I’m currently reading this book. I grew up in a CS home. I am no longer affiliated in any way with this church cult of seeming very nice people who deprive their children of basic medical care. It’s not just the lack of medicine though. The religion also does not validate emotional difficulties. Don’t discuss the problem. Talking about it makes it real. Instead read this article about the definitions of god. Talk to a practitioner who doesn’t discuss the issue much as they are not trained in any way to do so. You’re told to “know the truth”. Yes. That’s the answer for everything. Instead of helping to sort through difficulties with a trusted parent or hoping for someone to just listen, talking about a problem “makes it appear real”. So don’t talk about it.
I’ve watched people I’ve known opt for Christian Science instead of medical help and they died when medicine would have saved their lives. Parents who just let their kids die and go about their lives as though it’s all in a day.
I’m sorry to sound cruel but this is a time when more folks are choosing their “religious liberty” over science for their children. Children can’t make a decision on their care and not vaccinating them for example, is on the rise. Christian Science has an important lesson to teach us. Diseases like polio can and have returned.
In a religion that teaches that god is a father/mother concept but also an idea with no personhood, the followers of Christian Science revere the person who was their leader. It’s as though she could do wrong. My mother referred to her as “Mrs. Eddy” I used to hear all about her. Everything I heard was glowing. This woman could do no wrong. This is what is striking about this book. Mrs Eddy was not a very nice person and believed in getting revenge on her enemies, and would go the extra mile to trash someone by writing articles about them for newspapers to wreck reputations or suing them. She demanded fierce loyalty and made pronouncements as to how everyone should live their lives but didn’t follow that advice herself. This caused many early followers to leave the religion. She also had a weird need for her followers to call her “mother” However, she sent her son to live with someone else to be raised when he was 5 and she was very disinterested in being his mom.
I’m blown away by what I’m reading. There are very few books available which hold CS and it’s leader accountable for the damage it has done. Apparently the church tries to get rid of books that paint Mrs Eddy or the religion in a negative light.
When this book originally came out my mother made a fuss about me not reading some book by Caroline Fraser. She was quite upset at its publication. I wasn’t interested back then anyway, so I didn’t investigate it further. All these years later I realize how CS has shaped my life in negative ways and Ms Fraser’s book is helping me understand why I sometimes have a hard time with handling problems I didn’t cause, like guilt for getting sick.
Is Christian Science abuse? That’s a tough question to answer. Christian Scientists love their kids and believe this is the best way to deal or rather not deal with problems or illnesses. Christian Science definitely blames the victim for getting sick. It goes beyond the idea that your thoughts create your reality. They literally believe your thoughts would be the reason behind developing cancer, appendicitis, the flu, etc. Personal or emotional problems which may have or may not have been your fault are thought of as, the not being reflective of the “real man of god’s creating” but by “mortal mind” I still have no idea what that actually means.
I think this is an important book because there are many like me who have been searching for validation that we’re not crazy. We’ve been deprived and in lots of ways very neglected but definitely not crazy.
It’s an eye opener and every Christian Scientist should probably read it and think about why they would choose to believe the writing of someone who actually seems to have had some serious mental problems.
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If you're wanting a secular, well-written and well-researched read of Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science this is an excellent read.
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LMS
Excellent exposition of the many cracks in the edifice.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 30, 2020
