Category: leaving Christian Science

the strange new world of “materia medica” – E.G.’s story

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The following post is part of the on-going "I went to the Doctor" series, which details first hand experiences of Christian Scientists and former-Christian Scientists who sought medical care or treatment outside of Christian Science. We hope that by sharing our experiences using medical care that it will help break down the stigma and fear! … Continue reading the strange new world of “materia medica” – E.G.’s story

Question: If a Christian Scientist is gravely ill and prays for healing and dies when a medical intervention could have saved their life is that, in the minds of their loved ones, simply because God didn’t want them to live?

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The following is a Question & Answer post where former Christian Scientists try and explain Christian Science reasoning to fairly commonly asked questions. We will be periodically sharing them, as questions that would benefit from multiple perspectives arise. This post is being answered by EG, who blogs at emergegently.wordpress.com, and  Kat, who blogs at Kindism.org. … Continue reading Question: If a Christian Scientist is gravely ill and prays for healing and dies when a medical intervention could have saved their life is that, in the minds of their loved ones, simply because God didn’t want them to live?

I resigned from The First Church of Christ, Scientist (The Mother Church), but they seem to have misplaced my resignation letter

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Back in May 2013 I wrote a letter to The Mother Church announcing that I hereby voluntarily withdraw my membership The First Church of Christ, Scientist, effective immediately, and request you to remove my name permanently from your membership records. My husband wrote a similar letter (actually, I just changed the names around and printed … Continue reading I resigned from The First Church of Christ, Scientist (The Mother Church), but they seem to have misplaced my resignation letter

Christian Science In the News & Related Articles

Suffering Children and the Christian Science Church by Caroline Fraser Study: Christian Scientists Die Younger from the Chicago Tribune Christian Science in the Chicago Tribune Mary Baker Eddy and the Neo-Vedantic Origins of Christian Science: Its influence on New-Age thinking, and fundamental misunderstanding Peter Holleran. The Christian Science Holocaust Gerald Bergman, PhD The Origin & … Continue reading Christian Science In the News & Related Articles

Religious Trauma Syndrome: How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems

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Christian Science isn’t really into the hellfire, brimstone and apocalypse, but it does manage to instill a deep distrust of doctors/medicine, and some dangerously unrealistic ideas that you can heal yourself through prayer alone — and when that fails, it means you’ve failed, so you have to pray harder… Not a healthy cycle to fall into.

Valerie Tarico's avatarAwayPoint

Religious Trauma Syndrome- AnguishAt age sixteen I began what would be a four year struggle with bulimia.  When the symptoms started, I turned in desperation to adults who knew more than I did about how to stop shameful behavior—my Bible study leader and a visiting youth minister.  “If you ask anything in faith, believing,” they said.  “It will be done.” I knew they were quoting the Word of God. We prayed together, and I went home confident that God had heard my prayers.

But my horrible compulsions didn’t go away. By the fall of my sophomore year in college, I was desperate and depressed enough that I made a suicide attempt. The problem wasn’t just the bulimia.  I was convinced by then that I was a complete spiritual failure. My college counseling department had offered to get me real help (which they later did). But to my mind, at that point, such help…

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Celebrating the Seasons and a few thoughts on Modern Pagnism, Children and Religion

I feel the need to preface this with a story. The other day I mentioned to my husband that I'd had the strangest dream in which Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy were portrayed by Muppets Uncle Deadly and Miss Piggy (complete with the MBE-hairsytle of later years) in a Muppet-esque skit, song and … Continue reading Celebrating the Seasons and a few thoughts on Modern Pagnism, Children and Religion