Article October 1, 2007 Issue

A STORY OF GRACE

BY DOUG SYTSMA

I was introduced to Christian Science in the late 1970s by relatives who had recently discovered it for themselves. They gave me a copy of Science and Health, and I read the book from cover to cover, concluding that if any religion were true, it would be Christian Science. I started attending a Christian Science church, and experienced a few healings through prayer with the support of a Christian Science practitioner. But, as I continued to read Science and Health, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with all the references to God and Jesus.

At the time, I was drinking heavily, and occasionally smoked marijuana. Although I really wanted to escape from the pain associated with a materially focused life, I was struggling to hold on to the pleasures sought in drugs and alcohol. Soon, I decided that Christian Science might work for others, but that it just didn't work for me. I stopped attending church and reading Science and Health. After several more sporadic attempts to reconnect with the goodness I'd gained from my earlier spiritual study, I gave up on Christian Science altogether.

Decades had passed when I found myself facing a serious situation. I was a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractor, and the building industry was in a severe slump. After a major payment problem with another contractor, I was charged with a criminal transgression and sent to jail for keeping a piece of expensive equipment as collateral.

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