“You may know when first Truth leads by the fewness and faithfulness of its followers.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 225)
This statement is often held up by Christian Scientists as a banner of proof that Christian Science (a.k.a. Truth*) is as strong and relevant as ever, and as a denial of the reality of its very precipitous decline since about the mid 20th century. Continue reading
Every so often, I go fishing on Google to research material for this blog. I write myself a nice boolean search string (yeah, I’m kind of nerdy), and see what I catch–mostly I’m looking for stuff to add to my “Resources” page. While searching generally on the term “leaving Christian Science”, I came across this discussion board post on “Time4thinkers”–the Christian Science Church’s outreach to the millennial generation (part of their TMC Youth program). Please give it and some of the replies a quick read before continuing. Continue reading
I just had to stand up and give this testimony. I am so grateful for Buckley’s cold and flu caplets. Last night, I was feeling the oncoming symptoms of a cold, and I took two of those nice little blue night capsules, and had the best sleep. Continue reading
My good friend over at Kindism has been writing somewhat about The Mother Church’s “Church Alive” initiative. This initiative seeks to deal with a pressing issue within the Christian Science Church, and that is rapidly dwindling membership. Now, it is well known by anyone familiar with Christian Science that the Church does not publish the numbers of members, but any examination of data that is available indicates a church in steep and increasing decline. It is estimated that the peak was reached somewhere between the late 1930s – mid 1950s, approximately, and the decline has been rapid since then. However, this post isn’t really about that subject, per se, but more about a very obvious (to me) reflection of this decline–the fact that this year, Annual Meeting was held exclusively on-line. The theme was “Small Seeds…Vital Growth”. I’ve modified that slightly for the title of this post. Continue reading
A blog I’ve recently discovered (well the blogger actually found me and I have begun to explore her blog), has piqued a latent interest of mine in regards to Christian Science. In the work that I do now, I frequently deal with people who suffer from various mental illnesses, and I’ve had some training in what is known as “mental health first aid”. This by no means make me an expert in any way on the subject of mental illness, but it does give me a frame of reference as I look back now on my past faith path. Continue reading
I just got home from a long weekend, and kick-off to summer. With the usual sunbaked gratefulness for the soft embrace of my own bed, and the welcome clean-off of a cool shower, I reflect back on it. Continue reading
It’s interesting–when I began to think about writing this blog; in my compulsive, retentive way, I outlined in my mind the various topics I would initially write about. I had it all planned out–probably at least 10 posts. I still do (oddly enough, I haven’t written out an outline–it exists entirely in my mind and evolves constantly), but many of the posts so far have come to me outside of these plans, inspired on-the-spot by forces not my own. In fact, I think I’ve only written one or two that I had pre-planned. All others, and these have been the better ones, in my opinion, have been inspired by interactions I’ve had with others–both former Christian Scientists (CS-ists), and some of my current circle of friends and co-workers who know nothing about it. Continue reading
The previous commenter’s comment reminded me of an experience I had a couple of years ago, and I just had to stand up and give this testimony. I realized I needed to come clean and be honest with myself about what I really believed in instead of pretending to be something I was not. I feel so much better now, and I’m so grateful each and every day for the discovery of who I really am, and the world as it really is. Continue reading
Emerging Gently 