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 also, that these people didn’t know anything about Christian Science before they met us. So, there ends up being a huge 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 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. 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.

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.

I’m Baaaack!!

Looking at my posts, the last thing I posted here was a link to an article written by John Pavlovitz, a writer, activist, blogger, and yes–pastor from Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA. That post dates back to October 2018. Normally, I’m not a fan of anyone who is a pastor or anything remotely connected to religion, but he is worth following, if you want something good and thought-provoking to read. He is the kind of Christian who walks the walk, rather than just talking it, and he doesn’t like Trump–something I consider to be a good thing. Find him here. He’s also on social media. The last substantive post I made was also in October 2018. So, it’s been awhile. I honestly didn’t think I’d come back here, then when I started trying, I didn’t think WordPress would let me back in.

Surveying

My long-term readers will recall that I did a survey of former Christian Scientists and their various experiences post-Christian Science, in Christian Science, why they left, and a few other things. Click here to view the related posts on my previous survey.

Well, the survey has been resurrected, and changed. This time, results will be posted on The Ex-Christian Scientist website, of which I am an editor.

Please click this link to fill out the survey! Thanks for participating!

• Ex-CS Survey 2016

The Ex-Christian Scientist: A New Resource for Former Christian Scientists

There’s a new website in town for former Christian Scientists, or those thinking of leaving Christian Science. The following is the official announcement of the launch of this website.

A group of former members of the Christian Science Church have launched a new website designed as a resource for people who have left or are considering leaving the Christian Science faith. Christian Science (not to be confused with Scientology) was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the late 19th century and is perhaps best known as a sect that rejects medical treatment, advocating prayer exclusively for healing.  

Ex-Christian Scientists In Their Own Words Again

I’ve had a few posts now of former Christian Scientists sharing on various subjects in their own words. Continuing on this idea, and happily letting others write some blog posts for me, I present more former Christian Scientists in their own words. I only edit the comments for context; clarification of terms, clarification of references, or clarification of lingo that’s used; and to remove any identifying details. I only share comments here with permission of the commenters.

Question: How long have you been free from Christian Science?

Former Christian Scientists in their own words…subject: Christian Science practitioners

I have previously posted some comments shared on-line by former Christian Scientists on a different topic. Click here for my previous post.

Once again, my ex-Christian Scientist friends on Facebook have proven to be a great source of material for me here on this blog. In parlance that will be very familiar to any of us who’ve sat through a Wednesday Testimony Meeting, I’d like to thank the previous testifiers for their inspiring comments.

Former Christian Scientists In Their Own Words

An interesting discussion thread emerged in one of the ex-Christian Scientist Facebook groups. A friend thought it might be fun to share some of that discussion with a wider audience, and I agree. I now share with you, dear readers, former Christian Scientists in their own words, unplugged, and uncensored.

Survey Respondents Say…

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.

Survey Says…

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.