my testimony

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my testimony; how I recovered from a nervous breakdown
Topic Started: Dec 7 2006, 08:40 PM (49 Views)
rodgertutt	Dec 7 2006, 08:40 PM Post #1
Newbie Posts: 9 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: December 7, 2006	You can access my testimony through Google by typing in Rodger Tutt. Because my testimony is helping so many people, I am posting it here so it will stay on your front page for awhile if that's ok with you. The many entries in my guest book that is accessible towards the bottom of the front page on my site, and the many positive emails in my email file folders, show that the content of my testimony is helping many people. (nothing for sale on this site) MY TESTIMONY The idea that God lets any creature suffer endlessly has caused me more suffering than all other problems of my life combined. By the time I had reached the mission field I had hoped to have found a satisfactory answer that would justify God allowing this to happen. I didn't find such an answer. Surrounded by thousands of people, dozens of whom were dying every day and beginning an eternity of suffering in hell was too much for me. In 1966, at age 28, it caused me to have a nervous breakdown. For several weeks I was confined to my bed in a state of terror night and day. The terror was caused by the fear of what a God I could not love or respect would do to me after I died. It took me twelve years to fully recover from the breakdown. I quickly became agnostic, for the Christian gospel and the Bible were no longer any comfort to me at all. Many evangelical friends tried to help me. They meant well, but in the end they all had only words of condemnation towards me. This added more suffering to my already intense suffering. Gradually I began to learn that there have been, in centuries past, and still are today, a few people in the world that see a different kind of God in the Bible. They see a God who will not let any creature suffer forever. They see a God in the Bible who will change every second of everyone's suffering into something better that it happened, including the sufferings of Satan. I learned that a correctly (literally) translated Bible teaches universal transformation, not endless suffering in hell, or even annihilation. I read dozens of books, and listened to hundreds of tapes by men who believe this way and I gradually became converted to believing this way myself. Since 1981, through my newspaper ads and my telephone ministry, I have sent out many hundreds of packets of literature explaining why I believe as I do. I have also sent this evidence to hundreds of pastors and Bible school teachers. None of them have told me that they are able to refute it. I have also read eight books that were supposed to refute the evidence in favor of universalism, but none of them do. Because of this evidence, my panic attacks became less frequent until twelve years after my breakdown they ceased altogether. Now nothing gives me greater pleasure than to make this evidence available to others who have suffered because of the same problem I had even though they have embraced Christ and His gospel for themselves, and I use a substantial amount of my money and time to this end. Because of the enormous amount of suffering the idea of "endless hell" causes in this world, I am asking you to consider the possibility that you should stop endorsing the idea that the Bible teaches it. Or, at least, let others know that there are (and have been in centuries past) people who do not think the Bible teaches it. Many of the responses from pastors and teachers range from a mild: "The majority don't agree with you so you must be wrong", to the vicious "For every week you leave your ad in the papers, God will increase the temperature of the fires of hell for you personally". Most are somewhere in between these remarks. But none have told me they are able to refute the evidence. And, until they can, they will not be able to stop me from sharing the good news that a correctly (literally) translated Bible teaches universal transformation, not endless suffering in hell, or even annihilation. A website that answers all the arguments that seem to support the idea that the Bible teaches endless suffering in hell is TENTMAKER. Although forum rules prevent me from posting forum links, you can easily Google it up. The “scholar’s corner” under “research” deals with every aspect of the subject. The more than 600 page search engine at the top of this same TENTMAKER front page is also very comprehensive regarding this subject. Just type in a key word or phrase from any argument or scripture passage, and ten articles will appear that refute the eternal hell and annihilation doctrines. I am also going to guide you all to the testimony of a man whose experience was almost identical to mine. Even the thought processes that took him into, through, and out of his breakdown are the same as mine. Only he is much more eloquent in telling his story than I am in telling mine. His name is Charles Slagle. http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Absolute-As...sus-Christ.html You can access my testimony through Google by typing in Rodger Tutt. It may well be that a few members of this form or surfers will be able to benefit from the testimonies of Charles and myself. May God's blessing rest with your spirit! From Rodger Tutt in Toronto, Canada “That God may be All in all” 1Cor.15:28



may	Dec 12 2006, 07:55 AM Post #2
Unregistered	Hey, Rodger. Welcome to MMG! I am so sorry that you had a nervous breakdown and suffered from it for so long. The good news about Jesus is that he saves us from death and hell. The Bible says Rom 3:23 Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God's glory. Rom 6:23 The payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord. Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Joh 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. This is why it is called salvation. We cannot save ourselves. God provided a way for us to be reconciled back to him because we were made to have fellowship with God (He loves His creation), but we messed it up (sin entered the world through Adam and we inherited the sin nature). He is so loving and merciful, He paid the ultimate sacrifice by bankrupting heaven so that we could come back to Him. But it is not universal. The gift is for the people who accept it and appropriate it. Joh 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, We are not saved by going to church or knowing scripture, but many are decieved because they are not grounded in scripture. The better acquainted a person is with the original, the less likely they will fall for a counterfeit. We must have a relationship with God and get to know Him- and not just the frightening aspects about Him. Yes, He is all-mighty, and yes, He is a just God punishing evil, but He is also loving and forgiving and He provided the way for us through the blood of his son. This is a gift. But what if a person is offered this gift and decides not to recieve it? He refuses it, and it never even gets opened. Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. I have experienced some of this fear and condemnation and fear that you are talking about. It happened after I got saved and I started worrying about my sanctification, like "I am not doing enough" and I was losing sight of the reality that 2Co 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. So I was really getting on myself and here is the tricks of the enemy I was falling into. First I was worrying instead of praying and submitting my fears to the Lord. Condemnation does not come from Jesus and I was letting myself be convinced by satan that the condemnation was from God. Satan is the accuser. Jesus is the forgiver. I think it is good to have a healthy fear of God to prevent us from going down an ungodly pathway (that path is also not good for us). But my fear and condemnation were coming from the fact that I am still struggling with smoking. And I was a smoker before I came home to Jesus. Not that I am justifying smoking... See, before I got saved, I was engaged in all kinds of sin. I was horribly sexually promiscuous looking for love, I was very bitter and unforgiving about things from my childhood (parent issues), I used to curse like a sailor, I broke homes, had an abortion, been chewing my nails since I was a small child, and smoked since I was 21. Plus I was insane- riddled with anxiety and unbalance and occassional psychotic episodes. When this fear and condemnation like what you had (at least the beginnings of it) began, I had been delivered of everything but nail-biting and smoking, which I was still struggling with (trying to do things in my own strength). In fact, every time I would read the scriptures, I would find passages that would scare me so much, I would not want to read the Bible or pray. But God is a loving father, and this was an attack by the enemy. God does discipline us, but because He loves us. Heb 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. Heb 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." Heb 12:7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Heb 12:8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Psa 30:5 His anger lasts only a moment. His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but there is a song of joy in the morning. There is a hell, and that is bad news, but the way of salvation is good news. Because God is just, He must punish sin. Hell was not created for mankind originally. It was created for satan and his followers after he rebelled against God (we have to go back to Genesis for this). Adam and Eve were given instructions from God not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Well, when Satan was cast from his position after his rebellion, he was pretty angry at God. The only way he could wage war on God was to take out his creation by convincing (by way of a lie and a twisting of the truth) Adam and Eve to disobey God. He lied to them about God, even defaming His nature. And he went through Eve to get to Adam. But the good news is that God provided a way for mankind to be reconciled. I think you have suffered a grand-scale attack by the enemy of your soul, my brother, because Satan is still pulling his insidious tricks to this day. Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he comes only to kill steal and destroy. Joh 10:9 I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. Rodger, I pray earnestly in the name of Jesus for the Spirit of God to call you to a true faith in Jesus and a deeper understanding of the loving nature of God. I come against any powers and principalities and false disciples who are working for the enemy and want to bring their condemnation and fear into your mind. I pray that you be given understanding that Jesus has won the battle for you and I loose a peace that passes all understanding in your mind because Rodger, you are so precious to God, that even if you were the only person on earth, Jesus still would have bankrupted heaven and shed His precious and holy blood for you. I also loose joy and powerin your heart and a spiritual sight on your eyes so that you can see the plots of the enemy against you and be ready with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) to come against those plots. I pray for you to recieve a true knowledge of God's love and an understanding of what has been accomplished for you through the cross. I pray that you will not be overwhelmed by the struggle with sin illustrated in Romans 7:7-25, and that the gift of Christ's substitution would be recieved in your heart and such a great joy would come from your heart like what I had when I was saved and I woke up like a child so excited for the new day because the bottom line is ROmans 7:25 Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord. Much love to you, May
Unregistered


rodgertutt	Apr 29 2007, 01:43 PM Post #3
Newbie Posts: 9 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: December 7, 2006	My name is Rodger Tutt. I am 68 years old. I could have avoided a horrific twelve year nervous breakdown had I known as a youth about the following information concerning what a correctly (literally, not interpretively) translated Bible teaches You can access my website through Google by typing in Rodger Tutt, or My website is http://greater-emmanuel.org/Hope4You/ You can also access most of the following writings through Google by typing in the title. BOOKS THAT SHOW THAT THE BIBLE TEACHES UNIVERSAL SALVATION, THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF WHICH CAN BE READ ONLINE 0. ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE IN JESUS CHRIST – Charles Slagle http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Absolute-As...sus-Christ.html 1. HOPE BEYOND HELL - Gerry Beauchemin (recently published) http://www.hopebeyondhell.net/index.html 2. CHRIST TRIUMPHANT - Thomas Allin http://www.tentmaker.org/books/ChristTriumphant.htm 3. THE BIBLE HELL - J.W. Hanson http://www.tentmaker.org/books/TheBibleHell.html 4. THE ORIGON AND HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT – Thomas Thayer http://www.tentmaker.org/books/OriginandHistory.html 5. THE OUTCOME OF INFINITE GRACE – Dr. Loyal Hurley http://www.tentmaker.org/books/infinitegrace.htm 6. JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN "HELL" - J. Preston Eby http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-o...-world/hell.htm 7. ONE HUNDRED SCRIPTURAL PROOFS THAT JESUS CHRIST WILL SAVE ALL MANKIND - Thomas Whittemore http://www.tentmaker.org/books/ScripturalProofs.html 8. TWENTY-FOUR SERMONS ON UNIVERSAL SALVATION – John Bovee Dods http://www.tentmaker.org/Bovee2.htm#Top 9. THE SECOND DEATH AND THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS – Andrew Jukes http://www.tentmaker.org/restitutionindex.htm 10. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY REASONS FOR BELIEVING IN THE FINAL SALVATION OF ALL MANKIND – Erasmus Manford http://www.tentmaker.org/books/150reasons.html 11. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS – J. Patching http://www.tentmaker.org/books/RichManandL...s-Patching.html 12. BIBLE TRANSLATIONS THAT DO NOT TEACH ETERNAL TORMENT – Gary Amirault http://www.tentmaker.org/books/GatesOfHell.html 13. AION – AIONIOS – John Wesley Hanson http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html 14. BIBLE THREATENINGS EXPLAINED – John Wesley Hanson http://www.tentmaker.org/books/BibleThreat...sExplained.html 15. THE CASE OF JUDAS, ETCETERA http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter16.html 16. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL – John Essex AND THE ROLE OF THE ADVERSARY – James Webb http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/TheProblemofEvil.html 17. HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE – James Coram http://concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/index.html



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