The life of Mary Baker Eddy

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityMary Baker Eddy, born in 1821 on a New Hampshire farm, was the seventh generation New Englander. Among her forebears were the Indian fighter John Lovewell and General John McNeil. Her immediate predecessors were of an especially religious devoutness that marked Mary's life. As a child, Mary was sickly and as a result did not have the opportunity for continuous formal education. This was not to prove a handicap however, for in the family circle she found much food to nourish her craving for both the intellectual and the religious. Her father and mother were both active in the local Congregational Church, and their frequent house guests were many of the pastors of the area and teachers in the local seminary. Mary seems to have been unusually interested in the discussions that went along theological lines in her home and was always thinking for herself. Despite the fact that Mark Baker, Mary's father, ruled the household with an iron hand, young Mary at the age of twelve saw fit to openly break with him on certain points of theology. Particularly unacceptable to her was the widely held doctrine of predestination which Mark Baker so stoutly defended, and when applying for church membership, she boldly stated her position. Interestingly enough, she was accepted for membership evidently due to the sincerity of her plea. [TRUNCATED