 Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 8:35 AM
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Do Go,
A few obvious questions, but I really am interested.
How do you know there is a God?
How do you know what God's word is, or is not?
How do you know what is truth?
Why do you think God and His word are right?
Erol
<< Erol,
The basic mistake is to start off from the premise "I am right" rather from the premise "I may be right".
As I've mentioned recently a couple of other times, I start with the premise that God and His word are right. I abandoned the premise that MBE and her word are necessarily right. I look for truth, not error, in God's word. I test any truth I may find elsewhere against God's word. Rather than filter God's word through other works, I filter other works through God's word.
Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but God is where I put my exclusive faith. I pray that the Holy Spirit leads us along the hard path through the narrow gate.
Do Go Be Man
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Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 10:04 AM
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Erol,
A few obvious questions, but I really am interested.
Quick answers without proof texts (at least not many) ...
How do you know there is a God?
I see evidence of Him in everything in my experience.
How do you know what God's word is, or is not?
I see evidence of God in His word. His word consistently describes God, is consistent within itself, and has centuries of demonstrable effectiveness.
How do you know what is truth?
As I've said, truth must be consistent with God's word. Pilate wanted to know that also. Jesus was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth (John 18:33-38). Also check out John 1:1-18
Why do you think God and His word are right?
Again, evidence. His fingerprints are all over His word and His creation.
Do Go Be Man
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Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 10:04 AM
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Erol,
Your last post to Linda reminded me of the fact that one can easily find on the Internet, forums which serve as support groups for those who are questioning or who have left Fundamentalist or Evangelical Christian groups. Some of the posts on those fourms from those who have left sound to me very similar to some of the posts by ex-Christian Scientists here on the Christian Way forums.
tmcl
tmcl
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Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 2:50 PM
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| I agree that many Christians unintentionally harm each other just many CSists do. Any doctrine or idea can be misused. What concerns me about CS is that I see the damage is causes as being inherent in its teachings -- not just in the misuse of its teachings. The same is not true of the Bible. I know you will disagree with this.
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Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 3:10 PM
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Linda,
Some of those folks who have left Fundamentalist or Evangelical Christianty, though, in their posts have stated their belief that the damage they sustained is inherently caused by the doctrines of the Fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, just as you believe that damage is inherent in the teachings of Christian Science.
tmcl
tmcl
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Posted Monday, October 02, 2006 5:49 PM
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The problem with the term "fundamentalist" is that it is actually fairly non-specific. I know of people who take a "fundamentalist" view who don't necessarily hold the same views as other "fundamentalists" in areas where the Bible is not clear or allows for personal conviction. Some of these "grey areas" are often interpreted in ways that, in my opinion, impose unnecessarily harsh standards on people. Christians call this "legalism" -- a belief that holding people to a lot of rules will help them be more "spiritual." Legalism can cause a lot of harm, and so can other misuses of the Bible.
I still maintain that the Bible gives a message that is inherently healthy but that S&H gives a message that is inherently unhealthy. As usual, I suspect we'll have to agree to disagree on this.
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Posted Monday, October 02, 2006 6:43 PM
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Linda wrote:
I still maintain that the Bible gives a message that is inherently healthy but that S&H gives a message that is inherently unhealthy. As usual, I suspect we'll have to agree to disagree on this.
Linda,
We will definitely have to agree to disagree.
I do my best to follow the teachings in Science and Health, and feel that I am physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, and I know other devout Christian Scientists who seem to me to be the same. I believe the horror stories that are posted on the Christian Way forums have resulted from practicing distortions and misconceptions of Christian Science, just as I believe that there are many Christians in the world today who, as you've indicated, practice what they understand to be the teachings of the Bible in ways that are unhealthy. That certainly does not mean that attempting to live a Christian life is inherently unhealthy.
I doubt we'll ever come to a meeting of the minds on this issue, Linda, so I and others who are finding Christian Science to be a great blessing in our lives will go on, I'm sure, as Christian Scientists, and hopefully will do our best to help root out of the Christian Science movement those tendencies and practices that have led to the horror stories one reads here.
tmcl
tmcl
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Posted Monday, October 02, 2006 7:02 PM
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Linda,
The problem with the term "fundamentalist" is that it is actually fairly non-specific.
Fundamentalist is problematic. I have a close friend who is a fundamentalist, gay, Christian scientist. That is, he believes in the fundamental truth of God's word, is generally pretty happy, is a Christian, and is a scientist by profession. All accurate terms, but not especially helpful when applied in a contemporary context, methinks.
While I don't object to being called a fundamentalist, I do object to people making too many assumptions about me based on the popular images of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
Do Go Be Man
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Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 5:26 PM
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| TMCL, you said in your message, "I believe the horror stories that are posted on the Christian Way forums have resulted from practicing distortions and misconceptions of Christian Science..." My practitioner/reader grandmother, practitioner/church organist mother, and my CS father, strictly adhered to CS. I lived in the religion until leaving home to go our on my own as an adult. To make this statement is absolutely incorrect. The "horror stories" I shared in this forum were absolutely true, and absolute horror. The unnecessary suffering in my life as a child should never have happened, except that my parents didn't believe in medical intervention. Rather than dwell on those incidents, I share with you all that there is hope, there is happiness, after leaving CS. To those of you still practicing CS, I respect your choice; it just isn't mine anymore.
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