07-013 Chinese translation of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”

07-013
Chinese translation of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” 

In the 19th century, various people claimed to have spiritual encounters with God or heavenly beings. Some of them managed to transform their personal experiences into new denominations or religions. One of them was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ellen Gould White. I have written a post about her works and their translations.

In this post, I am going to talk about another woman who was born in the US around the same time as Ellen White. Her life was also full of miracles. She also founded her own church. She wrote a book that she upheld as equal to the Bible. And many patients claimed to have received miraculous healing just by reading her book. Her name is Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science.

Christian Science

Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker Eddy was born in 1821 in New Hampshire, USA, to a devout Christian family. She loved the Bible and had a keen interest in religion and spirituality. She suffered from various illnesses and injuries throughout her childhood and adulthood, which led her to explore different methods of healing, such as homeopathy, mesmerism, and hydropathy.

In 1866, after recovering from a severe fall that had left her bedridden, she claimed to have discovered the science of divine healing through prayer and the application of her metaphysical system. She named this system Christian Science and wrote her main textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to explain it. She also founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879, which grew rapidly and attracted many followers.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, is, along with the Bible, one of the two central texts of the Christian Science religion. Eddy described it as her "most important work". She began writing it in February 1872, and the first edition was published in 1875. The book appears as its finalized form from 1910.

Christian Science develops its theology and its healing method from these statements contained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The book encapsulates the teachings of Christian Science and Christian Scientists often call it their "textbook". At Sunday services, the sermon consists of passages from the Bible with "correlative passages" from the book. Eddy called the two books Christian Science's "dual and impersonal pastor".

Christian Science in Hongkong

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong is located in a historic building at 31 MacDonnell Road, Central. Built in 1912, the church is now a Grade II historic building in Hong Kong. The building is two stories high, with a pyramidal roof and elegant stone columns and porch at the entrance.

The church has a history of more than a century

Christian Scientists arrived Hong Kong in the early 20^th century. It was the first branch of the church in Hong Kong and Asia. The Christian Science Society, Hong Kong, was formed in 1905 and began holding services in a small meeting house in Zetland Street, until the property at Macdonnell Road was acquired in 1910. The first public Christian Science lecture in Hong Kong was given in 1911. Annual lectures have been sponsored by the Church ever since, with Chinese translations accompanying since 1961.

Translation of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

The First Church of Christ Scientist, Hong Kong uses the Bible translation Chinese King James Version (CKJV) in their service. For their other central text, the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, they finally have their draft translation in 2020. Digital copy of the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures / 科學與健康附聖經之鑰匙 is available on their official website. Since the translation is only a draft, physical copy of the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is not available to purchase at the moment.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures / 科學與健康附聖經之鑰匙

Is the message inside the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures inspired? Is there any miracle inside the book? If I am sick, should I consult a doctor or just read Eddy’s book and pray? I believe you have your answer.

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