 Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 11:01 AM
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A watchful Christian Scientist,
I posted a reply to your May 5, 2008 @ 2:21:37 AM message as a new topic, Doctrinal and Bible Related Issues » Mary Ann or Ginger?
Do Go Be Man
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Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 11:29 AM
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| Regarding the above posts, I can't help but wonder why the Christian Scientists consider anyone who speaks out about the suffering and/or unexplained deaths is said to be "attacking" the church such that it must defend. A polio outbreak, a measles outbreak, child deaths, disabled people due to lack of medical treatment, people dying of medically treatable illnesses, childhood suffering at the hands of CS "treatment", family shunning, etc. are things that happened, some of us witnessed first hand; so is everyone just supposed to keep quiet? It is hardly an attack. We are sharing experiences in a supportive environment and if a CS happens to see it and not like what they see, so be it, but don't accuse the posters of "attacking".
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Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 4:24 PM
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| Dear Do Go and All, I understand all are welcome here. And please forgive me if I sounded a little testy, but it just seems that every time a good discussion gets going, here comes a CS member to tell us all how wrong we are....how many healings they have had....and how full the churches are. I personally have suffered a great deal in the name of Christian Science....a totally dysfunctional childhood (and no polio shots) as I was told that everything I saw or felt was not real. I struggle with the mind control still. I was so thrilled to find this forum and read the stories that were so much like mine and participate in them, but I guess every time one of them comes on here to tell me how wrong I am, I just revert back to those voices in my head. "This is error....this is not real....know the truth....something wrong with your thinking". I am the last member alive in my family. All died well before they had to with illnesses that if treated early would not have killed them. Sorry if I sounded a little irritated. Sharon
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Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 6:09 PM
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| [Moderator's note: message deleted by IleftCSin74's special request]
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Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 6:35 PM
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| I find it odd that the Christian Scientist attempt to engage any discussion on this forum whatsoever. I was taught that a Christian Scientist was not supposed to debate it in public. Anything negative was to be handled by the COP (Committee on Publication). Was I taught wrong or was someone just trying to shut me up? On another note: Isn't it kind of creepy that a religion has to have a "Big Brother" organization to keep control of information disemination?
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Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 10:53 PM
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| [Moderator's note: message deleted by IleftCSin74's special request]
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Posted Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:09 AM
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I was taught that a Christian Scientist was not supposed to debate it in public. So was I. There haven't been 2,000 CS churches operating for many years now. I have a friend who complies church stats from information availbable from The Mother Church. As of May 2007 there were 1250 CS churches and 511 societies worldwide. The number drops by a couple % per year.
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Posted Tuesday, May 06, 2008 8:00 AM
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I am very glad that we have CSists posting here. I suppose some might call it debate, but I prefer the terms (and attitude) of discussion and fellowship.
Rather than being concerned about whether a particular church has the claimed active membership, I'd be curious to know why that church seems more active than the typical CS church. What are they doing that other CS churches are not to attract an active membership? Can the experiences of the Pasadena church be replicated elsewhere? Is the Pasadena membership the result of growth or consolidation? Are their theological positions in line with TMC?
Do Go Be Man
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Posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008 4:40 PM
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| [Moderator's note: message deleted by IleftCSin74's special request]
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Posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008 5:41 PM
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| I live in a VERY large city and there are only a few CS churchs left open. Of course, there are several digits missing in the listing of churchs. (Bet they would like to rethink numbering the churchs!) I can speak from actual experience, I NEVER have seen a full CS church. There were usually only a few people and they tended to sit toward the back with a few sparsely seated throughout the rest of the church. The Sunday Schools had very few kids. It was embarrassing to pull into the parking lot of such a large building with so few cars when the Baptists and Presbytrians down the street had to have several traffic cops and buses to drive people to the church from the outlying parking lots! Wednesday nights were even worse. The same few gave testimonies every week. It was kind of like a one man show. The silence between the few testifiers was very uncomfortable. It was so laughable that they felt the need for a microphone for the testifier. Again, this is not a rural area but one of the major US cities. The few remaining churchs are located on VERY expensive real estate. I always asked why they don't just merge the churchs and run them more efficiently. Does anyone know if there is some rule about how many have to be left to have a church? Does it just dwindle down to two readers, an usher, a soloist, and the organist with no one left in the pews?
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