Truth

This is #11 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Truth”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 


Today’s post, girls and boys, is brought to you by the synonym Truth. With my views on Christian Science now, as an ex-Christian Scientist, Truth is a bit of a loaded subject. Truth (capitalized) is one of the seven “synonyms” for God, as given by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (pp. 465 & 587). Six of these seven synonyms are also Lesson subjects. The only one that didn’t make the cut was Principle. I’m not sure why. If anyone wants to research and report back, please feel free to do so.

So, what is Truth to the Christian Scientist? Continue reading

Love

This is #10 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Love”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 

Love…another big subject, sort of like “God”, but not quite so big. Everyone wants and needs it, and there are many different ideas of what “love” exactly is. In reference to the Lesson Sermon subject of the same name, “Love” is a synonym for God (hence my capitalization of the word in keeping with what I call “Christian Science Grammar”). I’ll try to keep this focused on Love, and maybe touch a bit on the Christian Science take on love. Continue reading

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. Continue reading

Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism Denounced

This is #9 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is ‘Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism Denounced’. Look for other posts in the category ‘Lesson Sermon Subjects‘. 

This one is a mouthful. As a kid in Sunday School, these were big words I didn’t understand let alone try to pronounce, despite my Sunday School teacher’s best efforts. I mean, how many kids even think or care about this stuff? Mary Baker Eddy seemed to think so, after all, lessons in Sunday School were supposed to derive largely from the Bible Lessons, so twice per year, I got to wrap my tongue around some big words for a usually boredom-filled hour. I always remember the Sunday School superintendent would emphasize the word ‘denounced’ whenever she spoke this subject, almost as if she was pounding a wooden stake though the heart of a vampire. Continue reading

Spirit

This is #8 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Spirit”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 

Spirit is another of the seven “synonyms” of God as listed by Mary Baker Eddy. When used in this context, and as the Lesson Sermon subject, it is capitalized in what I call “Christian Science grammar”. The concept of “Spirit” is similar in many ways to the concept of “Soul” in Christian Science–a topic I addressed in last week’s post. So, what is “Spirit” to the Christian Scientist? Continue reading

Soul

This is #7 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Soul”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 

For reasons beyond my knowledge, I think of a TV show that was popular back in the 1970s called “Soul Train” when I think of this topic. The “soul” I speak of here, is quite different, however. As a child, my parents loved seafood, and we ate it often. A favourite fish was sole. I used to joke (to the annoyance of both my parents and Sunday School teachers) about how this was the “fish” subject. Yeah, I was sometimes an annoying kid. Continue reading

Mind

This is #6 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Mind”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 

Mind is an interesting subject in connection to Christian Science. “Mind” is sometimes used by Christian Scientists when they mean to say “brain”, but of course, since the brain is part of the body, and all that material stuff is supposed to be unreal, they don’t like that word “brain”, even if that’s what they really mean. The level of discomfort with the idea of “brain” amongst Christian Scientists is oddly high. Just one of many in the expansive gallery of weird Christian Scientist hang-ups. Continue reading

God

This is #5 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “God”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“.

God-monty-python

From the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.

“O Lord! Ooh, you are so big! So absolutely huge. Gosh, we’re all really impressed down here, I can tell you.”
(from the movie “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life”) Continue reading

Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?

This is #4 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“. 

Continue reading

Adam and Fallen Man

This is #3 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Adam and Fallen Man”.

One thing in this world that’s almost as certain as death, taxes, and the sun rising in the morning, is that this particular Lesson sermon will include either one or both of the creation accounts from the Bible book of Genesis. I have no memory of any time it hasn’t. There are two accounts of creation in the Bible, and in Christian Science, we were taught that one is true and the other is false. Most other Christian religions, as it appears to me, accept both to be true (I’m not sure how that is reconciled), and they expend a  particularly massive amount of theological and rhetorical energy on the second account of creation: the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the lasting concept of “original sin”. Continue reading