intanet

Hi Doug, Hi all, Just joined yesterday. I've been reading various articles on this site for over a year but I just noticed the message board the other day and joined. Anyhow,"Hi" from NY. Been at this brainwashing thing since 1977 when I finally left the "way" ministry. I knew something was wrong for a while but finally cut the strings at the Rock of Ages 1977. I've been through so many stages of recovery over the years and I am, to this day, still recognizing the effect of their damaging leaven in my outlook and belief system. What I just realized last night, in a much deeper sense, is that what got me involved with them in the first place was the truth that was there. But, as many of us know, "part truth" is a very effective bondage tool. If something honestly presents itself in all of it's darkness, we would be aware of what we were getting into but "part truth" is very tricky. It lures with the truth and enslaves with the error. Anyhow, the point I want to make is that if something is true, it's true, no matter what darkness the one who speaks it may be in. It's up to us to prove all things but hold to what is true. Too often I've seen people trash what ever truth may have been in their respective cult when they leave the group. Having been duped, we dump it all as if it was all a crock. Sure, we let someone else interpret what we were reading, and even worse, we gave them lordship over our lives to our own detriment. OK, so once we get over the rage, the embarrasment and finally stop kicking ourselves for having let it happen, what are we gonna do? Have we stopped being seekers of truth because we let some power hungry nut or hypocritical phoney run our lives for a while and lost our way momentarily? Another thing...two of the reasons why the "way" ministry and the watchtower group have been classified as cults by the traditional "church" was because of the truth that is taught there that Jesus is the Son of God, not God, and also that the dead are not alive now. So when people leave these groups, they might find themselves easy prey to getting absorbed into the so called "legitimate" doctrine of the day like the trinity for example or whatever is officially accepted these days as legitimate doctine. Or they find another group that may believe similarly but never deal with the actual error that brought them into bondage in the first place, which was giving power over to another man (or woman) to give you understanding and to lead you into truth. A lesson well learned...the hard way. My husband is always telling me to write a book. I guess I just did :)--> All the best, Annette