IBA

During the last half of the nineteenth century, two movements, distinct yet related, emerged in the United States. They shared historical roots in both the Transcendental idealism of New England and early nineteenth century magnetic healing movement. They also found agreement in the emphasis upon health and the healing of the body and the role of Mind in accomplishing such healing. The first to appear, Christian Science, and the Church of Christ, Scientist, in which it became institutionalized, was to a large extent the parent body of the other, a diverse and splintered movement generally called New Thought. (Religious Science and Unity School of Christianity arc factions which sprang out of Christian Science and New Thought.)

Though there exists distinctive doctrinal traits among the Mind Science groups, many of them share common Gnostic beliefs (from the Greek word gnosis -knowledge, hence, Gnosticism ) considered heresy and condemned by the early church. Below are some of the heretical teachings of the Gnostic Cults contrasted with historic Orthodox Christianity.^

The Bible in Contrast with Mind Science Cults:

Orthodox Christianity teaches	Mind Science Cults teach
God is the Creator of the universe (Ecc. 12:1;Isa. 40:28; that He is transcendent and immanent, personal and yet distinct from creation (Genesis 1; Ex. 3:14; Romans 1:20; God has the attributes and actions of personality: (He knows (2 Tim 2:19); He loves (John 3:16); He has a will (Malt. 6:10)	a pantheistic view of God :God is impersonal Principle; God is all and all is God (CS: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 502,503; Unity: Lessons in Truth, pp. 6,11; Jesus Christ Heals, pp.182, 183; RS: The Science of Mind, pp.63-70; 362)
God is Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:27; Prov. 30:4; John 20:28; Heb. 1:8; Acts 5:3,4; 2 Cor. 3:17,18).	the Trinity consists of God the Father-Mother; Christ is the spiritual idea of sonship; the Holy Spirit is divine Science, or the Holy Comforter (CS: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.256, 331; Unity:Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, p.664; RS: The Science ofMin4 pp. 79,80)
God created a real universe comprised of real matter, real flesh and bone, distinct and separate from its Maker (Genesis 1, 2; Psalm 8; 19; Matt. 16:17; 10:28; Ram. 1:25)	that there is nothing but Mind and thought, therefore, the creation itself is viewed as an appearance or externalization of God's thoughts. The creation account in Genesis 1 & 2 is interpreted metaphysically, i.e. God said = Mind thought. Matter is another name for mortal mind - error, false belief (CS: Science and Health, p.584; 591; Unity: Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, pp. 452,453; RS: The Science of Mind, p.582)
that sin is real - the transgression of God's law 1 John 3:4; all men are sinners under the curse of divine judgment apart from salvation in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), sickness, disease and pain are real consequences of fallen humanity (Genesis 3; Matt. 4:23,24), and evil exists both in a real devil and in the world in which we live (Genesis 3; Isa. 14:12-15; Job 1 & 2; Ezekiel 28:12-1 7; Matt. 4:1-11; 1 John 3:8-12)	pain, sickness, disease, sin, evil, and death are unreal, effects of error and that Christ came to destroy the belief of sin (CS: Science and Health, pp. 473, 480; Unity: Lessons in Truth, p.3 5; Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, p. 620; RS: The Science of Mind p. 583)
man is a fallen creature, depraved, lost without the salvation of Jesus Christ (Psalm 14:1; Ram. 3:12; 5:12-21; John 3:3), that the Christ is a term which applies only to God's Son. Jesus (referring to Messiah of Jewish hope, John 4:25,26;Matt. 16: 13-17; 1 John 4:1-3)	that man is the compound idea of infinite Spirit, the full representation of Mind and that we are all one in the Divine Mind, Sons of God, I AM, not flesh and blood; Christ is the reality of every man, the true inner self (CS: Science and Health, p. 591; Unity: Unity Treasure Chest, p.29; Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, p.150; RS: The Science of Mind, p.608)
salvation comes as a result of God's grace and there is no salvation except through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 10: 9-11; John 14:6;Acts 4:12;John 1:12,13; 1 Peter 1: 23; 1 John 5:11)	salvation is Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over sin, sickness, and death; it is not at thing, not an end, but a Way, it is man's unity with the Whole. Jesus's blood atonement for sin is interpreted in metaphysical terms and is described as At-one-ment: unity of mind between God and Man as exemplified by the Christ conscientiousness of Jesus (CS: Science and Health, pp. 23, 25, 45, 46; 593; No and Yes, p. 35; Unity: Teach Us to Pray, p. 150; Christian Healing, p. 24; Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, p. 593, RS: The Science of Mind, p.631)
the reality of heaven and hell (Matt. 25:42; Luke 16: 19-31; Hebrews 9:22, and all sinners will face God at the Last Judgment (Rev. 20:10)	that heaven and hell are states of mind resulting from one's disharmony with the laws of being and that death is an illusion, the lie of life in matter, the unreal and untrue (CS: Science and Health, pp. 290, 584; Unity:Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, p. 271, 681; (Unity teaches reincarnation to a higher form (Unity Statement of Faith - Article 22), RS: The Science of Mind pp. 595, 598)