Testimonies?

[PatienceAndLove]

A friend of mine just posted his Testimony on Facebook…

I don’t understand this concept of Testimony within Protestant religions. I don’t get why Protestant people I know ask me for my testimony, and are shocked when I don’t have one, and that I don’t “get” it.

Does it have to do with “getting saved”?

 

[Alexius]

Well, first of all, it’s really an evangelical thing rather than a Protestant thing. Before the evangelical movement, it wasn’t really a thing people did. Either way though, when I was an evangelical Protestant, it was something people presented to inspire others. I guess you could say it was the idea that “you’re saved, I’m saved, we’re all happy heaven-bound people, so let’s say so!” Of course, the trouble is that one’s spiritual life doesn’t end when you first accept Christ. You need to breath Christ and when you stop breathing Christ, you are spiritually dead. I have many friends who have wound up there and so have I. You totally lose all conscience and have trouble distinguishing right from wrong. At first, you justify it and later it comes natural. Anyway, that is spiritual death. That is something testimonies ignore and overlook. Back to the topic, I think that there is nothing inherently wrong with testimonies, but the theology behind them is tends to be a distorted form of Calvinism and 19th century Protestant thought. It totally misses the point that salvation is an ongoing process…

Prayers and petitions,
Alexius

 

[bpbasilphx]

Frederica remarked that many Orthodox or Roman Catholics aren’t considered “saved” because they don’t have a glib “testimony;” inability to articulate one’s faith at the drop of a hat, however, doesn’t mean it is not a deeply held faith.

The thing is, so many testimonies sound alike. And then there are the horrible stories of children from Pentecostal families getting involved in vice so they can have a “testimony.”

You DO have a testimony, dear soul. The story of your life in Christ IS your testimony–and if you wish to keep that private, that’s your business.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

That’s what I always thought… I just didn’t understand the need to share my story with everyone. I am very glad to share my journey with people, if they ask, but I just don’t feel like sharing it with everyone- let alone posting it on the internet…

 

[strngrnrth]

Well, the point is to inspire and encourage others. Of course it’s not required but in evangelical circles sharing one’s testimony is considered an important public service, especially if God has brought you out of serious problems. It gives public thanks and acknowledgement to God for what He has done.

 

[Rawb]

People used to give their testimonies all the time at services when I was a protestant, usually accompanied by the pianist tinkling the keys to evoke emotion (that church was all about emotion, drove me crazy, it seems they alwayas wanted you to cry).

All it really did for me was make me feel a little bad. I was raised in a Christian home and attended church every Wednesday of my own free will. I didn’t smoke, drink, or have premarital sex. So what was my testimony? It always seemed to me to just boost those people who used to be horrible sinners. Everyone would clap them on the back and congratulate them that God had brought them out of their sin…but nobody ever testified that God had blessed them with a good Christian childhood and the grace of no major sins. It was only interesting or worth sharing if you’d once killed your brother or something. Bonus points if you found Jesus and ‘got saved’ in prison.

 

[BlestOne]

Testimonies used to baffle me too. Especially the way that other posters have described… if you haven’t been a bad person first what do you say? I have noticed that Catholics as a whole are much more private about their journey… not because they don’t wish to share, but there usually isn’t a “defining moment” like in alot of Evangelical circles. I mean, really… we are baptized as infants and our parents took us to mass and ccd every week… when we were in college we may have strayed for a short time and came back quietly… no high drama or earth shattering moment. Our faith is more of a personal thing… between us and our confessor. We aren’t necessarily proud when we mess up or feel the need to broadcast it to the congregation… just our priest and God will do. I think this leads Evangelicals to believe that we are not saved… but from the moment of our baptism we are on a journey to salvation that will take us to the moment of our death. We are never assured of our salvation because we can’t say what the future holds and we don’t believe in OSAS so how can we have a testimony?

 

[RebeccaJ]

Testimonies used to baffle me too. Especially the way that other posters have described… if you haven’t been a bad person first what do you say? I have noticed that Catholics as a whole are much more private about their journey… not because they don’t wish to share, but there usually isn’t a “defining moment” like in alot of Evangelical circles. I mean, really… we are baptized as infants and our parents took us to mass and ccd every week… when we were in college we may have strayed for a short time and came back quietly… no high drama or earth shattering moment. Our faith is more of a personal thing… between us and our confessor. We aren’t necessarily proud when we mess up or feel the need to broadcast it to the congregation… just our priest and God will do. I think this leads Evangelicals to believe that we are not saved… but from the moment of our baptism we are on a journey to salvation that will take us to the moment of our death. We are never assured of our salvation because we can’t say what the future holds and we don’t believe in OSAS so how can we have a testimony?

When I was growing up as a mormon, every 1st Sunday of the month was fast and testimony meeting. I believe they still do this. It was mostly people getting up to a microphone, or 12 year old boys carrying a microphone to the person standing in a pew. Mostly it was people crying over a perceived miracle in their life. Sometimes it was a miracle that got them out of sin. Sometimes help on the freeway. Finding a lost valuable. You name it I’ve heard it. Always people cried.

But the ones that really got me were parents who would have their teeny tiny kids stand up to a microphone, and the parent would tell them what to say. Usually, “I believe the church is true” and/or “I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God”. It always struck me not as testimony, but indoctrination, and bit of I-want-to-show-off-my-cute-kid.

I never stood up, I thought it was ridiculous. However, I attended church girls camps and always there was a night where everyone sat around a camp fire and everyone was required to speak their testimony. It was all crying and I know God loves me. I dreaded the moment because I didn’t have anything to say, so I just said what everyone else was saying. It felt very invasive and nothing but peer pressure to believe something that wasn’t believed.

The mormon church believes that telling other people your testimony strengthens the belief of others. And, they tell their missionaries to tell people their testimony, EVEN IF THEY DON’T HAVE ONE. Just say what is supposed to be said.

I’ve been on airplanes and had mormon missionaries sitting next to me telling the person next to them their testimony. Only, they don’t tell people that is what they are doing, it is some sort of hi, I’m mormon, i believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and Jesus Christ is our Savior, would you like to know more? Here, have a Book of Mormon. I find it beyond creepy.

 

[Miserissima]

but the theology behind them is tends to be a distorted form of Calvinism and 19th century Protestant thought.

Alexius, could you explain that a little further? I’m not disagreeing, just curious. When I hear “testimony” I think of fire-and-brimstone travelling revival camps of the depression era. I thought it was a uniquely American phenomenon that came from the Pentecostal movement of the beginning of the last century.

Testimony does sound a bit like a spiritual show-and-tell.

Bonus points if you found Jesus and ‘got saved’ in prison.

Rawb, you owe me a new keyboard, as mine is now covered in a fine spray of iced tea.

 

[Fa_Chan]

A friend of mine just posted his Testimony on Facebook…

I don’t understand this concept of Testimony within Protestant religions. I don’t get why Protestant people I know ask me for my testimony, and are shocked when I don’t have one, and that I don’t “get” it.

Does it have to do with “getting saved”?

A testimony is simply one’s experience with Jesus Christ. What He has done for them, the blessings he has given, the trials endured, etc. It’s a positive statement that is done to encourage others and boost their faith in what God can do.

I see nothing strange about it, but then I was raised Southern Baptist. You do have a testimony yourself. Think of what God has done for you, the blessings He has given and the guidance He has given you. It’s there, you just don’t know it

Peace…

Fa Chan

 

[onmywayagain]

Everyone has a testimoney. People like to tell how they came to Christ. To me I heard many and I have one. I just think everyone tries to make theirs more dramatic.

Want to hear mine? It started back in…just kidding.

 

[Singinbeauty]

My goodness… if it’s protestant does that mean it is automatically bad???

Altar Calls, testimonies… etc…

Testimonies are incredible when it comes to this world and how we connect to it. You may have grown in a christian household and you didn’t give into temptation (or that wasn’t the temptation(s) that you were faced with, yours could have been less public and more private) but you still have a story to tell. Our lives are not without trouble and strife. It is how we make it through the good and bad times that make our testimonies.

What do you think Paul or Peter were doing when they told of the wonderful things they had seen Christ do? It was their testimony. Just as my testimony would be to share what I have see Christ do in my life and in the lives of those around me. The bible even supports testimonies:
James 5:16:

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

These stories are not to make you feel like you don’t have a story or that yours is less than just because it isn’t glittering with pizazz. They are to inspire you to see the physical evidence of what God can and does do in our lives. They are to be a voice to someone who doesn’t know Christ who may be in the same situation to know that God is there for them and there is hope.

It’s like when my step mom says she hates that show, Extreme Makeover - Home Edition, because those people are being blessed and it makes her jealous because it hasn’t happened to her. I think we can rejoice in the stories, testimonies, that we hear of what God has done! Amen and Hallelujiah! How awesome is our God!

*As a side note Those things listed above: smoking, premarital sex, drinking, drugs… etc don’t make you BAD and I really don’t appreciate that perception. *

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

 

[Singinbeauty]

People used to give their testimonies all the time at services when I was a protestant, usually accompanied by the pianist tinkling the keys to evoke emotion (that church was all about emotion, drove me crazy, it seems they alwayas wanted you to cry).

All it really did for me was make me feel a little bad. I was raised in a Christian home and attended church every Wednesday of my own free will. I didn’t smoke, drink, or have premarital sex. So what was my testimony? It always seemed to me to just boost those people who used to be horrible sinners. Everyone would clap them on the back and congratulate them that God had brought them out of their sin…but nobody ever testified that God had blessed them with a good Christian childhood and the grace of no major sins. It was only interesting or worth sharing if you’d once killed your brother or something. Bonus points if you found Jesus and ‘got saved’ in prison.

That’s not entirely true. In fact, it’s not true at all. So you mean to tell me that your life has been a bed of roses without so much as a moment of stress in it? I highly doubt that. We all have struggles that affect out lives immensely. Satan attacks daily. Just because yours wasn’t a public temptation, I am willing to bet my life on the fact that you have a temptation that you hide from those around you. There have been things that God has brought you through. Though it isn’t dramatic like those you listed above, it is still something that people need to hear to know that they are not alone.

 

[water]

It is good to give testimonies for the purpose of praising God. Also, by doing this, others might come to know God.

For one who is giving testimonies, just watch out for becoming a spiritual pride. At some moment, we can get so caught up in giving testimonies and the focus is on us not on God.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

It is good to give testimonies for the purpose of praising God. Also, by doing this, others might come to know God.

For one who is giving testimonies, just watch out for becoming a spiritual pride. At some moment, we can get so caught up in giving testimonies and the focus is on us not on God.

That’s where I get confused. It almost seems kind of idolatrous sometimes. When I have hung out with him, he is always telling me that I need to hear so-and-so’s testimony and he tells me his all the time…

 

[jimcav]

There’s just to much room for “embellishment” when giving testimonies, especially in front of the congregration! A simple story quickly becomes enhanced and over done when a micrphone is put before the congregant. It’s much like Pentacostals that speak in tongues, how much is real, and how much is made up to be part of the church?

I also have to ask why such testimonies must be made so public? What is it about Americans today that make us want to desperately share our inermost feelings, secrets, and emotions in such a public way? It’s not only the Evangelicals, but TV today is full of Americans pouring out their feelings, and I don’t get it. Is nothing sacred, nothing personal?

I think the reasons that Catholics can’t get their arms around testimonies is because we have a life long growth process with the Lord, not a one off, one time expireience. We are reborn every week at Communion, not just one time in our lives like Evangelicals.

 

[bpbasilphx]

<<When I have hung out with him, he is always telling me that I need to hear so-and-so’s testimony and he tells me his all the time…>>

Patience and Love, when you are with your friend again, simply tell him about YOUR life in Christ. That’s all.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

<<When I have hung out with him, he is always telling me that I need to hear so-and-so’s testimony and he tells me his all the time…>>

Patience and Love, when you are with your friend again, simply tell him about YOUR life in Christ. That’s all.

That’s my issue. I don’t feel like everyone needs to know my story. The one I have posted on CAF (see my siggy) is a very condensed version, which is what I share IF I want to share. I just don’t feel the need to tell every person I met.

 

[Singinbeauty]

There’s just to much room for “embellishment” when giving testimonies, especially in front of the congregration! A simple story quickly becomes enhanced and over done when a micrphone is put before the congregant. It’s much like Pentacostals that speak in tongues, how much is real, and how much is made up to be part of the church?

I also have to ask why such testimonies must be made so public? What is it about Americans today that make us want to desperately share our inermost feelings, secrets, and emotions in such a public way? It’s not only the Evangelicals, but TV today is full of Americans pouring out their feelings, and I don’t get it. Is nothing sacred, nothing personal?

I think the reasons that Catholics can’t get their arms around testimonies is because we have a life long growth process with the Lord, not a one off, one time expireience. We are reborn every week at Communion, not just one time in our lives like Evangelicals.

Here is a perfect example for pretending to know about protestants when a catholic has not idea whatsoever of what they are talking about…

When God leads you to tell a group or one person of your story with God it isn’t usually just about ONE event. It is about how God changed your life. Because SOME people relate their lives to this person telling their story and how God brought them through it. That person sitting there listening may think that God doesn’t care about them but when they hear that testimony that is so much like their life it helps them focus on God or at least triggers something inside them to know that they are not alone in their struggles.

I told my story when I was a teenager about how I was trying to find a foundation for my life and everytime I put it on anything but God it crumbled. My friends weren’t loyal, my parents split up, and I was a depressed emotional mess. But then God came in and helped me deal with life. Without Him I would be dead today. After my story a woman came up to me and told me that her niece needed to hear this story because this is exactly what she was going through. By me telling my story that girl heard God’s message that He is there for her and she isn’t alone. He cares. I am not an eloquent speaker, I stutter in front of crowd’s and get completely nervous. I didn’t even have my story written out or thought through but God put the words in my mouth and spoke through me, even if it was just to that girl I believe He used me to let her know that He was there. I was so honored that He chose me.

The apostles told their testimonies everytime they got in front of people and told them what they had seen Christ do and what Christ had done for all of us. That is what a testimony is, to show what Christ has done in your life. To tell people that they are not alone, that they have hope in a God who can seem so distant at times. To make Him a little more real to a world that is becoming more and more cynical.

Learn about what a testimony actually is before you start bashing it…

 

[Singinbeauty]

That’s my issue. I don’t feel like everyone needs to know my story. The one I have posted on CAF (see my siggy) is a very condensed version, which is what I share IF I want to share. I just don’t feel the need to tell every person I met.

Why would you want to keep what God has done with and through you from a world that is so hungry for Him?

This is what confuses me about this thread. By not telling your story you hide Him from the world. If each of us were to tell our story we could fill this world with God’s love. Your story is a message about how awesome God is. Even if it isn’t dramatic.

I guess I just don’t understand why you would want to hide God from those around you… We should always be constantly telling our stories to a world that needs Him so desparately.