Mary Baker Eddy

When one takes a look at Mary Baker Eddy’s life and writings, the words 12 Steps do not appear. Naturally and correctly one would assume that she lived well before the 12 Steps and Bill Wilson’s fateful meeting with Rev. Sam Shoemaker occurred. Despite her lack of direct input into the development of A.A. and the 12 Steps there are some clear correlations between the two out looks.

What is Christian Science?

The first thing to understand about Christian Science is it is not science. Baker promoted and Christian Scientists still promote and idea that everything is truly spiritual and the world we live in, meaning the material world is essentially an “allowed illusion.” This being said, Mary Baker Eddy pushed an idea that all ailments were curable through fixing a particular spiritual root. When a person is sick it is only a reflection of a deeper spiritual ailment. This is the point where the 12 Steps and Baker align. Both movements believe that giving oneself over to the goodness of the divine is the quickest and most effective root to recovery.

Mary Baker Eddy’s Legacy and Controversies

Mary Baker Eddy published countless works and developed a movement that now boasts 400,000 adherents. Christian Science publishes a daily Christian Science Monitor and a monthly journal. In recent times Christian Scientists have been accused of neglect as their refusal to seek medical intervention has caused unfortunate deaths. Despite the controversies, it is clear that Baker’s Christian Science did much to influence to world of addiction recovery healing through spirituality.