Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Christian Science Reading Room

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was keep. howcheng [ t • c • w • e ] 22:13, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Article on room which may or may not exist in the churches of a cult Mecanismo 19:23, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• No, really, they do exist. Thirty million Google hits. The Land 19:25, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, they're definitely real and pretty widespread.Bjones 19:29, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Strong keep and hopefully expand. I see these everywhere and I'd like to know more about them. Snurks ^{T C} 19:51, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• keep. These are real. Joyous | Talk 19:52, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, definitely. There are Christian Science Reading Rooms in many cities and have been for many years—at least 40 years to my memory, and probably much more. The article needs to be expanded. •DanMS 21:40, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • If the nominator will withdraw this nomination this will be an obvious speedy keep. •DanMS 21:43, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. They exist in pretty much any community that has a Christian Science church, of which there are about 2000 worldwide. There's one within about a quarter of a mile of where I'm sitting right now. 51000 Google hits on exact phrase "Christian Science reading room." There's a directory of them at http://www.churchofchristscientist.org/worldwidedirectory/ . They are an important part of the Church of Christ, Scientist which is usually considered to be a legitimate Christian denomination, is included in our List of Christian denominations (under "Non-trinitarian"), and at least a million adherents. Dpbsmith (talk) 22:12, 10 December 2005 (UTC) P. S. Umpteen hits on exact phrase "Christian Science Reading Room" in Google Books and www.a9.com book search, most of them attesting to how ubiquitous they are. I've added a paragraph about this to the article. Dpbsmith (talk) 22:49, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. Oh yes these are real, though I've heard less about them recently. There was an All in the Family episode I remember where the entire family was quietly reading -- way too quietly, for a comedy set -- and Archie came into the room -- "What is this, the Christian Science Reading Room?" -- huge laugh, but that was the 1970s. Antandrus (talk) 22:48, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Here's proof they're real: they're mentioned in The Simpsons. In "Lisa the Skeptic," Flanders complains that science tells us "things we don't want to know--important things" and sets off an anti-science riot which attacks a museum, a laboratory, and a Christian Science Reading Room. Dpbsmith (talk) 22:55, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Comment Christian Science, and its Reading Rooms, are much more familliar in the U.S. than elsewhere. Nevertheless, there is a Christian Science Reading Room where Mecanismo lives, in Lisboa, Portugal, located in the Christian Science church at Av. Rainha D. Leonor, 15-A Loja, 1600-683, and open Wednesdays from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Telephone 217 571 451. Or at least that's what the search page says he lives. Of course you have to misspell the city name as "Lisbon." Dpbsmith (talk) 23:23, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Speedy Keep. Over 2000 of these worldwide. I have been to the main one in Boston and that would probably merit its own article. Jtmichcock 03:55, 11 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, obviously. Gazpacho 10:13, 11 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. There's one across the street from my law firm. And consdering there's a million Christian Scientists worldwide, and non-believers like me are allowed inside, I bet there's thousands of rooms worldwide. Plus, they aren't a cult; they just have very atypical beliefs. --Mareino 17:29, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Really obvious keep. This is just a special name for what most people call a "church" and for what I call a "church building." It's just as real and valid as "mosque," "cathedral," "synagogue," "temple," "shrine," and (for Jehovah's Witnesses) "Kingdom Hall." Seeing an AFD notice for this was shocking. The "cult" assertion is utterly irrelevant. The fact that the submitter calls it a "room" when it is really a building shows he didn't check up on it much. In fact, the article should make this more clear. Would also like to see someone expand the article with more information on the assemblies held in reading rooms (what other people would call "worship services"). Jdavidb (talk • contribs) 23:04, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • You're right, but I think you miss the distinction between Christian Science Reading Rooms and Christian Science churches. You may be confused because the term for people who conduct Christian Science services in Christian Science churches on Sunday is "readers." The churches hold worship services on Sundays and usually look recognizably like churches. They say "First Church of Christ, Scientist" on their façades, except for the Mother Church in Boston which is The First Church of Christ, Scientist. I don't think Christian Science Reading Rooms conduct organized group worship. We do have an article on Church of Christ, Scientist, by the way. IMHO the nomination could have been more courteous. Dpbsmith (talk) 00:24, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks for clarifying. I was definitely confused. So the Reading Room is more a library, then? The article could definitely use more info, and it sounds like I'm not one to add it. :) Jdavidb (talk • contribs) 00:46, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.