118 Eddy, Mary Baker (1821–1910), and the Christian Science Church territory of Algeria in 1830 Britain gained the important island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, while Austria-Hungary expanded into the Balkans As Germany emerged as a major European power, it, too, entered into the diplomatic maneuverings involving the Ottoman Empire Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Istanbul in 1889 and again in 1898 and announced his support for the aging empire As a result, ties between the German and Ottoman military increased, and Germany began to invest in the Ottoman Empire The Berlin to Baghdad railway was the cornerstone of German financial interests The growing German influence within Ottoman territories raised British opposition The British were particularly opposed to the possibility that the Berlin to Baghdad Railway might extend the German presence into the Persian Gulf and eastern Asia where it would compete with the British The Germans managed to gain a concession for the railway in 1903 and hoped that it would link up with rail lines in the eastern Mediterranean Parts of the railway were constructed through Anatolia, but the railway was never completed to Baghdad The Ottoman government was not a passive participant in the Eastern Question but took an active role in playing off the conflicting diplomatic policies of the European powers to prevent the dissolution of its empire The territorial and economic rivalries of the European nations enabled the Ottoman Empire to prolong its existence while at the same time it continued to lose territories in the Balkans, North Africa, Egypt, the Sudan, and the Arabian Peninsula to the imperial European powers See also Algeria under French rule; Anglo-Russian rivalry; Tanzimat, Ottoman Empire and Further reading: Anderson, Matthew S The Eastern Question, 1774–1923 New York: St Martin’s, 1966; Marriott, John A R The Eastern Question: An Historical Study in European Diplomacy Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917, 1956 Moon, Parker Thomas Imperialism and World Politics New York: Macmillan, 1926, 1967 Janice J Terry Eddy, Mary Baker (1821–1910), and the Christian Science Church The Church of Christ, Scientist (official name) was established in 1879 However, the notion of Christian Science was cultivated by Mary Baker Eddy after her instantaneous recovery in 1866 from severe injuries sustained in an accident, in her words, “which neither medicine nor surgery could reach.” What did reach her serious condition were the healing words of Jesus, which became the foundation of her method for achieving authentic health Born in a small New Hampshire village in 1821 to Congregational parents who were devoted to her education and her study of the Bible, Mary Baker had always been an unhealthy child and adolescent Over the course of her life, she married three times: first to George Washington Glover in 1843, who died suddenly six months later; then to Daniel Patterson in 1853, whom she divorced 20 years later after tolerating his numerous infidelities; and, finally, in 1877, to Asa Gilbert Eddy, who died in 1882 Mary, having survived ill health, marital tragedy, and injuries, lived into her 90th year, dying in 1910 Mary Baker Eddy’s discovery of Christian Science is documented in her book Science and Health, a title that she later extended to include With Keys to the Scriptures This book, first published in 1875, was quickly adopted as the textbook of a new religious movement Besides a short autobiographical sketch of her recovery, it offers practical advice on family relationships and engages in analyzing literary issues such as the Genesis creation stories and scientific discussions on subjects such as Darwinism But what sets her book apart as a new religious text is its exploration of a philosophy of radical idealism, in which only the divine mind exists, while matter is mere illusion This illusion is what leads to intellectual error and ill health, and ultimately evil and death Awareness of this illusion and the salvific need for a sense of “at-one-ment” with the divine mind of the biblical God is what leads to both spiritual and physical health Eddy sustained considerable critique of her philosophy from both Joseph Pulitzer, who accused her of senility, and Mark Twain, who made her the target of his stinging wit, as well as numerous Christian theologians, who believed she had abandoned essential orthodoxy Deeply influenced by her encounter in 1862 with Phineas P Quimby, the famous mentalist and ridiculed progenitor of the mind-over-matter philosophy, Eddy’s resolve was more than enough to withstand a lifetime of criticism, which allowed her to publish several books and to found the Boston Mother Church, the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, the Christian Science Journal, and a world-class newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor Each local branch church, without the benefit of ordained clergy and guided by Eddy’s Church Manual, conducts simple Sunday services that