Malinda Elliott Cramer (February 12, 1844 – August 2, 1906) was a founder of the

Church of Divine Science The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Sp ...

, a healer, and an important figure in the early

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

movement.

Biography

Cramer was born in

Greensboro, Indiana Greensboro is a town in Greensboro Township, Henry County, Indiana, Greensboro Township, Henry County, Indiana, Henry County, Indiana, United States. The population was 143 at the 2010 census. The town was a 'station' on the Underground Railroad a ...

, the daughter of Obediah and Mary Hinshaw Elliott. Hoping to alleviate a persistent health problem, she moved to San Francisco in 1872, where she met Charles Lake Cramer, a photographer, whom she married in 1872. Despite the move, health problems continued to plague her, making her an effective invalid. In 1885, perhaps under the impetus of Christian Scientist Miranda Rice, Cramer had what she described as a divine revelation after an "hour of earnest mediation and prayerful seeking" and "that hour was the beginning of my realization of the oneness of Life, nda gleam of its Truth flashed across my mental vision". Within two years she was healed.Satter, p. 98.

Divine Science

In 1887, she began to practice faith-healing herself. In October 1888, Cramer inaugurated ''

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

'', a monthly journal. In May 1888, she and her husband opened what would become the Home College of Divine Science. The term "Divine Science", however, was not coined by Cramer, but had been used earlier by

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 ...

, founder 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 ...

, as well as by Wilberforce Juvenal Colville, who had published a book by that title that year. In 1892, Cramer founded the International Divine Science Association, a forerunner of the

International New Thought Alliance The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".

, which would interconnect the various

centers. In 1893, she helped open the second Divine Science College, in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and undertook several cross-country missionary trips. Between 1893 and 1898, Cramer trained

Nona L. Brooks Nona Lovell Brooks (March 22, 1861 – March 14, 1945), described as a "prophet of modern mystical Christianity", was a leader in the New Thought movement and a founder of the Church of Divine Science. Biography Brooks was born on March 22, 1861 ...

, ordaining her as a minister in the Church of Divine Science on December 1, 1898. Brooks returned to Denver and, with sisters Fannie Brooks James and Alethea Brooks Small, formed a church there, one which would eventually become the home church of the denomination. Cramer died August 2, 1906, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, due to a recurrence of her tuberculosis as a result of the aftermath of the great

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

Bibliography

Malinda Cramer was the author of several books, including: *''Divine Science And Healing''. ::Originally published as
Lessons in the Science of Infinite Spirit, and the Christ Method of Healing
' by C. W. Gordon (San Francisco) 1890. ::Revised edition was published as ''Divine Science and Healing'' C. L. Cramer (San Francisco, CA), 1902. ::In 1905, published as
Divine Science and Healing: A Text-book for the Study of Divine Science, Its Application in Healing, and for the Well-being of Each Individual''
Home College of Divine Science (San Francisco). ::In 1957, published as ''Divine Science: Its Principles and Practice'', Fannie B. James, ed., Divine Science Federation Int'l, (Denver), 1957. *''Hidden Harmony'' ::Published as ''Malinda Cramer's Hidden Harmony'', Joan Cline-McCrary, ed., Divine Science Federation International (Denver), 1990. *''Basic Statements and Health Treatment of Truth: A System of Instruction in Divine Science and Its Application in Healing and for Class Training, Home and Private Use'', 1893. ::Eighth edition, 1905.

Biography

Divine Science

Bibliography

References

Further reading