First-Person Notes Archives
Sunday, July 15th, 2018
Editor: We continue our conversation with Tanner about his having come to Christ out of Christian Science last year. In this post he discusses an approach to dialogue with CSers, and an approach to praying for them as well as for ourselves. (more…)
Posted in Experiences, First-Person Notes, Interviews | Comments Off on What to say, how to pray
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
Editor: Tanner Johnsrud, formerly a well-known Christian Science practitioner in St. Louis, left CS in late 2017 after he came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He told that story in a previous post. To follow up, we asked Tanner to reflect on the good and not-so-good legacies of his years in CS, as best he can at this early stage. (more…)
Posted in Experiences, First-Person Notes | Comments Off on Taking stock, 200 days in
Saturday, June 16th, 2018
Editor: Tanner and Hillary Johnsrud recently left the Christian Science church, and the public practice, to rededicate their lives to Jesus Christ and receive baptism in a Presbyterian church. We asked Tanner to tell their story. (more…)
Posted in Ananias Essays, First-Person Notes, Seekers | Comments Off on How we found our Saviour
Tuesday, December 26th, 2017
At our church on Christmas Eve, the sermon was on what Mark meant by “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” At my son and daughters’ church the previous day, the sermon was on what the angels meant by telling Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, “Be not afraid.”
(more…)
Posted in Ananias Essays, Church & Organizations, First-Person Notes, John Andrews' Publications, Mrs. Eddy's Children, Theology | Comments Off on Broken cisterns dry up Christmas
Tuesday, November 7th, 2017
You sometimes hear of a group of Christians who describe themselves as an Acts 29 church, so committed are they to extending the Bible’s narrative of apostolic faithfulness into our own times. Similarly, a new follower of Jesus Christ whom I’ve recently met might be called a Psalm 151 believer. (more…)
Posted in Devotional, Experiences, First-Person Notes, Poetry, Seekers | Comments Off on Writing his own ‘Psalm 151’
Monday, August 21st, 2017
My car, probably like yours, came with an owner’s manual, including a warranty on the first page. But frustratingly, the book does not answer a lot of obvious questions. Nor does the warranty cover everything. And it expired years ago anyway.
For my life, on the other hand, for the person I am, there is a manual that does have all the answers. The God who made me and owns me has spelled out complete “user instructions” in his written Word, the Bible.
(more…)
Posted in Church & Organizations, Devotional, First-Person Notes, Search the Scriptures | Comments Off on Activate your warranty
Saturday, April 8th, 2017
A young man I know lost his dad who died in a Christian Science care facility even though the practitioners were working overtime. This destroyed his faith. (more…)
Posted in First-Person Notes | Comments Off on Seeking and finding God
Sunday, March 26th, 2017
Mary Baker Eddy invites us to put her and her book to the test, “and so ascertain if the author has given you the correct interpretation of Scripture” (Science and Health, 547:7). We should do just that, with our eyes wide open to the divergence (more…)
Posted in Apologetics, First-Person Notes, Search the Scriptures | Comments Off on Which book is of God, hers or his?
Saturday, December 24th, 2016
Anyone who says the way to have more truth and more life is to diminish Jesus Christ, is going to have a fight on their hands with me. (more…)
Posted in Ananias Essays, First-Person Notes | Comments Off on Lessen Christmas, diminish Jesus: Why?
Sunday, September 4th, 2016
I was asked to put down on paper my conversion to orthodox Christianity. I was happy to do this for two reasons. (more…)
Posted in Experiences, First-Person Notes | Comments Off on How I learned Jesus loves us
Friday, March 18th, 2016
My mother was a devout Christian Scientist as were my grandparents on both sides. My father tacitly endorsed the CS line but was more consumed by material success than spiritual journeys. They would drop my brothers and me off (more…)
Posted in Apologetics, First-Person Notes, Mrs. Eddy's Children, Search the Scriptures | Comments Off on Mind power is not enough
Monday, August 31st, 2015
Yesterday was a day that seemed to serve up a constant reminder that I live in a broken world. As a former Christian Scientist, I process days like yesterday much differently now. (more…)
Posted in Devotionals, First-Person Notes | Comments Off on Lessons of one eventful day
Wednesday, July 4th, 2012
Will Jesus return? Christians expect him to, based on the Bible. Christian Scientists don’t, based on Mary Baker Eddy’s writings. Her own appearing and lifework, she indicates, fulfilled (more…)
Posted in Apologetics, First-Person Notes, Mrs. Eddy's Children, Search the Scriptures | Comments Off on Salvation or therapeutics?
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
“Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God,” says the night visitor to Jesus in John, Chapter 3. This ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus, clearly feels drawn to the man of Galilee (more…)
Posted in Experiences, First-Person Notes, Mrs. Eddy's Children | Comments Off on Nicodemus and me
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
When I received Christ in 1989 I began the long journey of becoming a believer and leaving the dogma and darkness of Christian Science behind me. It was a slow process of untangling (more…)
Posted in Experiences, First-Person Notes, Women | Comments Off on Into light from darkness
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
My dad loved to quote a church signboard he once saw: “Be careful what you say and do. You may be someone’s only contact with the Bible.” I saw the force of that with new clarity (more…)
Posted in First-Person Notes | Comments Off on How a ‘little maid’ led me to Christ
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
What happened to me was that I realized I couldn’t make it without Jesus and his Cross. (more…)
Posted in First-Person Notes | Comments Off on They ask: What happened to you?
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
The many friends of Carl Gans, co-founder of the Ananias Circle, mourn his sudden passing last week and extend our loving support to his family. My affection for Carl, and my gratitude to him as an elder brother in Christ, are beyond words. (more…)
Posted in First-Person Notes | Comments Off on Remembering Carl Gans
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Paul writes of having spent fourteen years, after his conversion on the Damascus road, coming to know Jesus better and preparing for the fulness of his missionary work (more…)
Posted in Apologetics, First-Person Notes, John Andrews' Publications | Comments Off on After fourteen years
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
Here is another in our interview series. On this site in the past, Linda Kramer and Carl Gans have answered my questions about how they know God, why they left Christian Science, (more…)
Posted in First-Person Notes, Interviews, John Andrews' Publications | Comments Off on Captured by the Hound of Heaven