Mary Baker Eddy born in Bow, NH to devout Christians. She joined a
Congregational church at age 17. She was chronically sick with
paralysis, hysteria, seizures, and convulsions.
1850's: During this time she met mental healer P. P. Quimby, whose
influence would shape her belief of Christian Science. Quimby
believed that illness and disease could be cured through positive
thoughts and healthy attitudes, by changing one's beliefs about the
illness. She claimed that Quimby cured her; she suddenly
improved, but later the symptoms returned.
1866: Death of Quimby. Eddy was determined to carry on his work.
1882: One 50-member church
1908: The Christian Science Monitor newspaper started
Christian Science History

1910: Death of Mary Baker Eddy
1932: 2,466 churches and 350,000
members
1972: 3,200 churches
1993: 150,000 members
During the early 1990’s, the church began to experience decline due to
several factors. There have been numerous well publicized criminal and
civil lawsuits brought against Christian Scientist parents who allowed
their children to die of curable diseases by neglecting medical treatment
in favor of "spiritual healing." There are significant and complicated
issues raised over the right to exercise religious beliefs free of
governmental infringement, versus the state's "compelling interest" in
protecting seriously ill minors from neglect.

In 1992, there began a controversy when it was discovered "that the
church had secretly transferred $46.5 million from endowments and
pension funds to help cover huge losses on the Monitor [TV] Channel,"
which had lost over $325 million.
Additionally, there were losses of $36 million and the resulting termination
of World Monitor, a newspaper begun in 1988. The Christian Science
Monitor is said to be losing $13 million annually.
More internal controversy occurred in 1993. A book, The Destiny of the
Mother Church, written by a former President of the Mother Church, Bliss
Knapp, was published and promoted by the church's board in return for the
Knapp family estate bequest of $98 million. Knapp, who was a church
leader and close friend of Mrs. Eddy, wrote that Mrs. Eddy was the
fulfillment of the coming of the Holy Spirit foretold in John 16, the literal
manifestation of God and the prophesied second-coming of Christ.
Moreover he claimed that these teachings were affirmed by Mrs. Eddy
herself. Though put forward by the official publishing arm of the church,
this teaching is considered heresy by many in the church.

Christian Science Beliefs
"The theory of three persons in one God suggests polytheism, rather
than the one ever-present I Am“. "Life, Truth, and Love constitutes the
triune Person called God….God the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual
idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy Comforter“
Christian Science denies that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. It denies
that Jesus is one Person with two natures — fully God and fully man.
Christian Science presents Jesus
Christ in terms of a Gnostic duality:
"The Christ is incorporeal, spiritual…"
while, "The corporeal [physical] man
Jesus was human" only. So what
Christian Science actually concludes
is that the physical humanity of Jesus
was an illusion, "as it seemed to mortal view"

Christian Science teaches that since God is all good and nothing that is
real exists outside God, then sin, sickness, and death are mortal error or
an illusion. Christ, as the Truth, therefore came to set man free from
these false beliefs by His teachings and example.
"The Virgin-mother conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the
name of Jesus.... Jesus is the name of the man who, more than all other
men, has presented Christ, the true idea of God.... Jesus is the human
man, and Christ is the divine idea; hence the duality of Jesus the Christ,"
"Christ, or the spiritual idea, appeared to human consciousness as the
man Jesus," "The spiritual Christ was infallible; Jesus, as material
manhood, was not Christ.“

"Jesus taught the way of Life by demonstration. There is but one way to
heaven, harmony, and Christ in Divine Science shows us this way."
"Universal salvation rests on progression and probation…. No final
judgment awaits mortals…"
Christian Science denies the penal, substitutionary atonement of Christ
saying, "The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse
from sin when it was shed on 'the accursed tree,' than when it was
flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father's business.“
"Final deliverance from error,... is not reached... by pinning one's faith
without works to another's vicarious effort.“
"In Christian Science it is plain that God removes the punishment for
sin only as the sin is removed... hence the hope of universal salvation.
... To lose the sense of sin we must first detect the claim of sin; hold it
invalid... sin disappears, and its unreality is proven."

It is obvious that if Jesus never physically
died on the cross to atone for sins that
mankind cannot commit, then the
resurrection must also have a unique
meaning in Christian Science.
Eddy explains, "When Jesus reproduced his body after its burial, he
revealed the myth or material falsity of evil; its powerlessness to
destroy good and the omnipotence of the Mind that knows this: he also
showed forth the error of nothingness of supposed life in matter, and
the great somethingness of the good we possess, which is of Spirit,
and immortal." Jesus resurrection was thus the manifestation of the
error of evil. He demonstrated that sin and death are illusions and that if
one wishes to rid themselves of these illusions, they only need to deny
their reality.
I’m
sorry,
my
friend,
you’ve
had it
wrong all
along !

Jesus, you must understand, possessed the Christ consciousness
as do all men to a lesser extent, went to the cross, not to bring about
forgiveness of sin, for sin is an illusion, but rather to demonstrate that
death is an illusion. On the morning of the resurrection, the
supposed physical body of Jesus was reproduced in its original
illusionary form, for all matter is illusion, and thereby demonstrated to
mankind that all could do the same by denying the reality of sin and
death.
Jesus' "seeming" death on the cross was not intended to pay for our
sins, but to prove the unreality of sin, disease, and death. The Bible
is full of mistakes. Jesus' words were recorded by "dull disciples ... in
a decaying language," and must be
spiritually interpreted through Christian Science.
Dear friend,
let me clear up
your confusion !

Sickness and disease are illusory, the product of a false belief, and not an actual
result of sin. "The cause of all so-called disease is mental, a mortal fear, a
mistaken belief…"
No true Christian Science member
should ever go to a doctor, hospital,
or take any kind of medicine, for to
do so is to deny "Divine Science."
Whereas the Christian Science approach to healing may help psychosomatic
illnesses, it has been scientifically demonstrated that it is not effective with real
illness. Studies comparing the cumulative death rates of practicing Christian
Scientists with control groups have shown significantly higher death rates among
the Christian Scientists
More ridiculous
sacrilegious
propaganda !

Overview
Christian Scientists believe:
 Eddy received the Truth through divine revelation
 rejection of the Trinity
 distinction between "Jesus" and "Christ"
 Holy Spirit is not a personal being, but is Divine Science
 spirit is real and eternal; matter is unreal and temporal
 sin and sickness do not exist
 rejection of doctors and medicine
 man is not material, but spiritual
 no final judgment for mankind
 hell is not a real place
 sin is an illusion
 Jesus did not raise from the dead

Conclusion
Christian Scientists believe that Mary Baker Eddy received the Truth through
divine revelation. The fact is that she plagiarized much of what she wrote from
metaphysician George Hegel (Karl Marx was a avid follower of Hegelian
philosophy), P.P. Quimby, Francis Lieber and others.
Christian Science is
neither Christian nor
Science. It is a
dangerous cult that
has cost the lives of
many in this world,
and led many more
people away from
eternal life.

Unity School of Christianity
Unity School of Christianity, also
known as Unity (with
headquarters on a 1,400-acre
campus in Unity Village, Missouri
-- near Lee's Summit, Missouri, a
suburb of Kansas City), was
"founded" in 1889 In 1948, the
control of Unity was assumed by
the Fillmore's two sons, Lowell
and W. Rickert Fillmore, and has
since experienced tremendous
growth. Unity currently claims
about 200,000 U.S. members and
1.5 million members worldwide.

Unity's roots are to be found in the
ministry of Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer,
who practiced what was called "animal
magnetism." His work involved
manipulating the “subconscience"
mind, and he was the first modern
user of hypnotism (hence, the term "mesmerism").
Spiritualism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Brahmanism, Rosicrucianism,
Theosophy, New Thought, Christian Science, and other Mind
Science religions, believing that there was some good in every
religion the Fillmores studied. Charles Fillmore chose the ancient
Egyptian winged disc, an occult symbol, as the symbol to
represent Unity (He believed he was the reincarnation of the
Apostle Paul!)

Today the "school" is a centralized group with
churches in many areas. They distribute
millions of pieces of literature a year.
 Unity's doctrines are a mish-mash of
borrowed teachings from different
religions and philosophies -- Hinduism,
Spiritism, Theosophy, Christian Science,
and Christianity.
 Unity has no dogmatic statement of faith
to which the people must adhere. Instead,
the follower is to "accept what he finds
helpful to lift his consciousness to a higher
level."

Highlights of What Unity Believes
Trinity: Unity has given a metaphysical meaning to the word
"trinity"; they say the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit refer to
"mind, idea, and expression." They teach the New
Age/Pantheistic idea that God is All and All is God.
God: Under the heading "spirit," Unity's Metaphysical Bible
Dictionary states, “God is the name we give to that
unchangeable, inexorable principle at the source of all
existence. To the individual God takes on personality, but as
the creative underlying cause of all things, He is principle,
impersonal; as expressed in each individual, He becomes a
personal, loving, all-forgiving Father-Mother"

Jesus Christ: Unity claims that Jesus was merely a perfect man
who fully possessed the Christ principle, which He obtained by
advancing "through many reincarnations" They believe that we
can do anything Jesus did, in effect raising mankind to the level of
the divine, and making us equal with Jesus Christ.
Unity believes in the Second Coming of Christ, not in the flesh, but
as the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit to all who are prepared to
receive it. The Holy Spirit is a latent power within every man. This,
they believe, is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to his
disciples .
Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit in Divine Mind corresponds to our
thought in our minds. So we can ideate the unlimited Divine Mind,
but when this Mind is brought into our world or consciousness it is
limited to our conception of it"

Sin and Salvation: Unity denies the reality of sin and evil.
They do not recognize man as being sinful or in need of
salvation, because they believe that every person is part of
God.
 They teach that we can overcome weaknesses and mistakes
through wisdom and right thinking, not by a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
 They teach that the atonement is the reconciliation of our
minds with the Divine Mind.
"Salvation is finally attained when the cycle of rebirth is
broken and man comes to birth no more. The true spiritual
body is to replace the physical body and the man becomes
like Christ. For Unity, then, salvation and true religious
growth are "do-it-yourself projects"

Hell: With the Unity concept of the power of positive thinking,
there is no talk about sin, and therefore, no eternal hell and no
eternal punishment. They deny that hell is a real place, but
claim that both heaven and hell are "states of mind," not
geographical locations, that people experience as a result of
their thoughts, words, and deeds.
Sickness: Unity claims that pain, sickness, old age, and death
are not real. Instead, they teach a process of healing that uses
"denial" and mental power: "Unity believes in the creative
power of thoughts and words. We can have neither good nor ill
unless we think and speak it into manifestation.

Finally…….
Reincarnation: Unity goes a step beyond Christian Science in
its teaching of "transmigration of souls."
 Unity believes in reincarnation, i.e., that through a long
process of rebirths we eventually reach perfection and
immortality.
 They claim that God never intended for man to die, but that
reincarnation was His merciful provision.
 They teach that once we reach perfection, we become part of
the "Divine Mind," an eternal state of peace and tranquility.

In summary…..
All religions represent an essential truth in the story of God’s existence
and our part in His plans for mankind.

Theosophy:
The
Wisdom of
GodPreparedby
DrGlenChristie,ThD
ComparativeReligion
FaithBibleCollege

The Unity of the CosmosTheos= gods, the divine
Sophia= wisdom,
knowledge
Theosophy = Divine Wisdom
At a general level, Theosophy is
not merely the embracing of Indian
religions, but a mixture of
Platonic/Neo-Platonic philosophy
with Hindu and Buddhist theories
of karma and re-incarnation.

The Essential Unity of Religions
Spirituality or the transcendent
consciousness is a common heritage of all
humankind. It is beyond labels and dogmas.
It is an experience. It is the heart of true
religious experience. From it emanates
genuine love and compassion.
The growing appreciation
of the spiritual, as
opposed to the doctrinal,
is the long term key to
religious harmony. It is
the source of true unity

The knowledge
provides us the
Science of Life
and the Art of
Living

All religions have at least three levels: the
ceremonial level; the dogma level; and
the spiritual level. The spiritual level is
the real heart of a religion. The other two
layers, ceremonies and beliefs, can
change through the centuries but
spirituality is essentially unchanged.
People whose understanding of religion
is basically on the first two levels may
become intolerant of other sects or
religions. Wars have been waged due to
disagreements on these levels.
People whose religious life is on the third
or spiritual level do not feel threatened
by other religions. They see the essential
identity of the different religions on this
level.
Levels of Religions

Countless wise people have probed into
the mysteries of life. They come from
various cultures and time periods.
Many have found the answers. They
solved the riddles of existence. They
found the key to inner peace and
realization.
The wisdom that they have taught
have been called many names. But the
labels do not really matter. It is an
Ageless Wisdom
Since time immemorial
. . .

These great
teachers have
given us various
facets of this
wisdom, but at the
core, they teach
essentially the
same wisdom.

The Wisdom is
beyond sects or
organized
religions.
Wisdom about
life and the
universe applies
to all human
beings,
regardless of
religion,
nationality, sex or
race.

Unfortunately, we
do not learn it in
school. Instead we
are educated in
order to meet the
expectations of
society, such as
raising a family,
having financial
security, having a
good job, etc.

In 1875, a group of
great teachers,
keepers of the
Wisdom, decided to
reintroduce it to the
world under the
name of
Theosophy.
It gave again the
ageless principles
that were lost to the
public, especially in
the West

This gave birth to
the Theosophical
Society, founded
by Helena
Blavatsky

1) To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without
distinction of race, colour, or creed
2) To promote the study of Aryan and other Scriptures, of the World’s Religion
and sciences, and to vindicate the importance of old Asiatic literature, namely
of the Brahmanical, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian philosophies
3) To investigate the hidden mysteries of Nature under every aspect possible, and
the psychic and spiritual powers latent in man especially
Three Theosophical Objects

Fruits of
Theosophical
Understanding
• Clarity about the origin
and purpose of human
life, laws of the
cosmos,
• Understanding about
how to deal with human
sorrow and pain
• Can undertake the path
towards liberation
• Spontaneous inclination
towards service to
make this world a
better place

The Essential Oneness of
the Great Religions

Comparative religion part 7

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Comparative religion part 7