 Posted Saturday, February 26, 2005 12:16 AM
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Has anyone here who has left CS ever gone back to a testimony meeting to share their experience in finding a new relationship with Christ?
I have often imagined doing just that, as I have occasion to visit my mother's church on annual visits home. Yet the time never seems right, or I struggle with even attending Wed. night meetings because they seem so foreign to me now, what with most of the praise going to CS/MBE/Science & Health rather than simply to God and his Word. Mainly, I suppose I fear that once I've made my "new" views known, it may be detrimental to further one-on-one opportunities to share my faith, as church members will be on guard.
Once, many years ago, soon after I had come to faith and was operating under that resulting innocent sort of enthusiasm (zeal!) I did "express gratitude" at a testimony meeting for the fact that my husband was in the process of rededicating his life to God after a backwards turn to drugs, alcohol and domestic violence. I did not pay tribute to MBE, only to God's transforming power. I'm sure the lingo that I used smacked of evangelical Christianity, but it came straight from the heart and I was touched that one of the ushers came forward after the meeting - very quietly and meekly - to confide in me that she was also going through a time of domestic violence in her home. I doubt she would have shared that with her fellow church goers, but she felt comfortable approaching me, a visitor.
One never knows what good might come of shining a little light in a testimony meeting, since it's really the only time alotted in a CS church for sharing personal experiences publicly. Don't you think that some CSists might just be searching for a little realism, for some brave soul to take the bull by the horns and bring up issues that are uncomfortable to discuss? Any thoughts on this matter?
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Posted Saturday, February 26, 2005 1:08 AM
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Barb,
I've had fantasies as well of going to my former CS churches and TMC to give Christian testimonies. A couple of things have kept me from doing so:
Would what I say be offered and accepted as a witness of God's blessings in my life?
Could I do so without feeling or appearing someway superior to the CSists?
Memories of ineffective confrontational witnessing approaches
I would like to be able to offer what I now know about Jesus Christ to CSists in ways they will accept it. As several threads on this forum attest, I'm still working on that. It is difficult not to boast in Christ knowing what we know.
I only recall clearly one time that a Christian offered a testimony during a Wednesday evening service. The First Reader, a former Baptist, looked very uncomfortable (I had the impression they knew one another) and asked the man to be seated as the service was reserved for sharing of testimonies relevant to CS.
Do Go Be Man
<><
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Posted Saturday, February 26, 2005 4:10 PM
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I know a former Christian Scientist who has given his Christian testimony in over 20 (I think) CS churches throughout the USA. His business trips frequently take him on the road, and he feels called of God to share the gospel with Christian Scientists. I have heard him give his testimony and it is really powerful; when I heard it I had the feeling that this man really is called of God.
My friend has met mixed reactions in the CS churches. Some have allowed him to speak uninterrupted, while in at least one case they ended the service when he got up to speak (word had somehow reached them that he might be coming). His testimony has given him some good opportunities to talk one-on-one with people after the service.
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Posted Saturday, February 26, 2005 8:02 PM
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If you do, think through what you want to say. You might consider preparing an outline on a 3x5 card, along with the Scripture verses you want. And if you're vulnerable to stage fright, maybe a rehersal or two or three with some honest but sympathetic friends might be useful.
I've heard the gentleman Linda is talking about, and he has a good opening strategy: he establishes his approach with something the CS'ists share with him, i.e., some common ground. In his case, he emphasizes that Mrs* Eddy "went deeply into the Scriptures" to look for Truth, and that is what he wanted to do, just like her, to go right to the source, the Bible. It's something no CS'ist can really find fault with.
Think of what you might say or offer to establish common ground with your (sparse**) audience. Love for the Bible? A determination to search for and find the (T)ruth, whatever the consequences? Desiring only the best for your family? Maybe it would be to share how you found out you can know for sure what would be the exact disposition of your soul when you leave the mortal coil? I think that's something which disturbs CS'ists deep down, although they don't talk about it. Sure, "Man is perfect" and all that, but they know there's a big gap between where they are spiritually, morally, etc and the absolute Ideal that MBE promulgated.
And they probably wonder just where they will be at the moment of human death, how short of "Immortal Man" they really are, and so on.l
Anyway, I hope this is useful and encouraging. Godspeed!
*Regular participants here know how loathe I am to call her "Mrs." Eddy. I usually use just "Eddy" or "MBE." But when I'm around CS'ists, I do try to avoid unnecessary offence. Nyoka would be so proud of me!
**I am always astonished (but never surprised) at how few people there in these huge, elegant edifices on Wednesday nights!
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Posted Saturday, February 26, 2005 9:37 PM
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This sort of effort sounds like "sheep stealing" to me and not very nice. Let's turn the tables. Would you want them coming into your church and giving testimonies about how wrong-headed you were to be inerrant or to not believe in evolution?
Broncho
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Posted Sunday, February 27, 2005 1:45 PM
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Broncho,
Barb's question involved sharing one's "experience in finding a new relationship with Christ." I don't think she was thinking of people standing up and attacking the CSists with a sermon on how "wrong-headed" they are. There's a difference between what Barb asked about and what you are assuming would happen during one of these testimonies.
My friend delivers a clear, biblical message that relates to his life and experiences. He does not attack or belittle the Christian Scientists.
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Posted Sunday, February 27, 2005 11:00 PM
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The people in the CS testimony meeting are facing very serious peril. For the immediate, they tend to be at risk for their health and well-being, as CS (I am convinced) is not the paliative it is made out to be.
Then there is the matter of their eternal destiny. Jesus was very clear: there will be a final, irrepairable, and eternal separation of the saved from the lost. Now this Biblical truth may be soft-pedaled among many "mainstream" denominations, but it is a Biblcial fact. Either Jesus and the Bible are true, or they are not.
We who are members of Christian way believe they are. Therefore, we grieve for those who are lost, left behind in CS, and seek their salvation. This may seem elitist or arrogant, but we know Jesus grieved for the lost, and sought to reach them.
Consider this, from Ezekiel 33:
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul
And from John 3.36,
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
This isn't sheep stealing, although, to many human eyes, it may seem rude. It's serving God's desire to save and redeem the lost!
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Posted Tuesday, March 01, 2005 12:53 PM
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A couple of years ago, a friend and I attended a Wednesday night service at our local CS church. We did not testify during the time set aside for this, but instead greeted folks as they left the service with a handout, saying as former followers of MBE we hoped they might read it (on the sidewalk, I might add.)
This lead to discussions with several members that lasted over an hour. During this time, we had a chance to share the Gospel, what Jesus Christ had done in our lives, why we were no longer involved in CS, why we felt the teachings of MBE and S&H were not in harmony with the Bible, etc.
While a couple of folks were indignant, our conversation with everyone else was civil, and one person even acknowledged that he thought we were there out of sincere conviction and concern. I should mention that in addition to this, I have also attended a couple of lectures as well as having gone to a couple of reading rooms and done the same thing.
I am totally at peace with what I did, and hope to have other opportunities to do this again. Many if not most in CS, from my experience, have no idea that what MBE teaches in not consistent . (I remember one younger man expressing great surprise {not hostility or indignation} when I had told him I had read the NT cover to cover and found a message completely different from what I was taught in CS Sunday School).
As for the effectiveness of this kind of witnessing (or testifying in a Wednesday meeting, etc.), I would rather err on the side of having witnessed about the falsehoods of Metaphysics and the truth of the Gospel, than not having done so at all. We are called to witness, not to convert. The Holy Spirit does that by calling a person to faith. Even in the midst of the worst rebuke, seeds can be planted. ( I speak from experience. I literally laughed at a Gideon who gave me a Bible on campus when I was a student. I later read that same Bible which was instrumental in me becoming a Christian.) I agree with the comment above that those in CS (and their children) are indeed in danger, both physically and emotionally on this earth, and spiritually beyond. I believe we are called to witness, and praise God that via the outlets provided, we should do so.
'Hope this helps.
John
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Posted Tuesday, March 01, 2005 3:30 PM
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John,
Thank you for sharing this. Would it be possible to share the contents of your handout here, just so we could see the wording you used? It must have been very effective and without a sense of bitterness or anger, because it was so well received. What would you think of mailing the same type of handout, perhaps in letter format, to old fellow churchmates, perhaps with a personal note attached? That might be more my style these days.
I sometimes shy away from talking to people face to face and worry about how to handle their rebuke. I also have doubts about my ability to provide quick responses to their on-the-spot questions, particularly if they are older members who I once held in high regard and looked up to with great respect. A letter might be an outreach which I could handle more effectively. I have received invitations to CS lectures from former church friends many times, with notes of concern about my welfare and expressing wonder at my no longer attending services. This might be a good way to counter the invitation. In the past, I have just written notes of "thanks but no thanks" adding a few personal notes of hello, etc.
The thought of attending a testimony meeting is not a good one for me. I would find myself swept up in greeting old friends (that's what has happened when I've visited in the past) and I'm certain it would be perceived that I was "rejoining the fold". Handing out anything to members I would think would be considered as out of line and not in keeping with good brotherly love. I know if I was approached by someone, even a friend, at my current church who was passing along a handout speaking out against the church, I would politely turn and walk away, without taking it or acknowledging the person in any meaningful way. I'd also be most likely to speak to my pastor about the intrusion. Personal worship is very sacred to me and I think to others as well and many don't take kindly to someone interferring with that.
In any event, I'm glad that it worked well for you and that you felt comfortable enough with yourself to approach people in that way. When we feel good about what we are doing and at ease with how we are presenting things, others feel that and respond to it in a positive way, I think. Do you think the letter thing might work? I would love to share cway with my old CS friends, and this might be the perfect opportunity to do so. . . . it's something to consider, I think.
Thanks. -- Grace
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Posted Tuesday, March 01, 2005 5:32 PM
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"Personal worship is very sacred to me and I think to others as well and many don't take kindly to someone interferring with that." Grace
Your point is so well taken Grace, all this talk of witnessing to strangers sounds incredibly presumptuous to me. These are people who read their bible, they know about Jesus, they are not lost sheep looking for God. Just because their brand of Christianity differs from yours is really no excuse for this sort of thing. If they were polite to John, perhaps it is because they are polite people who try to be nice to others. I would be so affronted if someone came to me after church to try to change my religion.
When I think of witness, I think of living so that our lives themselves are an advertisement for our faith. When people tell me their troubles and say "what should I do" it is an opportunity to suggest prayer.
I am pretty anti-evangelistic, I guess. In my religion, being saved is just the beginning of being a Christian, not an end in itself. Evangelizing often seems extremely impersonal and sometimes I swear the evangelizers think they are getting celestial brownie points. I am not alone in this view.
When the Mormons stop by, I hand them a tract about the Episcopal Church. I keep a cross in my front window to ward off the rest!
Broncho
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