Someone suggested I start a new topic to I guess introduce myself and my background in CS.

I've already posted in a couple of different topics here and will try not to repeat myself.

I've read quite a number of posts here and am happy to knpw there are others who were subjected to the same catch phrases like "know the truth" or "it's in your thought" or "mortal mind". I thought my mother was the only one who talked liked this until now.

One quick story of CS at work.  While playing basketball in the 9th grade I severely sprained my ankle and was in extreme pain. The referee from the game drove me home as my parents never or rarely came to my games. When I got home my mother was unsympathetic and told me to "know the truth" and this never really happened. The next few weeks I was made to walk to school which my foot swollen and discolored. I always made to believe I did something wrong or if I denied hard enough it would dissappear. It wasn't til years later I had to have my leg X-rayed and the tech asked me how long ago I had broken my ankle as she could tell by the way the bones had healed. Boy, was I jacked! Knowing my own mother wouldn't seek medical attention for me and made me walk about a 1 mile each way to school on a broken ankle. So much for divine Love...they should have one called divine Endurance or divine Torture. I think in my parents case it would be called divine Deception.

Anyway after forgetting most of CS teachings... reading these posts and recalling some of CS belief system I'm curious why there isn't a mass exodus from this farce. To think there is no sin, no judgement, no heaven no hell...just what is the point of a CS life here on earth. Oh that's right .....there is no earth and we're not really here. What an absurd viewpoint and to base your whole life's existence on this premise...WOW....no wonder my parents can't find peace.

If any of you are practicing CS I pray for your eyes to be opened to the truth "that the Lord loves you and wants you to accept Jesus, His Son and his death on the cross as payment for our sins. It is a free gift...can't be earned...only accepted by faith.

Hey, I didn't sign up for CS, I was born into it. What's your excuse?

Inzane99 

What you have said is painful to read. Sometimes the healing testimonies in the CS publications are like this but the person continues on and on with this suffering until they have the "healing". It is particularly hard because I am a medical nurse and I can often make a basic assessment of what they were dealing with and how it was so unneccessary for them to go through that. I think it would be good for a CS to realize that they can grow spiritually from an experience such as yours and also receive appropriate medical care.

I know from personal experience of broken bones how incredibly painful that must have been, not only to walk on, but also to feel that your mom denied your reality. It is good that there is a place like this for people to talk and to heal. I am happy for you, that you are no longer being ignored and have found your faith in Jesus Christ. He does not deny or ignore us . All we ever have to do is turn His way.

I know the torture of walking on a badly sprained ankle (while trying to pretend that nothing is wrong...), but I can only imagine how much worse it must have been for you on a broken ankle. It's amazing how much harm has occurred in the name of CS healing, at the hands of well-intentioned parents and practitioners.

Actually, there has been a mass exodus. CS lost an estimated 75% of its membership during the last half of the 20th century, and the bleeding continues at a couple of percent per year. But as you probably know, CS offers a lot on the surface ("carrots" like the promise of healing and testimonies of "verified" healing, freedom from the accountability of a final judgment, an "overcoming" attitude, nice churchmembers), and these keep people around for a while. False doctrines are like that -- that's why the Bible warns against them.

    I do not wish to de-value anyone's experience but could it be possible that a system improperly applied or misunderstood could result in such awful effects. My husband grew up in a unitarian home where his mom was very overwhelmed with being a social worker, mom to 5 kids over the years and when he fell flat on his face from a bike accident, he went home and saw the horrible deformity. bleeding etc. (not to mention excruciating pain) and she just sent him right on to school. Now he's a born again christian and I often feel he de-values my experience, realities.

    Homes, family histories, coping skills and religious experience are all very different. Can you really pin it on just one thing, say CS for example. When I was visiting my cousin's CS home, my Aunt was very gentle with us. I remember once we had gotten our hands very dirty and she had to use some Comet on them. I remember her saying, "Oh, I hate to use something like this on your dear sweet little hands." Another time I had a splinter in my foot and I remember her burning a needle and praying, and I had no fear, as a matter of fact, it was almost pleasant. A sensation of warmth and removal of a foriegn entity, in this case a splinter.

    Medical sciences improperly applied can also be very devastating, harmful, deforming and even fatal. Many errors are covered up. That is a lot of the reason many nurses are making a "mass exodus" from the hospital.

Yes, I think that most systems can cause harm if improperly applied. But CS is inherently harmfu because it is built on the incorrect premise that the material world is a misconception to be overcome. This premise leads people to minimize their own -- and their loved ones' -- most deeply human needs as they attempt to overcome the belief that their problems are real. For example, children inherently need to have their parents acknowledge their pain when they are hurt. That's why a mother's kiss is so powerful; a kiss doesn't make the bump go away, but what the child often really needs is for the mother to acknowledge the incident and lend emotional support along with whatever physical support is appropriate. But although CS parents may hug and kiss their children when they get a bump, they also usually tell the child that the accident never happened or that the bump "is no part of you." So while the child feels loved, he or she does not receive emotional validation and may even be left with a vague sense of guilt for feeling pain where there should be no pain. This may not seem important unless you have been in the child's position; over a childhood these loving denials of a child's pain can add up to a subtle but powerful form of emotional neglect. I experienced this (despite loving parents and a basically happy childhood) and have also talked with a lot of former CSists who experienced it. Many of the wounded people wiith whom I have talked are the children of CS teachers and practitioners -- leading me to conclude that, even in the most experienced hands, CS is emotionally dangerous.

Thank-you for post 14681. You said what I couldn't put into words. The way I see CS now and it's incorrect basis is it puts man in charge. The "get your mind right" theory and all will be well just is not true. That might have worked in Cool Hand Luke but not with me. CS is based on the theory we can make things right on our own. There seems to be no humility, and no desperation of the Lord or his Son. Just deny,deny,deny. There can't be any real love in CS no more than there is any real science in CS. Anybody defending any of their principles are being deceived. CS is not from God and therefore can be from only one source and I'm afraid it's not a good one.

Now that I've had time to read some posts and some memories have been dredged up it really irritates me. I truly feel sorry for the children being brought up in CS, but not so much for adults. Adults, even those whose background is steeped in CS must at some point believe that we are here, there is sin, we do have bodies and on and on.

As another post read... what gets me is the MBE speak. What a crock! Even as a young child I was confused by the theories taught and I'm glad I was. Thank goodness we did put bandaids on cuts or I would have bled to death! If I sound like I'm venting at times you are correct. This forum is the first time I've been able to voice my opinions or CS to people who would understand in 35 years.

If I can muster up the courage I'll relate the story of how my parents let my little brother die when I was 10 years old. He was 6.

Hey, I didn't sign up for this, I was born into it. What's your excuse?

Inzane99

       What is the correct premise? What is the best starting point; isn't it Love?

       I desire to say good-bye to guilt and hello to God . I have been neglected emotionally, abused, almost died from depression and I wasn't brought up in a CS home. I don't think we can get anywhere by holding on to the past and guilt that simply has no basis. My hope and prayer for you is to be like your name. A dove brought Noah proof of God's love and promise to humanity. A dove descended on Jesus when he was baptised. A dove is a messenger of promise that you will never be alone because God's promises are always true. So when you are ready, let go, and take flight into bright tomorrows.