Lyman Pierson Powell (September 21, 1866 - February 10, 1946) was an American

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and college president. Powell was originally a critic of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

but later became a sympathizer and wrote an authorized biography of its founder.

Biography

He was born in

Farmington, Delaware Farmington is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 110 at the 2010 census. History Farmington was originally settled as Flatiron in 1855 when the rai ...

. He graduated from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1890, studied at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and the

Philadelphia Divinity School Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

where he graduated in 1897. He was ordained a priest in 1898. He became president of Hobart College and of

William Smith College William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

(

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) in 1913. He died in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

at the

Morristown Memorial Hospital Morristown Medical Center (MMC) is a 735 bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Morristown, New Jersey, serving northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. The hospital is the flagship facility of At ...

on February 10, 1946. Fellow minister Rev. Dr. Charles S. Macfarland wrote a biography of Powell in 1947.

Christian Science

Powell wrote a critical book, denouncing

in 1907. The book described Christian Science as "neither Christian nor scientific."Corey, Arthur. (1950). ''Christian Science Class Instruction''. The Farrallon Press. pp. 257-258 Powell's own biographer, Charles S. Macfarland, wrote that this first book on the subject "it was clear, had been written in a spirit of extreme irritation." Powell later changed his position, stopped being antagonistic towards Christian Science, and wrote another biography of

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning s ...

in 1930 which presented her and the religion she founded in a positive way. This change was the result of interactions with Christian Scientists. Before writing the new book, Powell told Macfarland, "Mary Baker Eddy should be made known to the world - through the medium of one who was neither her disciple nor her enemy." He travelled to Boston, and despite his previous negative book, the

Mother Church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

gave him access to their extensive archives; in hope that the biography would rebut the recent criticisms of

Edwin Franden Dakin Edwin Franden Dakin (1898–1976) was an American advertising executive and author who wrote a critical biography of Mary Baker Eddy. Biography Dakin was associate editor of the weekly magazine ''Commerce and Finance '' (1922-1926). He also edit ...

. Macfarland described Powell as a "warm sympathizer" of Christian Science. The new book became an authorized biography printed by the

Christian Science Publishing Society The Christian Science Publishing Society was established in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy and is the publishing arm of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. Origin and purpose The Christian Science Publishing Society and t ...

and was sold in

Christian Science Reading Room image:5054_christian-science-reading-room-e.jpg, 400px, A typical storefront Christian Science Reading Room on the main street of a suburb of Boston. The window displays a lamp, a large Bible open to the current reading, and copies of '' Science an ...

Ernest Sutherland Bates Ernest Sutherland Bates (14 October 1879 – 4 December 1939) was an American academic and writer. He taught English and philosophy at Oberlin College from 1903 to 1905, the University of Arizona until 1915, and the University of Oregon from then u ...

, a critic of Christian Science, negatively reviewed Powell's 1930 biography commenting "His method of vindicating Mrs. Eddy is simply to ignore all the charges against her including those which he himself has made." Bates noted that Powell's criticisms of Eddy that he made in 1907 such as the accusations of indebtedness to

Phineas Quimby Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (February 16, 1802 – January 16, 1866) was an American clockmaker, mentalist and mesmerist. His work is widely recognized as foundational to the New Thought spiritual movement. Biography Born in the small town of Leba ...

do not appear in his later biography. Bates, Ernest Sutherland. (October 25, 1930). 'Before and After Taking''. '' The Saturday Review''. p. 268

Publications

* ''The History of Education in Delaware'' (1893) * ''Family Prayers'' (1905)
''Christian Science: The Faith and its Founder''
(1907) * ''The Art of Natural Sleep'' (1908) * ''The Emmanuel Movement in a New England Town'' (1909) * ''Heavenly Heretics'' (1909) * ''Mary Baker Eddy: The Second Seventy''
''The Spirit of Democracy''
(1918) * ''The Social Unrest; Capital Labor, and the Public in Turmoil'' (1919) *
Mary Baker Eddy: A Life Size Portrait
' (MacMillan, 1930) ** Reprinting:
Mary Baker Eddy
' (Christian Science Publishing Society, 1991)

Editor

* ''American Historic Towns'' (four volumes, 1898–1902)
Southern StatesWestern States
* ''Current Religious Literature'' (1902); ''Devotional Series'' (three volumes, 1905–1907)

References

External links