Find out how God turned a rebellious research scientist into a Bible teacher, church planter, and author
One August night in 1972, Jesus invaded the life of an intellectual young research scientist who was living for money and pleasure. Dared by some vibrant young Christian acquaintances to read the Bible himself, he did it to disprove them. Instead, he found God’s love and forgiveness, which changed his life overnight.
This man became a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, a church planter and elder, a full-time ministry worker, the director of BER for its first 10 years, and the author of 13 books. After passing the BER leadership baton at the end of 2020, he has continued to build up God’s people through writing, teaching, and serving on the BER core team.
This week, Chuck Gianotti—pictured above with Mary, his wife of 45 years—shares the testimony of his dramatic conversion.
Stay tuned next week to find out why Mary turned down his first invitation for a date, what happened next, and how Chuck has coped with the “thorn in the flesh” that you probably didn’t know he had.
What was your life like just before you met Christ?
Coming out of a nominal religious background, I knew enough about God to understand that I was destined for hell if it were all true. From my earliest recollections, guilt was my constant companion—I lied at my first confession in church, and by the time I went to college, I gave up any semblance of religion as I chased the decadent pleasures of the world. Virtually nothing was off limits for me.
What made you start searching for the truth?
After graduating with a mathematics degree in Oregon, I moved to New York for my first job, only to make money and live for the flesh. I was working in research and development, doing computer simulations for auto safety and U.S. Department of Defense radar installations. But emptiness filled my soul, and I began to search for meaning and truth.
“I thought they had sacrificed their brains
for the irrational crutch of religious faith . . .
I wanted to see if their faith could withstand
what I thought were my withering rebuttals.”
for the irrational crutch of religious faith . . .
I wanted to see if their faith could withstand
what I thought were my withering rebuttals.”
I met some young folks for whom Jesus Christ was very much a reality. They had a vibrancy I didn’t have, but I thought they had sacrificed their brains for the irrational crutch of religious faith. Secretly I admired their zest for life, but at the same time I wanted to see if their faith could withstand what I thought were my withering rebuttals.
One of them challenged me to read the Bible myself. So I did—with the intention of finding errors to help win my arguments against them. Despite my “superior” arguments, I couldn’t shake their faith.
What happened when you started reading the Bible?
As I read the New Testament, my heart began to burn from the two truths I discovered. The first was expected: that I was a sinner, a spiritual failure before God (if in fact he was real). But the second truth totally surprised me: that God loved me and wanted to forgive me and welcome me into relationship with him.
The Lord used Proverbs 3:5-6 to shake me loose from my intellectualism and cause me to trust in him. I knew I would be an absolute fool to continue rebelling against God, who loved me so much that he gave Jesus to die in my place. I didn’t fully understand it all, but I surrendered to him on an August night in 1972.
The answers to all my arguments and objections flooded in, filling my empty soul to overflowing: God loved me and wanted me! I now belonged to him. The closest thing in Scripture that relates to my experience is Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. My life changed literally overnight.
Stay tuned for part two of Chuck’s story next week.