Following up on my previous post, “Survey Says…“, here is my analysis of the responses to the last question: “Why did you leave Christian Science?” It was the only optional question, and I asked it as an essay question. Like I’ve seen recounted elsewhere, the experiences some of my respondents related about the effects of Christian Science in their lives are harrowing, painful, and disheartening. Continue reading
I am a former Christian Scientist, and this post really hits the nail on the head about the very strong confirmation bias that exists in that faith, and also the mental gymnastics (as some of us have taken to calling it) that’s required to accept and embrace this theology.
People often ask me why I left my faith. There are no good short answers to that question, but one of the simplest ways to explain what happened is to describe the games I was taught to play to protect my beliefs and to keep them immune to falsification. Stepping outside of my own thought processes long enough to see how these games work probably went further than anything else I did to convince me that my religion was all inside my own head. “Know thyself,” the Greeks wisely advised. That’s certainly where it started for me.
Confirmation bias can be a powerful thing. When you have a strong personal need to believe something, you set out to verify your belief with a mixture of motives. You want to know if what you believe is true, but the cost of disappointment may be so high that you become susceptible to…
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As a former Christian Scientist myself, and ever so happy to not be marinating in that crazy sauce anymore, it’s interesting to read the perspective of someone who is not and never has been a Christian Scientist on this crazy religion I was in for far too many years. Very interesting!
Out of curiosity, I ask the woman I have been speaking to for a minute about the “Science” in “Christian Science”. She approached me at the end of the talk because the presenter had asked everyone in the room to introduce oneself to a stranger and talk about one’s inner qualities.
I don’t remember if this particular woman got around to enumerating her inner qualities, but I do remember her talking to a fellow attendee before the talk started. She was saying she has only had good tenants in the building she owns. Of course, she immediately added, she prayed for this to happen.
The reason this particular Christian sect claims to be scientific is because it purports to have uncovered Jesus’ laws, truths so powerful and immutable, they are said to be scientific.
I am reminded of something the speaker said earlier. “The body can’t resist great ideas.” Mine…
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I felt unusually inspired to try and riff on some perhaps not-so-good poetry tonight. It’s free verse, stream of conscience, I’ve done very little editing. I hate rules sometimes, but I’ll always hate Christian Science more.
We were three, now we are one,
They were mortal; we all are,
No matter what you say. Continue reading
I’m a curious person and admittedly a statistics nerd. Always have been, always will be. As a kid, I took apart my radio controlled car to see what made it work (much to my Dad’s frustration, because he got to put it all back together and make it work again). I’m also curious about people and what makes them do what they do, make the choices they make, and the paths they’ve walked–I look for patterns. Former Christian Scientists are no exception. Continue reading
I had an epiphany recently in yoga class, or more accurately, an epiphany had me. The instructor was suggesting what’s known as an intention for the class (something to focus on in your practice for that hour). She suggested that we were not, and didn’t need to be perfect. Now, she was saying this in relation to our yoga practice–many postures are challenging to achieve, and it’s easy to not try one for fear of not doing it “right”. That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you try to do it, and try to do your best at it. It doesn’t matter if you get the posture absolutely right, or bend as far as your more limber neighbour. I was lying there on my mat, and literally what she was saying hit me like an epiphany: I don’t need to be perfect! This was as applicable in my life as it was there on my yoga mat.
Clematis flowers in my Mom’s garden. (Image credit: Emerging Gently)
For reasons my long-time readers will know, my feelings about some holidays are conflicted. For my newer readers and those who haven’t explored some older postings, read this series of posts that were part of the original raison d’être for this blog. Mothers’ Day is no exception. In the first few years after my mother died, Mothers’ Day was an in-your-face reminder to me of someone I felt was unfairly and painfully ripped out of my life, and the lives of those close to her. The first Mothers’ Day after my Mom died came just two months after her death. It was not an easy day to say the least. Continue reading
Image Credit: (Anonymous)–from an ex-Christian Scientist Facebook group.
This meme, created and posted in one of the ex-Christian Scientist Facebook groups I’m in by one of its members triggers memories of one of my many thoughts and doubts about the veracity of so many aspects of Christian Science theology. It cuts to the quick on a fallacy of this theology and so-called “prosperity gospels” that is obvious to anyone with eyes and ears: there is a lot of suffering in this world, and a lot of human needs that go unmet each and every day. On that basis, as I see it, Divine Love (another term for God) hasn’t always met and probably never will meet every human need. Poverty happens, strife happens, shit happens. It’s all part of the human experience.
It is this kind of sanctimonious attitude among Christian Scientists that truly angers me. When pressed about the preventable deaths of children under Christian Science “care”, Christian Science lecturer Christine Driessen blames it on “secular culture”, and the fact that people seemed to turn away from God. No, those kids died because they didn’t receive medical care that could have possibly saved them in many cases. Christian Scientists are masters of passive aggressiveness, and blaming the victim or society for the undeniable fact that CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOES NOT HEAL! For more on what I’m talking about, check out this article: Continue reading
A realization came to me yesterday evening as I sat in an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. I was at the meeting to support a friend of mine who was celebrating the third anniversary of their sobriety. While I am not an AA member myself (I’m what folks in AA call a “normie”–I am able to enjoy the occasional alcoholic drink with no ill effects). I have gained a lot of emotional healing from what I’ve learned in 12-step programs. It is applicable not only to those recovering from addictions and alcoholism, but also those of us seeking general emotional and mental healing from various traumas we’ve suffered. Which brings me (somewhat) to my topic today: memories and thoughts about one of my previous Christian Science entanglements. Continue reading
Emerging Gently 