Anyone wanna Ask a Former Christian Scientist?

[Jermys]

Sept 10, 2012 16:50:52 GMT -5 pamela said:

I don't understand where the Christian part comes in. If you don't believe there is any difference in believers vs non-believers after death, what is the view on Jesus? Savior? Good teacher? Divine? Healer?

And the "scientist" part of the name has always thrown me since they seem so anti-science through the anti-man-made medicine. What are the views on other science-y things? Evolution?

Jesus is the son of God. CS believe in Christ and God (which makes them Christian) and they believe in Jesus as the savior.

CS aren't anti-science. They simply believe that they are able to heal themselves like Jesus did because they believe we are all the children of God, made in his divine image. They don't disbelieve science, and certainly don't disbelieve evolution. CS are for the most part incredibly intelligent and highly educated people. They're not the fundie, evolution denying kind of people. They don't discount medicine or the benefits of medical science, but they don't choose to go that route for themselves.

[Kattey]

Jermys, I think you did a brilliant job of explaining CS. I, too, was raised in CS, and both of my grandparents worked at Principia until retirement. But I always manage to have a difficult time explaining it.

I still go to church on occasion when I take my Gramma.

[UMaineTeach]

Sept 10, 2012 14:16:10 GMT -5 Jermys said:

They believe strongly in Matthew 6:5-6 (And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you).

I feel like I should save this bible quote to send back to people who send me chain emails that I have to pass on to 17 people in 3 hours b/c "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 10:32-33

[Jermys]

Sept 10, 2012 19:24:13 GMT -5 Kattey said:

Jermys, I think you did a brilliant job of explaining CS. I, too, was raised in CS, and both of my grandparents worked at Principia until retirement. But I always manage to have a difficult time explaining it.

I still go to church on occasion when I take my Gramma.

Whew, thank you! It really is difficult to explain. It's like trying to tell someone how to ride a bike (just balance and pedal!)

I wonder if I knew your grandparents...did they work for the US or the college? I went to the US, but have a bunch of friends who did both. I still get the newsletter thing LOL

[Kattey]

My grandpa worked as a security guard for the US campus and my grandma worked in the kitchen, so it's probably a good bet you've seen both at one point or another.

[Jermys]

That's so cool! I went there in 91...they probably wouldn't know me since I was only there for a year, but how cool anyway!

[Kattey]

Did you ever go to any of the camps?

[Jermys]

I went to Cedars twice - once when I was six and my mom was taking class instruction and then again the year before Prin as a worker.

[Kattey]

I went also, when I was 12 and 13.It was nice.

Is there any reason in particular you don't practice? I know that for me, I'm not really a church going soul.

[Jermys]

Well, along the way, I became agnostic and then atheist, so it's mostly that I don't believe anymore. I love most parts of the religion and have read S&H from cover to cover like five times, but at first I just wasn't being a good CS what with the drinking and partying, and later I didn't believe.

I still sing the hymns to my kids as lullabies. Shepherd Show Me (Feed My Sheep) and O Gentle Presence (Mother's Evening Prayer). In the haze of two am, they're some of the only songs I know by heart LOL

[basilosaurus]

I need an ask a CS to interpret this thread!

What are these camps and schools? Are CS kids encouraged to go to these? Is it equally ok to go to a secular alternative?

I can accept that CS isn't anti-science, accepts evolution, etc, but how do they reconcile belief in miraculous healing with the lack of evidence? I mean, I know people will say miracles helped someone survive in a crash or something, but prayer isn't going to replace your insulin, kwim? There has to be some level of accepting that prayer doesn't heal everything.

[Kattey]

Sibil, the schools are private schools. I never attended them, so I can't speak as to their curriculum. The camps are just summer sleep away camps. I went to Ceders in MO. For 2 weeks out of the summer I hiked, rode horses, and learned how to swim. 2x a day, for an hour each we'd have quiet time for reflection and bible study basically.

My experience with CS is this: I couldn't quote the passage (I was never a big bible reader) but supposedly Jesus said somewhere that anyone can preform the miracles that he did with enough faith. At least that's what I got. Jermys can correct me if I'm way off base. But the teaching I learned were to always try prayer first. But it also acknowledged that we're not Jesus, and shit happens but medicine is more of a last resort.

I had all my vaccines as a child, and I went to a doctor on the regular, so maybe my church was doing it wrong, but we weren't anti-science or medicine. I believe in evolution (or rather that evolution is a part of God's creating the world) and science and all that.

[Jermys]

What are these camps and schools? Are CS kids encouraged to go to these? Is it equally ok to go to a secular alternative?
They're just regular schools and camps, but they're for CS kids. They teach regular subjects at the schools, but also have someone read a verse from the Bible or the Science and Health at the beginning of home room. Kattey explained camp very well. CS kids aren't particularly encouraged to go, but some do, depending on their families.

I can accept that CS isn't anti-science, accepts evolution, etc, but how do they reconcile belief in miraculous healing with the lack of evidence? I mean, I know people will say miracles helped someone survive in a crash or something, but prayer isn't going to replace your insulin, kwim? There has to be some level of accepting that prayer doesn't heal everything.
The interesting thing is, prayer has helped people to be healed of many things. Crazy shit you wouldn't ever expect could be healed without medical intervention. Shit that has been verified by doctors. Which doesn't tell me that prayer healed them, but that the human body and brain are freaking amazing tools.

[Jermys]

Sept 11, 2012 9:38:42 GMT -5 Kattey said:

My experience with CS is this: I couldn't quote the passage (I was never a big bible reader) but supposedly Jesus said somewhere that anyone can preform the miracles that he did with enough faith. At least that's what I got. Jermys can correct me if I'm way off base. But the teaching I learned were to always try prayer first. But it also acknowledged that we're not Jesus, and shit happens but medicine is more of a last resort.

Yes to all of it, but especially the bolded.