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How does Christian Science explain the material world?

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The Mother Church at the Christian Science Center in Boston stands beside a large reflecting pool, with its domed roof and ornate facade visible under a partly cloudy sky. — Christian Science The Mother Church and reflecting pool, Christian Science Center, Boston.

In Christian Science, the material world is not considered a true or ultimate reality. Instead, the denomination teaches that the ordinary materialist perception of the universe is a false sense of reality resulting from the limitations of human perception.1

Founder Mary Baker Eddy argued that believing matter is created by God is a fallacy, as it would imply that God is responsible for suffering. Christian Science posits that "mortal thought" creates a subjective state it labels as matter, which effectively obscures the true sense of Spirit. Consequently, the religion emphasizes the "allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter".12

Rather than accepting material appearances as absolute, Christian Scientists seek to look beyond them to a spiritual reality that is considered a demonstrable fact. This perspective is central to the denomination's practice of spiritual healing, as overcoming the limitations of the mortal state is viewed as an incremental process of gaining "the mind of Christ" and understanding humanity's true spiritual status.1