Former Christian Scientists and relationships: mixed perspectives (3 of 4)

This is the third of a four-part series of posts that will address the data and stories I’ve collected in my survey of former Christian Scientists and their experiences in long-term relationships.

You might wonder, in this survey, or elsewhere, if I’ve encountered former Christian Scientists who are or were in relationships with Christian Scientists after they left Christian Science. The answer would be yes. However, in my experience, and in my survey, they are fewer and farther between. Therefore, I will also share a bit about other mixed (Christian Scientist and non-Christian Scientist) relationships from my own past experience and those that have been shared with me in the past.

Former Christian Scientists and relationships: a few stories (2 of 4)

This is the second of a four-part series of posts that will address the data and stories I’ve collected in my survey of former Christian Scientists and their experiences in long-term relationships.

Data gives you the facts and outline, however stories add colour to the picture that the data outlines. Living in and with Christian Science is a unique experience, and it leaves those of us who’ve lived through it with a unique perspective on life and the universe around us, and a different way in which we react to it. This deeply affects those who are closest to us, and how the dynamics of our relationships play out, especially when we are with partners who were never Christian Scientists, and in many cases, those partners have never even heard of Christian Science, or they know very little about it.

The Dark Lord is back!

Liz Heywood is a bit of a rockstar in the ex-Christian Scientist community. Her story is hers, and hers only to tell, but it’s a doozy. I have never met her in-person, but back in my Boston days, while I still swam in the Krazy Sauce of Christian Science–working at The Mother Church, I would see her from a distance, as she would often picket on the street outside the church during its Annual Meeting.

Email update…again…

I didn’t like mail.com for various superficial reasons, and since I am in a long-term relationship with my current internet service provider, who hosts the email address I’ve used previously, I am returning to that old email address. So, please send all inquiries, love, hate, suggestions, and unsolicited advice to: emerging.gently@shaw.ca. Thank you! Live long and prosper.

Former Christian Scientists and relationships: just the data, please (1 of 4)

This is the first of a four-part series of posts that will address the data and stories I’ve collected in my survey of former Christian Scientists and their experiences in long-term relationships.

Recently, I conducted a survey of former Christian Scientists and relationships. I was motivated to look into this topic by the story of a former Christian Scientist I know who, when they met and married their partner, were both still Christian Scientists. They have now both left Christian Science. Their story is fairly unique, but it spurred my interest in seeing how Christian Science has affected those of us who’ve left in our relationships with significant others.

Re-Blogged: Myths & Legends: The Fall on the Ice

A comment on the post I put up this morning prompted me to remember this piece. It goes a bit into some biography of Mary Baker Eddy. I haven’t gone into much here on this blog regarding any biographical examination of her, as I feel like that ground has been covered well by others and in other places. There is a lot of biography out there on Mary Baker Eddy, ranging from glowingly supportive (such as almost 100% of what the Christian Science Publishing Society publishes), relatively neutral, to critical. Other bloggers and websites have also covered this ground pretty well too. As an example, I’ll point you to this piece that was published on The Ex-Christian Scientist. It takes what I feel is a more objective look at the foundational myth for Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy’s infamous “Fall on the Ice” in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1866, than what you will find in most of the material published by the Christian Science church. Enjoy!

• The Ex-Christian Scientist: Myths & Legends: The Fall on the Ice (11 October 2015).

Introspection and Retrospection

Retrospection and Introspection is a small autobiographical sketch that Mary Baker Eddy wrote. It’s short, around 66 pages. The title of it, with a small variation, seems apropos for this post.

Complimentary

This post will go up a little bit over a month after the events I write about have happened. For some reason, it seems to be important to me to tell you that. Maybe it is so that the rest of this post, which I have written in present-tense, makes some sense (mainly to me).