Editing Church of Christ, Scientist (section)

===Broadcasting===
{{see|WBPX-TV#Christian Science Monitor ownership}}
Beginning in the mid-1980s, church executives undertook a controversial and ambitious foray into electronic broadcast media. The first significant effort was to create a weekly half-hour [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated television program]], ''The Christian Science Monitor'' Reports. "Monitor Reports" was anchored in its first season by newspaper veteran [[Robert C. Nelson|Rob Nelson]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Larmer |first1=Brook |title=Monitor broadcasting to gain TV station and shortwave radio |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1986/0530/amon.html |work=Christian Science Monitor |date=30 May 1986}}</ref> He was replaced in the second by the ''Christian Science Monitor'''s former Moscow correspondent, [[David K. Willis|David Willis]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=John |title=A Passion For Journalism |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0218/18192.html |work=Christian Science Monitor |date=18 February 1993}}</ref>

In October 1991, Christian Science Monitor anchor John Hart, who is not a Christian Scientist, resigned following professional disputes with the Monitor regarding Christian Science teachings and his journalistic independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 2, 1992 |title=Ex-anchor cites interference at Monitor |work=Baltimore Sun |agency= |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/09/02/ex-anchor-cites-interference-at-monitor/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314185701/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-09-02/features/1992246098_1_world-monitor-non-church-christian-science-church |archive-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref>

The hundreds of millions lost on broadcasting brought the church to the brink of bankruptcy. However, with the 1991 publication of ''[[The Destiny of The Mother Church]]'' by the late [[Bliss Knapp]], the church secured a $90 million bequest from the Knapp trust. The trust dictated that the book be published as "Authorized Literature", with neither modification nor comment. Historically, the church had censured Knapp for deviating at several points from Eddy's teaching, and had refused to publish the work. The church's archivist, fired in anticipation of the book's publication, wrote to branch churches to inform them of the book's history. Many Christian Scientists thought the book violated the church's [[Manual of The Mother Church|by-laws]], and the editors of the church's religious periodicals and several other church employees resigned in protest. Alternate beneficiaries subsequently sued to contest the church's claim it had complied fully with the will's terms, and the church ultimately received only half of the original sum.<ref>Peter Steinfels. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/29/us/fiscal-and-spiritual-rifts-shake-christian-scientists.html?pagewanted=1 "Fiscal and Spiritual Rifts Shake Christian Scientists"] ''The New York Times'' (February 29, 1992)</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220820034836/https://news.stanford.edu/pr/93/931216Arc3005.html Press release] Stanford University. December 16, 1993</ref>

The fallout of the broadcasting debacle also sparked a minor revolt among some prominent church members. In late 1993, a group of Christian Scientists filed suit against the Board of Directors, alleging a willful disregard for the ''[[Manual of The Mother Church]]'' in its financial dealings. The suit was thrown out by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1997, but a lingering discontent with the church's financial matters persists to this day.''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.appellate.net/briefs/weaverbrief.pdf | title = Appellate Brief No. SJC-07156 | access-date = 2011-08-20 | publisher = COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723015154/http://www.appellate.net/briefs/weaverbrief.pdf | archive-date = 2011-07-23 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The Destiny Of The Mother Church'' ceased publication in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-10-01 |title=A message from the Christian Science Board of Directors |url=https://journal.christianscience.com/issues/2023/10/141-10/a-message-from-the-christian-science-board-of-directors |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=The Christian Science Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>