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Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:07 PM Post #14262
Anonymous 
Hi All -- if this has been addressed in another thread, please forgive me -- I don't have time to go through everything here.
I was raised in CS, and left it probably 15 years ago for good. But I still have flashbacks where I find myself reciting the SS of Being, or reminding myself to be grateful for something, so I can be fitted to receive some blessing. How do others deal with this? I've actually had shivers go up my spine when I started thinking in the old established CS patterns -- it is NOT anything I ever want to go back to.
Regards,
Siobhan
Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:49 PM Post #14263
 

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It's nice to hear from you Siobhan!

I still have flashbacks where I find myself reciting the SS of Being, or reminding myself to be grateful for something...

Your problem is not uncommon, but it can be frustrating! We've discussed it here and there on the forums, especially in the "Recovery and Health Issues" threads (where I've obviously moved your post) and also, I think, in the "New to Forums" category. One place that comes to mind is the thread entitled want this off my mind!!!

One thing I found helpful was to actively replace the "tapes" that played in my head with corrections. If I banged my finger and reactively thought, "there is no sensation in matter," then I stopped and said: "There IS sensation in matter -- that hurt!" If the scientific statement of being started to play in my head, I refuted it. I tried to never let a "tape" play without actively correcting its message. As time went on I also found it helpful to stop and appreciate the absurdity of what some of the "tapes" were saying. The absurd just doesn't have as much hold as the profound.

I hope that helps.

Posted Friday, January 18, 2008 3:37 AM Post #14264
 

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The Bible teaches that we are a new creation in Christ when we put our trust in Him, but Romans 7 lets us know the old creation does not die easy. Linda applies the manner Paul gives us to deal with that old creation- 

Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Many times I've examined my heart & found things there that I did not want there, & pleaded with God to simply take them away. But God instead showed me the wisdom of this verse, so when the lies of CS (& other sin of the old nature) speak to my mind, I can rebuke them with the truth of the new man within me. We are not justified in God's sight this way- that can only come through Christ's cross- but we are sanctified (transformed) this way. As much as I may want to, I can't change my heart directly, but God does enable me to transform it indirectly. That ability comes by the everyday conscious decision to affirm & therein embrace what Scripture, His Spirit, & His new creation tell my mind to believe. So He plants the necessary seed of the new man within my soul, & I become more & more transformed as I more fully embrace that wisdom.

Again, I cannot change the desires of my soul in direct fashion, but my mind can consciously & verbally confirm the witness of God within. This feeds & strengthens the new man while starving the old- hence the transformation. 

zoarean

Posted Saturday, January 19, 2008 10:14 AM Post #14265
Anonymous 
Thank you Zorean and Linda for your replies to this question. Even after being out of CS for over a decade now and involved in a new, truly Christian church home, bits of Christian Science still sneak in. Because I have lived through these things, I am more certain than ever that CS is a cult. It takes work to break free and help from someone who has knowledge of cults and their thread-like twining into our thoughts and actions.

For me, speaking with my pastor has helped. He spoke to me long and straight-forwardly about how CS is rooted in Gnosticism (sp?) and also how very self-centered as opposed to being Christ-centered Mrs. Eddy's teachings are. I am awakening to understand the need to refocus thought onto Jesus and away from my own need for spiritual growth, healing, striving for perfection, etc. Reading the Bible daily helps me as well, and memorizing scripture so that it is always in the front of my thought and readily available to counter any lingering CS thoughts.

Funny how the more devoted we were as Christian Scientists and the more we worked to be model CSers, the more effort and time is needed to break free. I like Zorean's thoughts. Very helpful. Indeed, we need Jesus Christ to help us break free. Perhaps that is a hidden blessing in being raised in CS. We find ourselves in need Christ even more now because of the journey we must undertake.

Christian music helps me a lot as well. There are many lovely traditional hymns and also many modern musical groups that really speak volumes. The tunes fill my thoughts and stick with me when needed. YouTube has some great videos from bands like Third Day and Casting Crowns and also from solo artists like Jeremy Camp.

When we ask for help, God knows what we most need to move away from CS and he sends the Holy Spirit to minister to us in the way that works best for us. After all, He showed us that CS was not where we wanted to be, even when we were in the midst of it. That alone shows how much loves us and also shows how much He wants us away from CS.

A few weeks ago, a woman from the CS church that I grew up in called me to say that she is the current Clerk at that CS church. The church building has been sold and the organ (which is an amazing pipe organ) has been sold to a very prominent college and is going to be moved. The church edifice is from the 1920's and is a beautiful huge stone and brick building in our capital city. The last service was to be this past Sunday and she was calling to tell me of this and to invite me to the service. She thought I might want to come say "Goodbye" to the building, or something to that effect. I didn't give her an answer. It ended up that I did not go because I didn't want to miss church in my current church. However, the whole conversation kind of brought me down memory lane a bit and set my mind a-spinning. So many of the members of that church were like family to me for years. When I was down, hurting or struggling, that is where I went for solace and comfort. The pull for that sense of close community and assuredness that CS was right no matter what the "world" said. . . . . for a few days, it almost had me. Then I read these postings, and remembered the courage it took to walk away and the pain it caused in my life and, well, I'm glad to be BACK here again.

This site is a valuable tool. No more flashbacks for me!!!! Time to look forward and focus on Jesus as he really is! Thanks everyone.

Grace
Posted Saturday, January 19, 2008 4:19 PM Post #14266
 

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Glad we could be of help, Grace. Welcome back!
Posted Saturday, January 19, 2008 5:54 PM Post #14267
 

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Grace,

Ditto, glad we helped. I read through the link Linda gave above, & you seemed a little despondent at the time. It's not my goal to be "preachy" on this board, all I can do is tell others what has helped me, & more often than not it was some revelation from Scripture. I fought & lost a lot of (most) spiritual battles for years after leaving CS, but that began to turn around about 12 years ago when someone gave me one of the greatest gifts I've ever gotten- the Bible on tape. Never was much of a student of Scripture before this, but I was very weary of years of failed attempts to put the past behind me; so I was ready to commit to listening to these tapes for the two hours a day I was commuting in my car- in the hope that it would help. That was a crucial decision in the battle for control of my mind & soul. I often felt spiritually weak after a day's work, but an hour later when I got home, I was "renewed" once more & my recall of Scripture was growing for those times when the old man would come against me.

So I think the answer is to get the full Word of God within you as much as possible through Christ centered praise music, preaching, & fellowship. But don't neglect the most straightforward way- reading & listening to it directly. I know you said you were doing these things now, but I just wanted to give you further assurance that you're on the right track.

zoarean        

Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008 3:17 PM Post #14268
Anonymous 
Thanks.
Posted Sunday, February 17, 2008 9:12 PM Post #14303
 

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The Bible on tape is an excellent idea.  And, of course, there are other, digital formats, so you have a wide choice of products and formats.

Consider getting a modern translation, and avoiding the King James.  That's part of the old memory tapes you're dealing with.  Consider the NIV or the RSV.  (I strongly discourage you from paraphrases, "The Message" especially.)  You'll be exposed to God's Word in a fresh way, and will also hear verses that were never incuded in the Lesson-Sermon!

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