Talk:Christian Science

Reading rooms

There is a Reading Room in the town where I live, and I will try to get a photo of it for this article. A photo of the mother church would also be ideal. There might be such a photo in the public domain over in Wikimedia Commons. If you need help learning to add photos, drop a note on my Talk page.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:05, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Biographical details about Mary Baker Eddy - where do they best belong?

Since there is already an article on Mary Baker Eddy, it is worth examining where biographical details about her best belong. Theoretically, some portions which are tied to the history of the church belong here, whereas earlier personal stuff over on her own page. I don't have time or energy to work on this now, but flagging it for examination at some point. Note that the authors of this article are also free to add information to the Mary Baker Eddy article, although ideally in consultation with its author(s) to keep the balance of hte article. I wrote most of that article and had avoided creating a full bio of her there because that has been done so extensively elsewhere on the web and in the many books.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:11, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Healing and anti-doctor controversies

At some point, this article will need to mention past controversies that have arisen over families who refused conventional medical help for their children, resulting in considerable controversy. That they did so is not necessarily an indication of any kind of negativity or wrongdoing on the part of the church, but an objective report about Christian Science needs to address these controversies in some way. I don't know what that should be, just putting a placeholder here for future work.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:14, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

I wrote the above before I had made it to the bottom of the article. Now I have spotted the section on healing. Haven't read it yet carefully, but will try to soon. Sorry if I seem out of sync. It is important for an encyclopedic article not to read like advocacy; I am certain there will be a way to be objective without being negative. Not sure the article is quite there yet, not sure it's not. More later, I hope.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:20, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

And now, I've seen the third paragraph, which is a good start! The second paragraph should, I think, be moved elsewhere. I see that the question of healing has been raised early in the article, which is good.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:45, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Wondering how best to broach the topic of healing in this article

I think this article has great promise. With help, I would like to work on the introduction of topics with the current author, who seems very close to the topic. One goal of encyclopedic articles is to assume that readers know NOTHING (despite the fact that some readers already think they know everything--he he). When I first heard of Christian Science in my youth, I knew nothing, and information about the church came at me in piecemeal, roundabout fashion. It was a while before I realized that Mrs. Eddy was considered a healer and that at least some of her teaching related to how infirmities can self-heal with appropriate spiritual development. I don't know how to say it any better than that, but whenever this subject matter is discussed by lay persons, it can easily devolve into controversy. I'd like to see the introduction tackle this matter head-on and straight-forwardly, not try to slip it in sideways later. Again, I'm putting these thoughts here now for mulling, and maybe the author can make adjustments or let me try to at some point, if he agrees. It is okay to argue about things like this on this page. That's what Talk pages are all about. And if the discussions about how an article ought to develop should become long and messy, we can always archive them later after some sense of resolution has been reached, which I'm certain it will.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:30, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Question on 2nd sentence

I am unsure of the precise meaning of Local Christian Science churches. Is that CS organizations or CS physical buildings? The sentence would benefit from greater precision if it can be achieved.Pat Palmer (talk) 14:41, 25 March 2021 (UTC)