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Not a very exciting biography, however there are a few issues discussed in the book like how Eddy was equal to Jesus. Actually a true Christian Scientist rarely hears the name Jesus. Instead the Christ 'Truth' is taught. Eddy certainly usurps the place of Jesus. The controversy over the publishing of this book actually arose because 90 million dollars was at stake. The book isn't very interesting or enlightening. If you want an excellent biography on Eddy and Christian Science that reads better than any fiction it is Dakin's title Mrs. Eddy-Biography of a Virginal Mind. (Also Bate and Dittemore's-The Truth and The Tradition. This was written by a member of the Board of Directors that had access to unpublished,"secret", writings of Eddy.) Both autobiograpies take a while to locate. They are invaluable and should be read by all Christian Scientists and those who want the truth of the movement and history of the Christian Science Movement.
Rating:  -
Don't be fooled, folks. This is incorrect literature of Christian Science. The only reason it may now be considered "authorized" is because the Board of Directors at the Mother Church has taken the money given to them in exchange for publishing this book -- showing their concern for money and not the true Teaching. Mrs. Eddy was NOT the woman in the Apocalypse as Bliss Knapp states. If you want to know the truth, read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. She's the only Leader the Christian Science movement has ever had. Bliss Knapp wrote a book based on "opinion" -- not on truth. "Be ye therefore wise as serpents."
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It is a well-known fact that there are two schools of teaching in the Christian Science Movement. Bliss Knapp's book is, to a large degree, representative of the less popular "Boston School." The Christian Science Board of Directors originally voted to publish this book in 1947, but a new vote, after a change of Board members over a summer vacation, brought the decision not to. The variant "Chicago School" students claim it is incorrect, but the fact remains; this work is an excellent reference book and quite accurate in preserving Mrs. Eddy's own teaching concerning her place in prophecy. It contains much informative, historical information.
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Immersed in more than half a century of controversy (The Christian Science Board of Directors prohibited Mr. Knapp from publishing this book in the late 30s 40s and 70s. They even forbade him from teaching CS for the last 10 years of his life.) When hard financial times fell on the CS Mother Church in Boston and it became clear in the late 80s that a sizable bequest to the CS Mother Church (more than 35 million dollars) which was tied to its publication would be lost, the church authorities set aside their predecessors earlier rulings and principle aside in the interest of saving the church from financial collapse. Indeed, former director Harvey Wood admitted to other church workers that the book was fatally flawed by a number of inaccuracies on the place of Mary Baker Eddy in biblical revelation. Another director was quoted saying; "We couldn't let some one else get the money". (Hardly a theological justification for the decision to publish this controversial book.) In fact, the second printing of the book added the words "authorized Christian Science Literature" to placate the Knapp trust. Nevertheless the book has interesting tidbits of information. Knapp grew up literally in the shadow of Mary Baker Eddy who used to stay at his parents, Ira and Flavia Knapp's, home for quiet escape from the struggle in Boston. Ira Knapp was a trusted early worker and member of the CS board of directors. Bliss Knapp entered the CS practice right out of Harvard and was a CS lecturer for many years.
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This book, Destiny of the Mother Church, is INCORRECT literature of the teachings of Christian Science. Knapp deifies Mrs. Eddy, explaining that she is the woman in the Apocalypse. If you read Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, she explains to you just who the "woman" symbolizes. Don't waste your money on this book. If you want the truth, read Science & Health With Key to the Scriptures...and not the "trade edition" either
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