Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist

Terrell, Karen Molenaar. Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist. Self, 2005.

This 2005 self-published memoir offers readers unfamiliar with the daily life and mindset of a Christian Scientist a firsthand account. Terrell’s mother raised her and her younger brother in Christian Science, with both its religious teachings and its health care practices. Terrell’s father, who was not a Christian Scientist, complied with her mother’s wishes for Christian Science treatment for health care, as long as their children did not suffer unnecessarily. Terrell also married someone not of her faith and has raised her boys similarly. The book is not heavily laden with religious teachings, but the author makes clear her routine application of basic Christian Science teachings to the challenges in her life. Two or three of her more severe experiences convince her that the positive outcomes were due to the prayers of the Christian Science practitioners employed to help. Her health care choices indicate a commitment to the teachings of Christian Science without the extreme ‘radical reliance’ more popular among Christian Scientists a few decades ago. In her disclaimer, Terrell admits her views are not necessarily those shared by other Christian Scientists.

ISBN-13: 9781419612299