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.
Continue readingA 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!
Testimonies of healing are an integral part of Christian Science practice. It’s where the rubber meets the road. I’ve written a post about the subject (more of a humourous take). The Ex-Christian Scientist,* did this piece regarding the last chapter of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, entitled “Fruitage”**:
Continue readingThis is a good guide. As I look back on my former faith path, Christian Science, if I go by this list, it fails on almost every point.
This essay was first published at The Humanist Contemplative.
Over the course of my comparative studies, there are some general traits I’ve noticed which seem to be shared between those wisdom streams and I thought it could be helpful to point them out. Here are some traits that are a sign of a good and healthy spiritual path…
10) Aim of True Happiness
Good spirituality will have as its aim the happiness of the practitioner. Of course, deep understanding of what this entails is essential. By ‘True Happiness’ we mean something more than mere pleasure associated with one’s conditions. Rather, the kind of happiness a good spirituality will pursue will be a deeper sense of contentment that transcends circumstance. It will be a source of inner strength in the face of adversity and humble appreciation in the face of fortune. Such a happiness is also not selfish in the…
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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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As a former Christian Scientist myself, I find the observations of those unfamiliar with Christian Science to be very interesting and refreshing.
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Sunday #14 – Church of Christ, Scientist, 501 N. Alamo, San Antonio, TX
After last week’s “toe dip” into Scientology, I thought I’d check out one of the other religions often mistaken for Scientology – Christian Science. The church is one of several on the decline in America’s religious landscape. However, you might be surprised to learn that some pretty well known people were raised in the Christian Science faith: Doris Day, Robin Williams, Marilyn Monroe, Henry Fonda, Andy Rooney, Bette Davis, Gene Autrey, Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Val Kilmer, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, and on and on.
Though the church doesn’t publish its membership numbers, I’ve read estimates of membership in the 100,00 to 500,000-range worldwide. However, many feel the number is closer to the lower level. Why is this? I can only guess its due to its unwillingness of the…
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One Christian Scientist’s take on the Christian Science Church’s lobbying efforts regarding healthcare and exemptions in law for Christian Scientists. Worth reading!
The letter of Science plentifully reaches humanity to-day, but its spirit comes only in small degrees. The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love. Without this, the letter is but the dead body of Science, – pulseless, cold, inanimate. – Mary Baker Eddy.
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In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy defines “Church” as the “structure of Truth and Love” and says the role of Church is to rouse “the dormant understanding… to the apprehension of spiritual ideas…”
Lately some individuals have been busy lobbying their politicians for exemptions for Christian Scientists from health insurance and laws regarding child neglect. And I’m sorry, but I have to ask – how is exempting Christian Scientists from health insurance laws and child neglect laws in any way going to help rouse anyone’s “dormant understanding” to the “apprehension…
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Welcome Ms. Eddy’s Inspiration Round 2 (for all posts on this topic see the MBE Inspiration tag). Answers to Ms. Eddy’s Inspiration Round 1 are now up.
As with Round 1, while Ms. Eddy claims Science and Health with Key to the Scripture was divinely inspired and that her only source was the Bible, I have drawn from a variety of sources to compile the passages below. What work is hers? I’ll let you try and sort that out.
** Please note I have temporarily allowed “anonymous” commenting. All first-time comments will be moderated. **
1) science brings to light truth and its supremacy, universal harmony, God’s entirety, and matter’s nothingness.
2) Embryology affords no instance of…
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Emerging Gently 