Blame the Victim

If I was forced to pick one thing that annoys me the most about Christian Science and particularly how it’s practiced, it’s the way the victim is blamed when (as it usually does) Christian Science fails. This blame is not direct, and it is often subtle, passive aggressive, if you will. It is usually not obvious, but it is there, right between the lines. I saw it soon after my Dad died when a Christian Scientist friend of the family admonished me to not see his death as a “failure of Christian Science”. I do see it as a failure of Christian Science, and Christian Science fails in many, many other cases. Sometimes, I wonder if the lucky ones are the ones who die–there are some who suffer a lifetime of pain and mental misery as a result of Christian Science “care” gone bad.

I won’t support bigotry

I realize it’s been awhile since I’ve posted an entry–my apologies, dear readers. Truth be told, I’ve been extremely busy at work lately, and at home too, so time and lack of inspiration (writer’s block) have been working against me here, but I’m back–although given that it’s summer, and I like playing outside, I will likely not be posting as frequently as I have in the past. Today, I am grateful for the facts that (1) the crazy busyness at work is finally passed and, (2) inspiration for a post came to me in the mail (e-mail, that is). The dry spell has been broken–for now.

A Warning about Christian Science Practitioners

I agree completely. CS falls woefully short of the standard established by Jesus (as it is stated in the Bible). I’ve often referred to my favourite definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” (attributed to Albert Einstein) Based on that, I and many others who stuck with CS were insane, and many remain so–tragically. I think CS practitioners should be held to account for failures. All other professionals are. Why should it be different for practitioners?

Understanding Mortal Mind

Christian Science practitioners pride themselves in using their Leader’s discovery and system, which is based on the original healing method of Christ Jesus.

But please note: All of Jesus’ healings were instant. There was no telling the patient they needed to handle an error before the healing could take place. There was no praying for hours, days, weeks, months and even years with no change in the condition or keeping the prayer up if it got worse. There was no refusal to take a case for moral reasons or for any reason. Jesus never made a second visit; he got it done in the first encounter.

Now that is Christian healing as Jesus did it. He may not have used meds, but he did get the job done. There is no reported case where He failed to heal. And He certainly never criticized people for not using His method.

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Why are Christian Science churches so empty today?

The title for today’s post comes from “Que?tion of the Week” on time4thinkers–the Christian Science Church’s oh so hip youth-oriented website.* I will assume that the questions that are answered in this particular Q & A exercise are submitted by readers. My title for this post is the question that was posed for this week.

Dilemma of a Refugee From an Obscure Religion

One of my stated reasons for writing this blog is to offer a place for former Christian Scientists to go, ‘hang out’, and be with others who understand where they’ve been, because in my search, I didn’t find very many such places. That said, the ones I have found are good. When you narrow the parameters down a bit more, to specify those of us former Christian Scientists who are no longer Christian (or religious), the places you can go and be understood are even fewer. I’d love to be able to talk stuff out with close friends, but most of them don’t understand, and just think it’s crazy that I believed in such stuff, and never went to a doctor.

Sunday Testimony

I just had to stand up and give this testimony. I am so grateful for Buckley’s cold and flu caplets. Last night, I was feeling the oncoming symptoms of a cold, and I took two of those nice little blue night capsules, and had the best sleep.

No Need for Collection

As anyone who has read this blog will know by now, I have not only left Christian Science, but Christianity as well. I am not religious at all. The Judeo-Christian/Abrahamic “God” is a capricious, sadistic, insecure concept of deity I have rejected. I would say I am perhaps a variety of agnostic: I believe there is a higher power, but it remains somewhat undefined for me. I feel like I have an idea of what I think it is, but is that how it actually is? I don’t necessarily know. I am forever suspicious of anyone who claims to “know God”.

It’s the Simple Things

Today, I had a dentist appointment. I’m having a crown put on a tooth. It takes two appointments to complete the process, and today was the first and most arduous. Without getting overly graphic, a large amount of the tooth is removed, and then it is precisely shaped, leaving an anchor point for the crown, which effectively becomes like a new tooth. It involved almost two hours in the chair, most of it with the sweet sound of the dentist’s drill whining through my head.

The Architect, the Sound System, and the Practitioner

I was just reminded today of a funny story my Dad related to me several times, and it shows up the absolutely stupid and bull-headed hypocrisy of some Christian Scientists, but in a sort of sadly funny way. It involves a branch church, a renovation of the sanctuary (always something bound to stir up controversy in a Christian Science church), a young architect, a sound system, and a holier-than-thou Christian Science practitioner.

Curiosities

I think this is the first post I’ve written here that has nothing much really to do with Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, or mine or anyone else’s experiences with Christian Science. It has to do with a nerdy, compulsive thing I do every day; multiple times daily, sometimes. I am a statistics nerd, stats are one of many varied components of my day job, and this blog is no exception to my interest in them. I like to look at the stats for this blog. Sometimes after I’ve published a new post, I’ll check and see how long it takes before I have views on it. Yeah I know, I seriously need to get a life.