Mary Baker Eddy

Marion Spies (Bergische Universität-GHS Wuppertal)
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Mary Morse Baker, the sixth and last child of Mark Baker and Abigail Ambrose Baker, was born at Bow, near Concord, N. H., U.S.A., on July 16, 1821 Her father was a farmer and member of a Congregational church. Congregationalist beliefs owned much to Calvinism, which rested on the dogma of predestination (i.e., the belief that those people who are not elected by God are eternally damned). The Christian Science organisation which Mary built up later can be interpreted as her lifelong protest against this teaching.

Due to ill-health, Mary's education was sporadic; she infrequently attended a one-room schoolhouse and later, after the family had moved to a farm near Sanbornton Bridge in 1836, several local ladies' academies. In her memoirs, Retrospection and Introspection (1891), Baker claimed

654 words

Citation: Spies, Marion. "Mary Baker Eddy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 November 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1386, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1386 Mary Baker Eddy 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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