Abuse

Abuse is a big, and highly sensitive topic. In a sense, this entire blog is a chronicling of how I’ve overcome the abuse that Christian Science, as a system of thought or whatever you wish to call it, has inflicted on me, my family, and many former Christian Scientists I’ve come to know. Abuse is pervasive in most religious organizations to such a degree that it is literally baked into the DNA of organized religion. Regular readers of this blog know full well that I do not have a favourable view of religion, and the abuse that happens “in the name of God” is a primary reason why. I’d like to take a brief, and I hope understanding, look at a small slice of this subject as it relates specifically to the experience of being a Christian Scientist, and being raised in Christian Science.

This sounds familiar…

Image Credit: The Career Therapist (thecareertherapist.com).

I recently posted this meme on my Facebook timeline. It resonated strongly with me, and is a succinct description of my experience in Christian Science. It prompted some interesting discussion in the comments among some fellow former Christian Scientists I’m connected to on Facebook, and one comment thread inspired me to dive into a subject I’ve touched on before: other spiritual movements of the 19th century, some of which survive to today, that have some of the same DNA as Christian Science. Today, I want to take this discussion in a different direction. There are echoes of Christian Science-type thinking present in other cultish movements. 

Is it all real, or is it all an ‘illusion’? Make up your mind…

Image credit: Emerging Gently.

I’m fortunate enough to live in what I think is one of the most beautiful places in Canada, if not the world. I chose to live here. I wasn’t born here, my parents didn’t bring me here (although the fact that they left me a house here in their will did have a strong influence on my decision to move here), and a job did not bring me here. I live in a semi-arid valley that is hot in the summer, and experiences moderate (by Canadian standards) winters. It offers many outdoor recreational opportunities during all seasons. Ride along any of the meandering back roads around here, and you’re treated to spectacular scenery of mountains, lakes, cliffs, hoodoos, desert sage, and blue sky.

New Thought, Divine Science, and Christian Science

Sure, Christian Science is an obscure religion with few followers now, and even at its height, it never even approached much over one million followers worldwide, if even that many, according to information I’ve been able to find. However, if you look at some other spiritual and religious movements, you might see echoes of Christian Science in them, with New Thought and the Church of Divine Science being the best known. You might even think that these are different incarnations of Christian Science, or that Christian Science has had more influence than it’s been given credit for. You’d be half right in that assumption. In this post, I’ll give a brief overview of these philosophies and how they relate to Christian Science.

That look you get…

Image source: Facebook.

I shared this meme on my Facebook timeline recently. It was shared by another friend who, like me, is not religious. Unlike me, he knows nothing about Christian Science. I envy him and so many of my other friends for that fact. For most of them, all that they know about Christian Science is what I’ve chosen to share with them about my own experience, unless they’ve done their own research–I always tell my friends to just Google it and read for themselves.

There can be only one…

“There have been about 3,000 gods so far, but only yours actually exists. The others are silly, made-up nonsense; but not yours. Yours is real.”
~Ricky Gervais

Sunday morning rant

As my regular readers well know, I am not religious, and no longer attend church. I despise the deep hypocrisy I see with many who are religious–not just Christians, but Muslims, Jews, and many others. I just don’t see religion as a force for good in this world. Yes, it claims to be, but in practice it isn’t.

A Beautiful (Open) Mind

Image credit: The Mind Unleashed (Facebook Page).

I’ve found all too often, based on my own personal contact with highly religious people, and my observations of public figures who are highly religious, that they tend to be among the most closed-minded people around. They think that their way is the only way, and everybody else is wrong, and they’re going to Hell (I’d care about that if I actually believed in Hell).

Just Because You Can, Should You?

Morality can be a shifting line, and there are definitely some gray areas. For some, living in a sexual relationship outside of marriage is absolutely immoral, for many others, it’s not. It’s not illegal to have sex outside of marriage, or for couples in relationships to live together outside of marriage, but just because it’s not illegal, is it right to do this? Many will argue that it’s not ok. Personally, I don’t care either way on that issue. But, I have a different issue in mind with this post. My issue relates to the raising and protecting of children.

Something Worth Reading

This article came across my Facebook newsfeed today, and it definitely resonates strongly with me vis a vis my own experience with Christian Science…so strongly, it was almost scary…