Mary Baker Eddy on Electricity (and as a pdf) via the Mary Baker Eddy Science Institute RationalWiki's views on Christian Science There must not be many Christian Scientists in Croatia, Croatian Court Upholds Vaccine Mandate via IFLScience too awesome not to share: Judaic Plush Passover Finger Puppet via the Awkward Moments Children's Bible facebook page … Continue reading what I’ve been reading: Science & Plague Puppets
Category: Bible
Everything’s New: new former-Christian Science blog
There is a new former-Christian Science blog on the block: Everything's New at http://everythingsnew.net The introductory post on March 9, 2014 explains There are times in your life when you need to branch out in a new direction. This is one of them for me. I retired from computer programming and web development last August; … Continue reading Everything’s New: new former-Christian Science blog
UPDATED: Calling your Congress People on Religious Exemptions
As a general rule, I try not to get involved in politics, but I don't feel that religions should be exempted from anything -- they should pay taxes, they should have to enroll in health care. As Jesus reminded them, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Jesus also said "suffer the little children" (Matthew 19:14) … Continue reading UPDATED: Calling your Congress People on Religious Exemptions
What is The Mother Church’s policy on sexuality and membership?
A regular reader shared the following piece from the February 2014 issue of The Christian Science Journal, the piece is part of The Christian Science Journal's columns "Your Questions & Answers" (1). The following is a screen shot from facebook group where the article was copied and pasted in full (2). I have also uploaded it … Continue reading What is The Mother Church’s policy on sexuality and membership?
Friday Night Fun: Are you Rapture Ready?
This evening R. L. Culpeper shared a link to a cringe-worthy two question quiz on Elucidations on Atheism. How bad could it be? Well, he thoughtfully linked to Check Your Spiritual Health at RaptureReady.com. It is a Friday night, I've got nothing better to do... yeah, it is cringe-worthy. Question 1: How would you best describe … Continue reading Friday Night Fun: Are you Rapture Ready?
what I’ve been reading – women
Pope Francis: Women called to service, not servitude There's Nothing About Abortion in the Bible -- So How Do Right-Wing Christians Justify Their Crusade Against Women? (found via the incredibly thought provoking abortion tag at Defeating the Dragons) "Babies are Cute" And Other Non-Starter Arguments for Forced Childbearing How I Learned I Was Pro-Choice By … Continue reading what I’ve been reading – women
the Right Dictionary, what is Love?
While Buddhists focus on the Rights of the Noble Eightfold Path, Christian Scientists focus on things like “the right hand soap,” the “right Sunday School teacher” and the “right” dictionary. Yes, the right dictionary. You might think all dictionaries are the same, but you’d be wrong. If you’re a good Christian Scientist you spend a … Continue reading the Right Dictionary, what is Love?
what I’ve been reading – thought provoking blog posts
I think my Sunday School teachers should be grateful that the internet wasn't as prevalent when I was in their classes... Or maybe I should be grateful, I suspect I would have had a LOT more conversations w/the Sunday School Superintendent. Not a fan of Jesus at Godless in Dixie Fascinating Womanhood: Pandora's Box at … Continue reading what I’ve been reading – thought provoking blog posts
Fate vs. Freewill: Did Jesus have a Choice?
The fate vs. freewill discussion always fascinated me, it was one of the few discussions I enjoyed in my high school English class, and I was quite curious how it applied to Biblical lore: Adam and Eve had a choice to disobey God - I always found that poorly planned on God's part, but that … Continue reading Fate vs. Freewill: Did Jesus have a Choice?
Anti-intellectualism and the Bible
Ms. Eddy claims “the time for thinkers has come” but if you think critically about Christian Science, or the Bible, you end up somewhere quite different than she intends.
As someone shared on my FB feed this morning
- “If you rearrange the letters in the words Faith and Religion, you can make ‘Microwave.’ No, don’t test it or question it, just believe me.”
When I was a Christian, I worked very hard at maintaining the tension between faith and reason, much like I see many bright people still doing today. I poured myself into biblical studies, learned the original languages, took classes on apologetics and worldview, discussed and argued over theology with friends into the wee hours of the morning, and even studied a bit of philosophy along the way. Like many writers I read these days, I worked sincerely out of a conviction that the Christian faith can be a well-reasoned faith. I labored all those years under the impression that you don’t have to “check your brains at the door” of the church, but can instead continue to feed both mind and spirit in a kind of symbiotic (even if sometimes strained) relationship. What did not occur to me then but seems as clear as a bell to me now is…
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