Talk:Christian Science Reading Room

Citations in books

The quotations cited are relevant, because they clarify the cultural context of the Christian Science Reading Rooms by indicating the sorts of locations in which they are found, and the general atmosphere that is perceived those neighborhoods. Dpbsmith (talk) 02:52, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

Image

I'm restoring an image that was removed without explanation in the edit comment or discussion. I think it is a pretty good example of a pretty typical storefront, and I think it looks attractive and inviting. If supporters feel that they would prefer a more impressive or better-looking image, they should provide one. I'm not a Christian Scientist, but my impression is that the reading rooms are not at all intended to be impressive, but are intentionally placed in downtown areas as a kind of mission or outreach.Dpbsmith (talk) 12:45, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

I actually think the "look" of the reading room is important here in helping a reader understand what a Christian Science Reading Room is like.

In Boston itself, home of the Mother Church, compare the appearance of the church with the reading room. Surely a Christian Science Reading Room in Boston would be one that Scientists would put forward as a good example.

I don't want to upload possibly non-free images, and apparently inline external images are no longer allowed, so you'll have to click the links. The church "looks like" a church. The reading room "looks like" any other storefront on the street. Church Reading room Dpbsmith (talk) 13:07, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

"Part of the American landscape"

I'm restoring this material, which was deleted by someone as "demeaning." This needs discussion. Wikipedia contains "facts about opinions." The passages cited are not laudatory but they are hardly demeaning. This, I think, is a fair presentation of how Christian Science reading rooms are seen by non-Scientists. The reason why I put this material in is that initially, the article "Christian Science Reading Room" had been nominated for deletion (!) and part of the discussion turned on their degree of importance in the United States. Well, it seemed obvious to me that they are important. In the Northeast they are "everywhere." And I put in the material to serve as cited sources showing their ubiquity and familiarity--in the Northeast, anyway.

On re-reading the passages I picked, I don't see them as "demeaning" at all. One simply says they are on "main streets all across America." Their presence in the Simpson's home town is just evidence of ubiquity. And the description in the detective novel is not a description of slum, it is just a description of any middle-class commercial main street--just like the one in my town, where I took the picture, in between an antique store and a pizzeria. Furthermore, I think--don't know for sure and subject to correction--that this kind of placement is intentional, and that the tidy-but-workaday appearance reflects what they are supposed to be; the spirituality is on the inside, not the outside. Dpbsmith (talk) 12:45, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

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Locally maintained

The first sentence accurately states that each Christian Science Reading Room is operated by “a Christian Science church in the community where that church exists.” The second sentence inadvertently contradicts this by stating that The Mother Church in Boston “maintains these rooms.” Prior to Feb 14, 2016 the article correctly stated that “these ‘branches’ of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts maintain these rooms….” Apparently in an effort to shorten the text, an edit was made at that time which left the mistaken impression that the rooms are maintained by The Mother Church itself. This is not the case and would run afoul of the Manual of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts by Mary Baker Eddy, which includes the following: “Each church of the Christian Science denomination shall have a Reading Room…” and “The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other churches...”

This error could easily be remedied by adding the following words to the beginning of the second sentence: “These local ‘branches’ of...” The sentence in full would then read: “These local ‘branches’ of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts maintain these rooms as a place where one may study and contemplate the Bible and Christian Science literature in a quiet atmosphere, similar to a library.”

It should also be noted that the number of reading rooms worldwide is no longer 2,000 but is currently 1,156. FirsthandPOV-CCS (talk) 20:02, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

References

 Partly done: Reworded the opening sentences. As for the number, I added a "Citation needed" tag, but will need a source to change the figure. WhinyTheYounger (WtY)(talk, contribs) 23:37, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, WhinyTheYounger, for making that edit, giving readers a more accurate view. FirsthandPOV-CCS (talk) 18:27, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Prayer an old friend would say during hurricane warnings I've forgotten and would like to recal in entirety

No vapid fury of mortal mind can water wind earthquake ( forgot this part) beastial furoisty destroy itself. All I remember. Was hoping to know or hear it again 2600:1013:B00E:6CAE:0:1A:47C7:6801 (talk) 17:27, 27 May 2022 (UTC)