Refuting Christian Science

Refuting Christian Science from a Reformed Christian Perspective

Christian Science, founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the 19th century, claims to offer a unique understanding of Christianity, health, and healing. However, from a Reformed Christian perspective, many of its teachings deviate significantly from biblical truth. This blog seeks to examine and refute some of the core tenets of Christian Science in light of Reformed theology, which holds Scripture as the authoritative, inerrant Word of God.

1. The Nature of God

Christian Science holds a pantheistic or panentheistic view of God, teaching that God is an impersonal, all-encompassing principle or divine mind. This is in stark contrast to the Reformed understanding of God as a personal, triune being—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who is actively involved in the world He created.

Reformed View: According to Scripture, God is personal and transcendent, not a vague principle or force. Genesis 1:1 clearly states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Bible continually presents God as sovereign, personal, and engaged with His creation. Christian Science's depersonalization of God strips away the relational aspect of God that is central to Reformed theology.

2. The Authority of Scripture

Christian Science places Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, on the same level as the Bible. This book claims to be an authoritative interpretation of Scripture, providing insights that, according to Eddy, were hidden from the church for centuries.

Reformed View: The sufficiency of Scripture is a cornerstone of Reformed theology. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." Scripture alone is sufficient and clear for faith and life (Sola Scriptura). Any attempt to add to or supersede Scripture with other writings is a serious error. The Westminster Confession of Faith affirms that "the whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture."

3. The Person of Christ

One of the most significant departures Christian Science makes from orthodox Christianity is its denial of the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ. Christian Science teaches that Jesus was a mere man who embodied the "Christ"—a spiritual idea or principle, rather than the second Person of the Trinity.

Reformed View: The Bible unequivocally teaches that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. John 1:1 declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This is affirmed in passages like Colossians 2:9, which says, "For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." The Chalcedonian Definition, which is embraced by Reformed theologians, teaches that Jesus is one Person in two natures—divine and human—without confusion, change, division, or separation. The denial of the true nature of Christ in Christian Science undermines the very foundation of the gospel.

4. The Nature of Sin and Salvation

Christian Science teaches that sin is an illusion, a false belief to be overcome by realizing one's true, spiritual nature. In this worldview, salvation is essentially a process of mental correction, where individuals learn to reject the material and embrace the spiritual.

Reformed View: The Bible teaches that sin is not an illusion, but a grave reality that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23). Salvation is not achieved through mental correction but through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus came to bear the penalty of sin (1 Peter 2:24), and through His death and resurrection, He provided the only means of reconciliation with God. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—not by any work or realization on our part.

5. The Reality of Sickness and Healing

A core belief in Christian Science is that sickness is a mental error, an illusion that can be corrected through right thinking. Christian Scientists often refuse medical treatment, believing that physical healing comes through spiritual understanding.

Reformed View: While God is sovereign over all things, including health, the Bible never teaches that sickness is an illusion. Scripture acknowledges the reality of illness and suffering in a fallen world. Jesus Himself healed the sick, showing compassion for their physical needs (Matthew 4:23). However, not every sickness is healed in this life, and Christians are encouraged to trust in God's sovereignty whether in health or sickness (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Moreover, God has provided means of common grace, such as medicine, to alleviate suffering. The rejection of medical treatment in favor of "spiritual healing" is a misunderstanding of both God’s sovereignty and the nature of the fallen world.

6. The Resurrection and Eternal Life

Christian Science teaches that the resurrection of Jesus was spiritual rather than physical. According to this view, Jesus' body did not rise from the dead in a literal, physical sense; rather, His resurrection was a demonstration of spiritual life over death.

Reformed View: The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” The resurrection is not just a spiritual truth but a historical, bodily event. Jesus rose from the grave physically, and His resurrection is the guarantee of our future bodily resurrection (Romans 6:5). To deny the physical resurrection is to deny a core tenet of the gospel and the hope of eternal life.

Conclusion

From a Reformed Christian perspective, Christian Science distorts essential biblical truths concerning God, Christ, sin, salvation, and the nature of reality. While it may use Christian terminology, its teachings are fundamentally incompatible with the Bible and historic Christian orthodoxy. Reformed theology, grounded in Scripture, calls us to hold fast to the truth of God’s Word, recognizing that any deviation from the gospel is not only dangerous but spiritually deadly.

Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and it is through faith in His finished work that we are saved, not through metaphysical speculation or mental correction. In all things, we are called to test teachings against the clear revelation of Scripture and to reject any system that contradicts the gospel of Jesus Christ.