Sticky Annoyances

Have you ever had a song or an annoying slogan from a commercial stuck in your head? I’m sure it’s happened to all of us. Some days, for me, it’s an annoying Justin Bieber song that comes on the radio on the way to work and won’t leave my head (sorry USA, but you can keep Justin, we don’t want him back); on awesome days, it’s a kick-ass Metallica song.

Stages of Departure

Many have heard about the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I’ve also written about this a bit in relation to my own experience with grief in a previous post. In this post, I want to apply this model in parallel way to look at my evolving feelings about Christian Science as I began to leave it initially starting around five years ago to now, as I leave it further and further behind and become more detached from it. I’ve found that many of my ex-Christian Scientist peers that I’m in touch with via Facebook seem to go through similar evolving stages of “leaving” as well. This became starkly apparent to me during a recent visit with an old college friend of mine who like me, grew up in Christian Science (3rd generation as well), but left Christian Science several years before I did, shortly after we graduated from college.

Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism Denounced

This is #9 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is ‘Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism Denounced’. Look for other posts in the category ‘Lesson Sermon Subjects‘. 

This one is a mouthful. As a kid in Sunday School, these were big words I didn’t understand let alone try to pronounce, despite my Sunday School teacher’s best efforts. I mean, how many kids even think or care about this stuff? Mary Baker Eddy seemed to think so, after all, lessons in Sunday School were supposed to derive largely from the Bible Lessons, so twice per year, I got to wrap my tongue around some big words for a usually boredom-filled hour. I always remember the Sunday School superintendent would emphasize the word ‘denounced’ whenever she spoke this subject, almost as if she was pounding a wooden stake though the heart of a vampire.

Standing By

Image Credit: Bryant McGill (from his Facebook Page) (see: http://www.bryantmcgill.com)

One of the toughest things in life for a former Christian Scientist is dealing with friends and family who are still in Christian Science. Fortunately for me, I have no family members who are still in the faith, but I do have a number of friends who are, although I am not in close or regular contact with most of them outside of the occasional Facebook interactions. For those who still deal closely with people still in Christian Science, these relationships become especially tough if the Christian Scientist friend becomes seriously ill, and especially if that Christian Scientist is a close family member like a parent or sibling. All too often, the non-Christian Scientist gets shut out.

Metal and Christian Science

My musical taste is very eclectic. I enjoy almost anything from a symphony by Mozart or Beethoven to the guitar riffs of AC/DC, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, or Van Halen. About the only kinds of music I don’t care much for are country, folk, rap, and hip hop. Music has tremendous power to change one’s mood, or take you back to a specific place and time. It can evoke deep emotions, and make you forget the worries of your day. A nice guitar riff can lift my mood instantly.