I will willingly agree with those readers--probably now erstwhile readers--who said in effect that far too many zeros and ones have been wasted on the Planet Waves brouhaha. By now I may only be writing to myself and maybe Concerned until he/she extracts his pound of flesh. However, it does at last appear plausible that Concerned's arguments may have some legs, but Ms. Asher's delayed and various "Rashoman"-like explanations and "apologies" still seem like game but lame attempts to get the toothpaste back in the tube. If the sphinx at the center of this had chosen, like Garbo, to finally speak, it would never I suspect have amounted to a cat's meow. The question still remains, if it was untrue why didn't Ms. Trammell land on it within hours in outraged indignation? I also see no evidence that Concerned and other stout defenders of Ms. Trammell today uttered a whisper in her defense then. Does the Church no longer have a COP? Ms. Asher is (or was, she seems to have vanished without a trace) hardly a person in whose mouth or on whose web site one would like to find his good name. You can verify this for yourself on some old information on the Planet Waves site.
I regret having been guilty, like Toyotas, of some "unexpected acceleration" of my own. I had my foot on the accelerator when it should probably have been firmly on the brake. Shame on me. Nevertheless something noteworthy has been brought to light once again by this dustup: the unchristian treatment meted out to anyone with the temerity to raise any unpleasant issue or who has an honest disagreement with or question to ask of the self-righteous and infallible pontificate in Boston. Check wih Elaine Natale (now Davidson, I think), "Matters of Conscience", or the three obviously Christly and highly-respected teachers of "Speaking the Truth in Love". I know of others as well. The typical tactic used against such as these, no matter how heart-felt and sincere their petitions, is to treat them like troublesome and disloyal vermin and eradicate them professionally.
In yesterday's Wall Street Journal there was an article on the effect of budget cuts on police forces in cities. The article focussed on Tulsa, Oklahoma. An incident was described where only one officer was dispatched to a shooting at a fast food place. There was an angry mob there which was beyond the ability of one officer to cope with adequately, but the part of the story that caught my eye was the description of "patrons" of the place casually and callously stepping over the shooting victim (who was in fact dying) in their hurry to get their fast food and go. What I fear is that long-time, loyal members of the Mother Church, like me, have become inexcusably indifferent to and completely apathetic about what has gone on for years at the Mother Church. It is precisely this situation (or my perception of the situation) which motivated "The Broken Net". The Church of my childhood and much of my adulthood is going, going, if not already long gone. Permanently? Not if we loyal and dedicated Scientists get busy.
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26 comments:
Interesting blog post. And I agree with your closing sentence.
There's work to be done for sure.
Well done,Christian. Hope this lays all to rest. Thanks for doing,
Sad, but the church of your childhood is long gone and we all know who killed it.
A great Christian post Christian.
A most interesting article in the WSJ. Can you imagine that? Made your point about apathy in the movement very well.
I would agree that an important issue was raised by you re: the way people are treated when they only have the good of the Cause at heart. I do hope this will change one of these days. We need to pray for our Church!
I didn't think you'd let those look-down-their-noses-at-you commenters have the last word!
Some previous commenter said they see anger and hate in you, Christian, in what you write. Not I. Especially in this latest. I see sharp intelligence, and a sense of humility.
Thank you for all you are doing for the Cause you so obviously care so much about.
Dear Christian,
I hope with you that all this dustup as you put it is over. Whether or not that unusual!and smutty) Asher made up all that, even to concocting emails from Trammell I agree that there should have been instantaneous disclaimers. Why this was not done, who knows? Would have saved a lot. But thank you for staying on top of issues that concern us all.
I share your wistfulness for the good old days when the CS organization was so strong. Oh how I loved church services, going to the reading room, participating in the activities of the Cause. And I could scarcely wait for the periodicals to arrive. Alas, those days are behind us but I hope not forever. If we could only have selfless, uncorrupted leadership at HQ!
Fat chance "Concerned" and his/her ilk are going to get even a farthing's worth of flesh out of you, blogger!
Very well done. Just love the way you put things. Fresh/original/artfully phrased.
"...self-righteous and infallible pontificate in Boston" - very good!
The FACT is: There is only one Church, God's Church, universal and triumphant, and there is no usurper that can invade, take over, misuse, destroy or distort God's Church.
Speaking for myself, no pound of flesh is desired, and for the record, I do not know Mary Trammell, and until recently I knew nothing of the Planet Waves issue. (My understanding is that the COP office did in fact contact Planet Waves, but I do not have that confirmed.)
Now with regard to the issue of rushing out with a quick, demonstrable defense when one is wronged in public, I can understand that desire. When wronged it is all too easy to dart out with “J’accuse” in mouth and a pen (or keyboard) in hand. However, there are alternatives. Mrs. Eddy was proverbial in her later years for ignoring public attacks; “Time tells all stories true,” she reportedly said. (The single response to the lengthy McClure’s serial was a notable and rare exception.) When Walter Haushalter perpetrated an enormous fraud and extortion attempt against The Mother Church in the 1930s, including a published book no less, the Church only responded publicly with a brief statement in a single issue of the Sentinel. Thus, at the least there are different views on how best to handle even the basest public assaults on one’s reputation.
Microsoft has a series of commercials where a common everyday person says, “I’m a PC.” In a way, I feel that way about the movement. I am the movement, because it is my job to demonstrate Christian Science, to bring new people to it, to spread the Gospel, the good news. I don’t leave it up to five people on high in Boston. If I don’t hold up my part of the bargain, who am I to judge others? If I were to go out and interview 100 young people who drifted away after Sunday School, how many would say it was because of weak Sentinel articles, CSBs not up to the standards of the past, or a myriad of other complaints against the board? I know the answer would be none. When I worked at the Church many years ago, the myopic perception was that the movement revolved around the personalities and intrigues at the Center: who was on the Board, who left such and such a position and why, etc. When I returned to a Branch Church, I realized how little day to day CS was impacted by such things. Most local members could not even name the directors. That does not mean the Directors, Sentinel, CSBs, etc., do not have important roles, for they surely do. And it is not to whitewash any past mistakes (or worse actions) made by the Board, but I believe the movement will be turned around not by any legal action, or internecine infighting, but by all of us saying, “I am the movement. It’s up to me.” The hymn implores us to go onward as Christian soldiers, not shrinking violets. I agree, much of the Church of our youth is gone, but it is not too late.
On a different note: the suggestions to create my own blog have not gone unheeded. I am looking into that, in part to focus on lengthy historical issues in the movement that otherwise clog up another’s blog and send it off into uncharted directions. In such a venue I will be able to respond to the questions that have been raised concerning my earlier historical statements.
IF the COP responded to Rachel Asher's hair-raising comments and supposed emails from Ms. Trammell herself showing a love for sex horoscopes, why on earth wasn't the official reply put in the Monitor or the periodicals for the Field to see? Probably because of one of two things: Boston does not actually have any respect for us dedicated Christian Scientists out here, or COP told Asher you should never have let that cat out of the bag!
For the life of me, I cannot imagine Mary Baker Eddy just letting time smooth things out if she had been mentioned in the context Trammell was, especially if someone posted emails purportedly written by her indicating a predilection for eriscopes and things lesbian!!!
Come on now, folks.
To CONCERNED
If I met a young person who was hungering for God but was outside the clique that buys into environmentalism, the global warming scare, the notion that U.N. is the world's premier political organization, etc.,etc., I would have to pass that young person by because it does not seem moral or right to me that the church, through the ostensible means of spiritual teachings, subtley demands replacing temporal conservative ideals with the temporal liberal ideals that are pushed by the church day after day as expressing the divine.
West Coast practitioner
You make a good point. Remember her withering rebuttal to the writer who compared Christian Scientists to "English Barmaids" ?
I certainly do remember our Leader's withering reply. There is no doubt in my mind whatever just how Mrs. Eddy would instantly dispatch such an incursion on her pure and widely-recognized moral/spiritual standing in the world! I find it inexplicable that a Director in our day ostensibly interested in the well-being of the Church Mrs. Eddy left to us would let such a shocking turn of events, in indeed even all fabricated, to discredit her before mankind just slide! And supposedly just a joke to amuse one Rachel Asher and her Planet Waves (may I say it, having checked it out--gross) website and its foul-mouthed commenters.
I would like to say to "Concerned" -- some things aren't playing in Peoria. Feel like your stent at HQ some years back may have affected you adversely. You seem to be trying to give high-ups a free pass, in my opinion. And they do not deserve it. Weren't you the one who said about Black's shocking behavior that it was "misinterpreted" by some teacher? At any rate, I too worked at the Center some years ago and I tell you, I came away with my eyes wide open. Being too exalted to take responsibility for their actions and be an upstanding example for the Field they alas are not!
"What manner of man is this unknown individual who utters barmaid and Christian Scientist in the same breath? If he but kenw whereof he speaks, his shame would not lose its blush!" ("is" and "his" should be italicized)
Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, page 296
And this was only barmaids -- not eriscopes which I guess, not having ever seen one, forecast one's chances of a sexual hook-up of some kind if the planets are aligned.
P.S.
A typo which I wish to correct: in our Leader's quote, "...if he knew whereof he speaks..."
I think "barmaid" was used at the time as a euphemism for "prostitute".
If Christian Science is truly God given, then I believe nothing any Board or individual human does can destroy it. I feel like, if he wants it to continue in whatever form, it will. Ultimatly, the movement rests in HIS hands.
Mrs. Eddy warned that C.S. could v very well be lost for thousands of years of dark ages, just like primitive Christianity was lost after Jesus' mission was completed.
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