Christian Science is one of only two indigenous American religions, the other being Mormonism. Yet it has not always been examined seriously within the context of the history of religious ideas and the development of American religious life. Stephen Gottschalk fills this void with an examination of Christian Science’s root concepts—the informing vision and the distinctive mission as formulated by its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Concentrating on the quarter-century preceding Eddy's death, a period of phenomenal growth for Christian Science, Gottschalk challenges the conventional academic view of the movement as a fringe sect. He finds instead a serious and distinctive, though radical, religious teaching that began to flower just as orthodox Protestantism began to fade. He gives a clear and detailed account of the rancorous controversies between Christian Science and the various mind-cure and occult movements with which it is often associated, and contends that Christian Science appealed to disenchanted Protestants because of its pragmatic quality—a quality that relates it to the mainstream of American culture. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

This controversial biography of the founder of the Christian Science church was serialized in McClure's Magazine in 1907-8 and published as a book the next year. It disappeared almost overnight and has been difficult to find ever since. Although a Canadian mewspaperwoman named Georgine Milmine collected the material and was credited as the author, The Life Of Mary Baker G. Eddy was actually written by Willa Cather, an editor at McClure's at that time. In his introduction to this Bison Book edition, David Stouck reveals new evidence of Cather's authorship of The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy. He discusses her fidelity to facts and her concern with psychology and philosophy that would take creative form later on. Indeed, this biography contains "some of the finest portrait sketches and reflections on human nature that Willa Cather would ever write."

Christian Science is one of only two indigenous American religions, the other being Mormonism. Yet it has not always been examined seriously within the context of the history of religious ideas and the development of American religious life. Stephen Gottschalk fills this void with an examination of Christian Science’s root concepts—the informing vision and the distinctive mission as formulated by its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Concentrating on the quarter-century preceding Eddy's death, a period of phenomenal growth for Christian Science, Gottschalk challenges the conventional academic view of the movement as a fringe sect. He finds instead a serious and distinctive, though radical, religious teaching that began to flower just as orthodox Protestantism began to fade. He gives a clear and detailed account of the rancorous controversies between Christian Science and the various mind-cure and occult movements with which it is often associated, and contends that Christian Science appealed to disenchanted Protestants because of its pragmatic quality—a quality that relates it to the mainstream of American culture. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former Christian Scientist Caroline Fraser comes the first unvarnished account of one of America's most controversial and little-understood religious movements. Millions of Americans – from Lady Astor to Ginger Rogers to Watergate conspirator H. R. Haldeman – have been touched by the Church of Christ, Scientist. Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879, Christian Science was based on a belief that intense contemplation of the perfection of God can heal all ills – an extreme expression of the American faith in self-reliance. In this unflinching investigation, Caroline Fraser, herself raised in a Scientist household, shows how the Church transformed itself from a small, eccentric sect into a politically powerful and socially respectable religion, and explores the human cost of Christian Science's remarkable rise. Fraser examines the strange life and psychology of Mary Baker Eddy, who lived in dread of a kind of witchcraft she called Malicious Animal Magnetism. She takes us into the closed world of Eddy's followers, who refuse to acknowledge the existence of illness and death and reject modern medicine, even at the cost of their children's lives. She reveals just how Christian Science managed to gain extraordinary legal and Congressional sanction for its dubious practices and tracks its enormous influence on new-age beliefs and other modern healing cults. A passionate exposé of zealotry, God's Perfect Child tells one of the most dramatic and little-known stories in American religious history.

Famed science writer Martin Gardner had intended to write a short essay about Mrs. Eddy, but he became so fascinated by her life and personality that his work grew to book length. Written with humor, insight, and a wealth of detail, this book will delight sceptics and infuriate true believers.

“Gottschalk distinguishes himself by placing Christian Science in the larger context of American religion . . . sheds new light on Eddy’s life and work.” —Publishers Weekly This richly detailed study highlights the last two decades of the life of Mary Baker Eddy, a prominent religious thinker whose character and achievement are just beginning to be understood. It is the first book-length discussion of Eddy to make full use of the resources of the Mary Baker Eddy Collection in Boston. Rolling Away the Stone focuses on her long-reaching legacy as a Christian thinker, specifically her challenge to the materialism that threatens religious belief and practice. “Gottschalk has provided readers with a masterful account of Christian Science in its heyday. This book is a first-rate read for students of American religion and provides a look into how one of the country’s more complex religious figures dealt with materialism in the late-nineteenth-century America.” —Religious Studies Review “Gottschalk does a superb job of providing historical context for the chaotic events of Eddy’s final decades.” —Choice “Gottschalk’s account is well told and enriched by fresh material now available from the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity.” —Christian Science Monitor “The book includes a great deal of fresh research and honest scholarship . . . for the individual wanting to sink his or her teeth into a serious study of Eddy . . . you have a lot to look forward to in reading this book.” —The Christian Science Journal

Were America's Founders Christians or deists? Conservatives and secularists have taken each position respectively, mustering evidence to insist just how tall the wall separating church and state should be. Now Gregg Frazer puts their arguments to rest in the first comprehensive analysis of the Founders' beliefs as they themselves expressed them-showing that today's political right and left are both wrong. Going beyond church attendance or public pronouncements made for political ends, Frazer scrutinizes the Founders' candid declarations regarding religion found in their private writings. Distilling decades of research, he contends that these men were neither Christian nor deist but rather adherents of a system he labels "theistic rationalism," a hybrid belief system that combined elements of natural religion, Protestantism, and reason-with reason the decisive element. Frazer explains how this theological middle ground developed, what its core beliefs were, and how they were reflected in the thought of eight Founders: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. He argues convincingly that Congregationalist Adams is the clearest example of theistic rationalism; that presumed deists Jefferson and Franklin are less secular than supposed; and that even the famously taciturn Washington adheres to this theology. He also shows that the Founders held genuinely religious beliefs that aligned with morality, republican government, natural rights, science, and progress. Frazer's careful explication helps readers better understand the case for revolutionary recruitment, the religious references in the Declaration of Independence, and the religious elements-and lack thereof-in the Constitution. He also reveals how influential clergymen, backing their theology of theistic rationalism with reinterpreted Scripture, preached and published liberal democratic theory to justify rebellion. Deftly blending history, religion, and political thought, Frazer succeeds in showing that the American experiment was neither a wholly secular venture nor an attempt to create a Christian nation founded on biblical principles. By showcasing the actual approach taken by these key Founders, he suggests a viable solution to the twenty-first-century standoff over the relationship between church and state-and challenges partisans on both sides to articulate their visions for America on their own merits without holding the Founders hostage to positions they never held.

A mix of thematic essays, reference entries, and primary source documents covering the role of religion in American history and life from the colonial era to the present. Often controversial, religion has been an important force in shaping American culture. Religious convictions strongly influenced colonial and state governments as well as the United States as a new republic. Religious teachings, values, and practices deeply affected political structures and policies, economic ideology and practice, educational institutions and instruction, social norms and customs, marriage, and family life. By analyzing religion's interaction with American culture and prominent religious leaders and ideologies, this reference helps readers to better understand many fascinating, often controversial, religious leaders, ideas, events, and topics. The work is organized in three volumes devoted to particular periods. Volume one includes a chronology highlighting key events related to religion in American history and an introduction that overviews religion in America during the period covered by the volume, and roughly 10 essays that explore significant themes. These essays are followed by approximately 120 alphabetically arranged reference entries providing objective, fundamental information about topics related to religion in America. Each volume presents nearly 50 primary source documents, each introduced by a contextualizing headnote. A selected, general bibliography closes volume three.

The best-selling Denominations Comparison ebook contains a side-by-side comparison of what 12 Christian denominations believe about God, the Trinity, Jesus, and other spiritual issues. This easy-to-read ebook summarizes the beliefs of the different denominations on key topics and includes a "Family Tree of Denominations" which reveals the roots of today's denominations. Denominations Comparison includes a look at: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anabaptist, Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, Churches of Christ, Adventist, and Pentecostal churches. Each denomination believes in the deity of Christ and the importance of Scripture, so how are the groups different? The Denominations Comparison shows what denominations have in common as well as where they differ. The Denominations Comparison ebook compares 12 denominations on 11 different topics, such as: •When it was founded and by whom •The number of adherents in 2000 •How Scripture is viewed •Who God is •Who Jesus is •How individuals are saved •What happens after death •The definition of the Church •How each looks at the Sacraments •Other practices and beliefs •The major divisions and trends today. The Denominations Comparison ebook is an excellent source for pastors and teachers who want to present denominational beliefs in a concise and focused manner. The full color ebook organizes the denominations comparisons in the order in which they came to be, first covering the six liturgical denominations followed by the six non-liturgical denominations. The Liturgical Churches compared are: •Catholic •Orthodox •Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) •Anglican (Episcopal Church; Reformed Episcopal Church) •Presbyterian (The Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA; The Presbyterian Church in America or PCA) •Methodist Churches (United Methodists Church; African Methodist Episcopal; Free Methodists) The Non-Liturgical Churches compared are: •Anabaptist (The Mennonite Church; Church of the Brethren; Amish) •Congregational (United Church of Christ: The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches; The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference) •Baptist (Southern Baptists, American Baptists; National Baptists) •Churches of Christ (Christian Church, Disciples of Christ) •Adventist (Seventh-Day Adventist Church, SDA, 7th Day Adventist) •Pentecostal Churches (Assemblies of God; Church of God in Christ) In addition to the side-side comparison of the 12 Christian denominations, the Denominations Comparison ebook contains a list of 42 "Helpful Words to Know" for studying denominational differences. This list defines words such as: Anabaptist, apocrypha, canon, Eucharist, incarnate, pope, predestination, and puritan. The Denominations Comparison ebook also contains several helpful references, such as: •Official web sites for major denominations •General online references •Other web sites for the major traditions. Denominations Comparison also contains a short summary on the following Christian groups, their founders, size, and denominational ties (if applicable): •Calvary Chapel •Christian and Missionary Alliance •Church of God •Church of the Nazarene •Evangelical Covenant Church •Evangelical Free Church of America •International Church of the Foursquare Gospel •Salvation Army •Vineyard Ministries International Topical index: Adventists, African Methodist Episcopal,Anglican,Assemblies of God, Baptists, Calvary Chapel, Catholic Church, Charismatic, Church of Christ, Church of England, Church of God, Congregational Churches, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Church, Foursquare Church, Free Methodists, Holiness Churches, liberal denominations, Lutheran Churches, Methodist Church, Orthodox Church, Pentecostal Church, Presbyterian Church, Quakers, Reformed Church, Roman Catholicism, Salvation Army, Trinity, United Methodist Church, Vineyard Churches, Westminster Confession.