Introduction - 

In 1979 when I was in the Way Corps I wrote a letter to Dr. Wierwille. At that time he was being attacked by the media who were accusing him of running a cult. God's Word was moving so dynamically at that time in our ministry that the adversary was trying anything to stop the thousands of believers who were being added every year. In hopes of blessing him at a low time in his life, I wrote him to share of my experiences in Catholic seminary to show that if anything can be called a cult the Roman Catholic church would fit that category. I shared with him about how I was raised Roman Catholic and became very religious in my search for God to the point that I attended a seminary to become a priest. He liked my letter so much he turned it into a handout and called it "I Got Out". It was given out at Advanced Classes for a while. Dr. Wierwille even had me read it at Advanced Class '79 in front of a huge audience. 

Sometimes I think I should write another paper and call it "I Got Out ...Again". I am only glad Dr. Wierwille is not alive today to see that the ministry he started has indeed turned into a cult after all. 

John R.

I GOT OUT

By John R.
Seventh Way Corps

(Originally written in January 1979)

Since there seems to be such a growing concern about "cult" involvement, I would like to share my disappointing two-year experience in a very harmful group to which I once belonged.

My hunger for spiritual truth began when I was very young. In grade school, my biggest questions were: "Am I going to heaven? Is there a hell? How can I be sure that I’ll go to heaven when I die? What do I have to do to get to heaven?"

It was not until high school that I heard, through close friends, about a "training school" that I could go to, which taught people how to become so-called men of God after eight years of training and studies. After that time he became an ordained clergyman, a man of God, who took the place of Christ himself here on earth. For each of these "specially anointed" man, heaven was a sure guarantee. This was for me. Furthermore, after this training period, each of these men was guaranteed a position in this organization and was supported by its followers. Most of them were given a car and a house and a group of people, followers of this sect, over which to be the leader.

I got in touch with one of this group’s leaders for advice on how to get in this training school. He said that this school was an all male school and that marriage or even dating was not allowed while in school. He also said there were certain rules I would have to follow and to be sure this was what I wanted. "But," he said, "if God is calling you, then you should do as He says. Perhaps this is His will for your life." I believed it was.

Upon my arrival at the training school, located in the hills of eastern Kentucky, the first thing I noticed was that everyone was dressed in black. After I registered I was taken to the place where I would be living. There were no separate rooms. Instead there was one big open dormitory on the third floor where about 100 of the members slept. Each of us had a small closet-locker on the first floor in which to keep everything we owned. The buildings were quite run down.

After I got settled in, I began to find out more about this group from the inside and was disappointed in many ways. Everyone had to be in bed at 10 o’clock every night. On weekends we could stay up until 11 p.m. There were no exceptions. We were greeted every morning by a loud buzzer and were required to immediately get out of bed and get dressed in our "attire" for the day. This consisted of a black robe with a belt over our regular clothing, and black shoes, and was worn all day.

Daily at 5:30 a.m. we were required to be in the main building where ritualistic prayers, chants and special services were said by one of the leaders. This became very boring and routine because there was never a change. It was the exact same thing every morning of the week. We were constantly watched by our peers and were punished and sharply reproved if we were not at these functions.

We were never allowed to go anywhere outside the grounds at night for anything. Seldom were we allowed to go into the nearby town at all and when we did, we had to state on paper exactly where we were going, why we were going, and the time we would be back. None of us were allowed to be out for over two hours. We were not to talk to anyone in town unless it was absolutely necessary, especially those of the opposite sex.

One day a friend and I stopped to talk to some girls we met in a store and were seen by someone from the school. When we returned home we were immediately called into the office of the top leader of the school and were accused of compromising our commitment to God. If this happened again we would not be allowed to go into town anymore. This incident planted the first seeds of doubt in my mind about this group. Something was wrong with this whole scene, I thought.

The next lingering disappointment came as I sat in the doctrinal classes that were taught night after night. I was looking for God at first, but after a while I was so mentally confused with this group’s doctrine, that I even began to question if there was a God. If He were so loving, why must I go through all this discipline and confusion? In one of our classes we would listen to rock or popular music such as the Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel. Afterwards we would have a philosophical discussion to try to interpret what the message was behind the lyrics of the song and what the writer was saying. In my entire two years of involvement in this so-called "Christian" sect, I never saw a bible and never read one.

When we had problems, there were certain men who were counselors that we could go to for advice. One of these men used hypnotism as his method.

Because of the size of this religious sect, I never had a chance to personally meet the top leader of this organization who lives in another country. I heard a lot about him from our teachers. It seems this "holy man" was chosen by God to be THE number one representative of Jesus Christ to the whole world and that what claims to be the only true church today and that anyone outside of it is in danger of eternal hell after death. If members do not live according to the standards and doctrine set by the "supreme leader" of the organization, they are considered in sin and eligible for hell.

Sin-consciousness and guilt are the two biggest tools used in keeping the members involved in this sect. I felt required to give 10% of all my income to the organization because of fear and guilt of sin if I did not do so.

After about a year and a half at this "training school, " I found out about even more corruption going on there. Some of the group leaders were homosexuals and had such relationships with some of the students. There were also group homosexual orgies that took place. One of the "elders" at the school began to make advances at me. He was only two years away from being ordained as a clergyman, a man of God who is supposed to help others. When I reported this, he was transferred.

It was after finding out some of these things that I decided to leave this organization. When I talked with one of the counselors at the school about leaving, he said that if God had called me here, then I was turning my back on God’s calling for my life. When I left, I completely rejected anything this group stood for. To this day, according to their doctrines, I am headed for eternal hell-fire unless I repent and come back.

The organization I am writing about is not an uncommon one today. Its membership is worldwide and consists of hundreds of millions of people. The organization is the Roman Catholic church. Its supreme leader is the Pope, the so-called "vicar of Christ" for the world who claims infallibility when speaking on church doctrines. The "training school" that I attended for two years was St. Mary’s Catholic Seminary located in eastern Kentucky where one trains for the priesthood. Our teachers and counselors were ordained Catholic priests. Its assets and land total billions of dollars. The value of the headquarters alone, the Vatican in Rome, is well over 70 million dollars and is where the Pope resides.

So before one passes judgment on what is and what is not a cult, let him weigh the facts in the fine balance of God’s Word. It was not until seven years later when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and began studying God’s Word that my spiritual hunger was satisfied. Soon I realized that God’s Word alone holds the truth one should follow. His Word is my calling and guide, and only His Word separates truth from error.