I’m surveying

You may recall that I posted a link to a survey last week. Due to some technical issues, that one didn’t work out as I intended. So, I have built a new one. It’s better, it’s stronger, and it’s on a better platform. If you feel like getting surveyed, please check it out. Thank you!

Ex-Christian Scientist Relationship Survey

By the numbers

Misty morning on the Christian Science Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts. Image credit: Emerging Gently.

There can be little doubt, even among Christian Scientists, that the Christian Science church is in decline, and has been for many decades. According to the Wikipedia entry on “Church of Christ, Scientist” (that is the official name of the Christian Science church), the number of branch churches in the United States, the country where Christian Science originated, has been in steady decline since the end of World War II. That’s 78 years out of the 157 since Dear Leader Mary Baker Eddy took a tumble on the ice in Lynn, Massachusetts, folks.

Ask the audience…

Image credit: Luis Quintero (Pexels).

There’s an odd phenomenon among many former Christian Scientists especially those, like myself, who have married or have partners who were never Christian Scientists. Odds are that these people didn’t know anything about Christian Science before they met us. So, there ends up being a huge and important part of our lives that our spouses/partners don’t fully understand, and despite our best efforts to explain something as unexplainable as Christian Science is, it usually remains somewhat of an enigma to them. However, we can go to an on-line audience of people we’ve largely never met, tell them our deepest, darkest childhood memories to them, and they will all, without missing a beat, give you that “I totally get what you’re going through” nod or acknowledgement that our spouse/partner can never give us. This applies to close friendships as well–however you can more easily choose to just not share those parts of your life with friends. With a spouse or partner, it’s different. I don’t want to hold back large and impactful parts of my life from my partner, but there is so much that she will never really be able to understand.

Lucky kid…

Recently, I had to take a family member to the emergency room at our local hospital. No big deal, it was just a nasty stomach virus that was making the rounds–painful and unpleasant, but not serious or life threatening. They were hooked up to an intravenous drip of saline and an anti-nausea medication to rehydrate them and quell their violent symptoms, and their condition improved quickly.

Why yes, we do have a vice or two…

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?”
(Matthew 6:25 – King James Version)