“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?”
(Matthew 6:25 – King James Version)
As I was writing and editing my recent post Love, I began to see issues I touched on there that I wanted to expand on, but it just didn’t seem to work within that post. The biggest one for me is something that has become very apparent to me as I’ve left Christian Science: the coldness and impersonal nature of many Christian Scientists–especially parents. Continue reading
Some time ago I swore to myself, and in e-mail witness with my friend and fellow ex-Christian Scientist blogger at Kindism, that I was not going to wade into the extra crazy/weird world of sexuality and Christian Science. I’ve been quite happy to leave this odd topic in her capable hands. Well, I’m going to break that vow–just a little bit. My post today deals with a hot-button (for some) issue: those who are lesbian/bi-sexual/gay/transgender (LBGT) or sometimes generically and incorrectly lumped together under the term, homosexual. Bisexual people are not homosexual, by the way, nor are transgender folks. Homosexuality refers specifically to those who are attracted to those of the same gender as themselves. Continue reading
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
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
I’ve got nothing against wolves, they’re a noble and much maligned animal. However, the figurative ‘wolves’ that are implied by the common saying that is the title of this post are anything but noble. They’re deceptive, they lie, and they lead unknowing people down a path they don’t intend to go down. That’s the subject of today’s post. Contrary to my usual routine, I’m not putting this one in the queue to go up on a Wednesday far in the future, as I think this is a wolf that fortunately may be on its way to obscurity. At least their main website seems to indicate such, as it appears to not be actively maintained. However, they do have a recently active crowdfunding campaign going right now (click here for that, but for the love of the gods, don’t donate, please)–they seem to be woefully short of their $10,000.00 goal ($135.00 so far). But then again, they may have just moved to a new site (here), so this gnat may not have met its windshield just yet. Please have a look at the links I’ve provided before you continue reading to spare me the need to give an extensive backgrounder on these folks. Continue reading
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? Continue reading
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. I don’t care either way. But, I have a different issue in mind here outside of sexual morality (a very weird subject in connection to Christian Science, by the way). My issue relates to the raising and protecting of children. Continue reading
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
It’s hard as a Refugee From An Obscure Religion, as I call myself and other ex-Christian Scientists, to find someone I can talk to about what I’ve been through who will understand it all. As any of us who’ve spent time in Christian Science will tell you, it’s an extra-special kind of Krazy Sauce that most people just don’t understand. I would hazard to guess that in the entire metro area I live in, which has a population of around 190,000, I am probably one of less than 10 (if even that many) who are ex-Christian Scientists, and I’m probably being generous in that estimation. Continue reading
Emerging Gently 