No it's like being 50 - 60 and never stopped believing in the tooth fairy. Yes, at some point that dental loving fairy started punching you in the face, knocking your teeth out, and taking them from you... but at least she still left you a couple bucks for them. I hear the fairy has gone back to doing it the old fashioned way... sneaking into your house and stealing them from under your pillow without you noticing.
Even if today's twi is less confrontational........
* How does one ignore wierwille's legacy of lies and plagiarism?
* How does one embrace twi's plethora of pathetic policies as "spiritual leadership?"
* How does one uphold "the law of believing" as twi's cornerstone of sound doctrine?
* How does one get any "warm fuzzies" without realizing the self-serving elitism lording over them?
* How does one, openly and objectively, walk back into the confines of a cult?
How? Denial. I used to be the queen of denial (right, bad pun) so I know, although I did not return to twi after leaving. That thought never crossed my mind.
even if twi seems more kind, it's the cycle they use to recruit and hold onto members. it may seem like a watered down version of the lcm reign, but the high-level scheming is still there and the general population is either asleep or the same self-righteous jerks they've been for the past 30 years.
I've read that criminals will commit crimes after release from long incarcerations because they're so used to life on the inside that they can't adjust to the responsibilities of being free. it's more comfortable to go back to twi and sleepwalk through life than deal with real life.
I can say that I've felt so completely out of place outside of twi that I felt like seclusion was my only option. I didn't have self-confidence or the social skills to build a new life outside of twi for a long time. I can see how someone would want to go back because after years of conditioning that's the only place they feel comfortable. twi hasn't really changed, people go back because they just don't want to put time and work into changing themselves. the world seems to hard because there are too many choices. by comparison, twi seems easy, and so much nicer than it was when lcm was raping and pillaging.
I got past it by finding people like I spent time with before I got involved in twi and found out that the girl I was 22 years ago is the real me, not the fake christ in me that twi molded. seems kinda silly to have to go back to acting like a college girl, but it healed me.
also, seeing my younger child avoid the damage my older one sustained just because she's not being raised in a cult is the one thing that makes the discomfort worth it. maybe people thinking about going back should think about that. it might be more comfortable for YOU because it's what you're used to, but do you really want to suffocate your children and make them into little robots?
Before TWI would take anyone back, the person had to be humbled (read, totally humiliated), confessing to all sorts of crimes against God (read, TWI) - crimes both real and imagined. The person had to show how contrite he/she was. Physical flagellation wasn't quite the thing, but a sort of mental and spiritual flagellation was. This took the form, usually, of a grovelling letter to LCM and/or the Trustees.
This letter may be read out to Corps, staff, or anybody else deemed "need to know" (read, need to understand what would happen to them if they stepped out of line) and analyzed to see that it contained the correct amount of contrition and jargon.
Then, if allowed back, there was a period of probatiion. This was a suspicious watching of everything done - to see that the "weakness" that caused the original downfall was healed.
Okay...
Let's see...
Where is TWI's letter of self-abasement? Where they totally confess their crimes (just the real ones will do). Where they apologize again and again. Where every high-up, starting with Rosie, admitted publicly what they had done in the past to abuse God and the people of TWI (past and present). Not thinking about just the sexual misconduct - what about the bullying, control, stifling of individuality?
Next, let's see this letter subjected to public scrutiny, so that past and present TWI-fers can determine if they really are contrite.
Let's see how they propose to rectify their past sins.
Next, let's see how they progress during probation and whether they are responsive to further condemnation, sorry, help; and how they behave then.
The period of probation hasn't started yet, because there has been no confession of past wrongdoing.
Let them set the example. Then there might be something worth looking at and considering. Till then - RUUUUN!!!
And lastly, even if twi has changed............SO WHAT? IMO, thanks and gratitude goes to former followers who stood toe-to-toe with these taskmasters and called a spade a spade. MANY HERE have blown the whistle on their policies and their ilk. MANY HERE have exposed the sexual predation of wierwille, martindale and others and a common thread runs thru this distructive tool that wierwille instigated. MANY HERE have exposed the rampant plagiarism and the fabrications of wierwille's "snow storms."
If anything.........WAYDALE and GREASESPOT have exposed twi's vicious underbelly of lies and exploitation and thereby "softened" twi's approach of lording over others. So, for those who have chosen to go back "into the den of the lions".........if a few teeth are missing, it's because MANY HERE have been clubbing away for many years and the lions bite just ain't what it used to be.
Are "they" any less confrontational?I have not done this,but here is a scenario:Oh how have you been?
I been on greasespot,exposing you for the real cult you are.Oh why would you say a hurtful thing like that?Cause its the truth.Well the devil spirits have been really at work in you.Oh,go F2c3 yourself,Out the door you go...
Twi is as rotten as bloodsucking as "they always have been,There is no saving "them"If you try you will fail,
Look at sowers,ya think they will listen?Cff?Oh the fellowship,it is abusive as ever...
If you have cancer you either cut it out or radiate(burn)it out.Rust?you cut it out or it comes back.
Twi has not been fixed,it is the same,only a bit more palapatable to some tastes.
Cheech and Chong "man this is good sh2t,yeah it really is sh2t,my dog ate my stash man,I had to collect it in little baggies"Twi..It is sh2t.
I think people familiar with the characteristics of ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS would find the twi experience to be startlingly familiar.
I agree...even as the woman who was beaten repeatedly kept crawling back to "her man" (to get more abuse)...some victims of twi go crawling back because they are so insecure that they need the validation of their abusers...pretty sick if you ask me. It's akin to people who enjoy being tied up and whipped...
I agree...even as the woman who was beaten repeatedly kept crawling back to "her man" (to get more abuse)...some victims of twi go crawling back because they are so insecure that they need the validation of their abusers...pretty sick if you ask me.
That's what I was thinking.
It's akin to people who enjoy being tied up and whipped...
I think it's MORE dysfunctional. People who enjoy being tied up and whipped know they
have options on who ties them up and whips them. They can find someone else to
handle that if the current person isn't working out. And the thing they're always mentioning
when they speak on the subject is that it involves TRUST and consent. twi is NOT conducive
to cultivating TRUST.
=====================
One comedienne had trouble with a shower that went from HOT water to COLD water
without warning while the controls weren't touched. She kept trying to adjust the water
to stop that, and she said she eventually began to feel like she'd been through an
abusive relationship-
"I can control you, you're hurting me, I can control you, you're hurting me..."
Relationship Abuse is a pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control over a former or current intimate partner. An abusive relationship means more than being hit by the person who claims to love or care about you. Abuse can be emotional, psychological, financial, sexual or physical and can include threats, isolation, and intimidation. Abuse tends to escalate over time. When someone uses abuse and violence against a partner, it is always part of a larger pattern to try to control her/him.
It is not your fault
If you are being abused by your partner, you may feel confused, afraid, angry and/or trapped. All of these emotions are normal responses to abuse. You may also blame yourself for what is happening. But no matter what others might say, you are never responsible for your partner's abusive actions. Dating abuse is not caused by alcohol or drugs, stress, anger management, or provocation. It is always a choice to be abusive.
============
* Understanding relationship abuse can help you know if you or someone you know is a victim of relationship abuse - male or female. Relationship abuse is a pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control over a former or current intimate partner. An abusive relationship means more than being hit by the person who claims to love or care about you.
Many survivors find that emotional abuse is difficult to name or even talk about. They often wonder if it is serious because it isn't visible, like bruises or broken bones. Emotionally abused survivors state that one of the biggest problems they face is that others seldom take it seriously.
Signs of abuse can be difficult to recognize, especially from within a relationship. Friends, family members, and colleagues may often be the first to notice signs of being in a controlling and abusive relationship.
Abusive relationships rarely start with physical violence and incorporate numerous methods of one person exerting power and control over another. This diagram exhibits some of the common ways that abusers control their victims and why abuse can be so much more than physical or sexual violence.
"Why is my friend still in an unhealthy relationship? Why don't they leave?" The reality is that there are many barriers to finding safety from an abusive relationship. Leaving can sometimes be dangerous and there are many factors that an abusive partner can use to keep the victim from leaving the relationship. Understanding these issues can better assist someone to help a victim out of an abusive relationship.
• destroy or take your personal property or sentimental items?
this one particularly strikes home for me.
not that the hitting and name calling, the controlling of my every activity and thought wasn't enough, but to destroy the things that I owned that defined me as a person or tied me in any way to other people or places... it was a way to destroy who I was and make me into what they wanted.... both twi and my ex-husband.
• destroy or take your personal property or sentimental items?
Cunningly, they got US to destroy our personal property! Told us to get rid of things that held us back - that harbored devil spirits - we should forget those things that are behind.
What they really wanted to destroy was our individuality.
But the part of the body of Christ that I am does not need me to be an "ear" or a "hand" or an "eye" - it needs me to be ME.
I seem to recall something from PFAL that said that God gave us holy spirit and it was unique to each one of us as individuals - you couldn't take the holy spirit from one person and try to fit it into another person because it wasn't so made. It just wouldn't work out. (No doubt someone can supply a reference.)
Seems to me that
(a) God recognizes us as individuals;
(b) TWI doesn't and tries to fit a one-size "holy spirit" into each one of us.
Cunningly, they got US to destroy our personal property! Told us to get rid of things that held us back - that harbored devil spirits - we should forget those things that are behind.
What they really wanted to destroy was our individuality.
Yes, that's true for me and I regret now that I no longer have some books, papers, old photos of me growing up, etc. For anyone who doesn't know how this worked here's my experience: A couple of verses used to motivate and justify this destruction [of course a verse was usually quoted to justify everything] were:
Colossians 3:9, 10 "Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of him that created him."
This was made to mean the knowledge of the Bible (as taught by twi of course) and the version of the Bible as we have with the canon in KJV today. TWI never pointed out that this canon, much less the KJV, wasn't even defined much less in existence when this verse was written...but who cares about tedious details like that? <_<
Another doozy: II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."
Since I was convinced by vpw to believe these verses came directly from gawd almighty, then as any good little fanatic would do, I tried to wipe out all evidence of my identity prior to taking PFAL. After all I was a "new creature in Christ" and who I was "in the flesh" didn't matter anymore.
Granted, there's no doubt there's value in changing bad habits, but it's a shame people fall for this sort of manipulation that breeds extreme behavior all across Christianity and other religious groups, too. Lots of creativity gets squelched, to say the least...and it can take years to recuperate from that destruction of identity.
Lucky for us we live in a country where we CAN have the chance to recuperate and where the gov't (so far) cannot force us to adopt any particualr religious beliefs. I've been to some countries where a religion is so ingrained in the culture, it's unthinkable to question it.
Let's KEEP our chance to have separate church and state issues (boy how did I get on this rant?) Speak up when and where you can.
I agree, they did try and get us to squelch who we were. I got rid of somethings I still regret to this day. To squelch who you are is unhealthy can can lead to mental health problems and breakdowns as one gets older.
I just cannot for the life of me imagine why someone would want to go back there - no matter how nice they are. Here, have some Kool-aid - its a new flavor!
I agree, they did try and get us to squelch who we were. I got rid of somethings I still regret to this day. To squelch who you are is unhealthy can can lead to mental health problems and breakdowns as one gets older.
I just cannot for the life of me imagine why someone would want to go back there - no matter how nice they are. Here, have some Kool-aid - its a new flavor!
If you view it more as someone returning to an abusive relationship,
What a great analagy WW. I keep up with a few friends who I knew on Staff. It's amazing to me how their lives are not their own while still being on Staff.
They can't take vacations whenever they want. They can't date or marry whomever they wish. They can't leave until the ministry year is over, and even when it is over they can't leave unless they fight for it at placement time.
One friend in particular told their overseer that they wanted to move to an area to be near their aging mother, which is a warm area of the county. The overseer said "Yeah? We all want to go there too." This overseer has been a major manipulator in TWI and has been at HQ for 20 years or more. Even the idiot overseer doesn't see he should be able to go where he wants when he wants.
Stay in bondage for all I care. Hopefully they all figure it out some day. What a waste of life.
Next month will be 6 years out for me!! It's been AWESOME!!!
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cheranne
more like return to oz or escape from the planet of the apes!!!
TWI is a Hemmoroid in the butt of humanity.
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Twinky
xxxxx went back to TWI?
Okay, see him here again in a few months.
Edited by ModRocker to remove GS member's name.
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coolchef
xxxxx went back????
Edited by ModRocker to remove GS member's name.
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waysider
Isn't this a bit like suddenly deciding, at 50 or 60 years old, that there really IS a Tooth Fairy?
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lindyhopper
No it's like being 50 - 60 and never stopped believing in the tooth fairy. Yes, at some point that dental loving fairy started punching you in the face, knocking your teeth out, and taking them from you... but at least she still left you a couple bucks for them. I hear the fairy has gone back to doing it the old fashioned way... sneaking into your house and stealing them from under your pillow without you noticing.
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skyrider
Even if today's twi is less confrontational........
* How does one ignore wierwille's legacy of lies and plagiarism?
* How does one embrace twi's plethora of pathetic policies as "spiritual leadership?"
* How does one uphold "the law of believing" as twi's cornerstone of sound doctrine?
* How does one get any "warm fuzzies" without realizing the self-serving elitism lording over them?
* How does one, openly and objectively, walk back into the confines of a cult?
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cheranne
* How does one, openly and objectively, walk back into the confines of a cult?
No spiritual backbone! If their was a TRUE fiber of spiritual NERVES that would keep the
backbone from freezing up and going back. Symbolically speaking ofcourse.
Fool me once shame on YOU Fool me twice shame on ME.
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penworks
How? Denial. I used to be the queen of denial (right, bad pun) so I know, although I did not return to twi after leaving. That thought never crossed my mind.
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potato
even if twi seems more kind, it's the cycle they use to recruit and hold onto members. it may seem like a watered down version of the lcm reign, but the high-level scheming is still there and the general population is either asleep or the same self-righteous jerks they've been for the past 30 years.
I've read that criminals will commit crimes after release from long incarcerations because they're so used to life on the inside that they can't adjust to the responsibilities of being free. it's more comfortable to go back to twi and sleepwalk through life than deal with real life.
I can say that I've felt so completely out of place outside of twi that I felt like seclusion was my only option. I didn't have self-confidence or the social skills to build a new life outside of twi for a long time. I can see how someone would want to go back because after years of conditioning that's the only place they feel comfortable. twi hasn't really changed, people go back because they just don't want to put time and work into changing themselves. the world seems to hard because there are too many choices. by comparison, twi seems easy, and so much nicer than it was when lcm was raping and pillaging.
I got past it by finding people like I spent time with before I got involved in twi and found out that the girl I was 22 years ago is the real me, not the fake christ in me that twi molded. seems kinda silly to have to go back to acting like a college girl, but it healed me.
also, seeing my younger child avoid the damage my older one sustained just because she's not being raised in a cult is the one thing that makes the discomfort worth it. maybe people thinking about going back should think about that. it might be more comfortable for YOU because it's what you're used to, but do you really want to suffocate your children and make them into little robots?
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Twinky
Before TWI would take anyone back, the person had to be humbled (read, totally humiliated), confessing to all sorts of crimes against God (read, TWI) - crimes both real and imagined. The person had to show how contrite he/she was. Physical flagellation wasn't quite the thing, but a sort of mental and spiritual flagellation was. This took the form, usually, of a grovelling letter to LCM and/or the Trustees.
This letter may be read out to Corps, staff, or anybody else deemed "need to know" (read, need to understand what would happen to them if they stepped out of line) and analyzed to see that it contained the correct amount of contrition and jargon.
Then, if allowed back, there was a period of probatiion. This was a suspicious watching of everything done - to see that the "weakness" that caused the original downfall was healed.
Okay...
Let's see...
Where is TWI's letter of self-abasement? Where they totally confess their crimes (just the real ones will do). Where they apologize again and again. Where every high-up, starting with Rosie, admitted publicly what they had done in the past to abuse God and the people of TWI (past and present). Not thinking about just the sexual misconduct - what about the bullying, control, stifling of individuality?
Next, let's see this letter subjected to public scrutiny, so that past and present TWI-fers can determine if they really are contrite.
Let's see how they propose to rectify their past sins.
Next, let's see how they progress during probation and whether they are responsive to further condemnation, sorry, help; and how they behave then.
The period of probation hasn't started yet, because there has been no confession of past wrongdoing.
Let them set the example. Then there might be something worth looking at and considering. Till then - RUUUUN!!!
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Bolshevik
What teeth has a website knocked out?
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Ham
even if they are *less* confrontational.. and what does that mean anyway? We'll just beat you with a bare fist instead of using brass knuckles?
How does that "entitle" them to love, respect, and financial support?
the real "kicker" is the kind of hoops one has to jump through before they would even take one's money..
maybe they just know it.. if one won't jump, one won't "abundantly" give..
no money? well.. youre a pimple on the debil's rear or something.. don't want to "waste" their time..
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WordWolf
I think people familiar with the characteristics of ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS would find the twi experience to be startlingly familiar.
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frank123lol
Are "they" any less confrontational?I have not done this,but here is a scenario:Oh how have you been?
I been on greasespot,exposing you for the real cult you are.Oh why would you say a hurtful thing like that?Cause its the truth.Well the devil spirits have been really at work in you.Oh,go F2c3 yourself,Out the door you go...
Twi is as rotten as bloodsucking as "they always have been,There is no saving "them"If you try you will fail,
Look at sowers,ya think they will listen?Cff?Oh the fellowship,it is abusive as ever...
If you have cancer you either cut it out or radiate(burn)it out.Rust?you cut it out or it comes back.
Twi has not been fixed,it is the same,only a bit more palapatable to some tastes.
Cheech and Chong "man this is good sh2t,yeah it really is sh2t,my dog ate my stash man,I had to collect it in little baggies"Twi..It is sh2t.
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polar bear
They may change the way they act. (it's just a show) But they can't change the way they think.
That's the way they have been programmed.
Just shoot me, for thinking about that place.
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GrouchoMarxJr
I agree...even as the woman who was beaten repeatedly kept crawling back to "her man" (to get more abuse)...some victims of twi go crawling back because they are so insecure that they need the validation of their abusers...pretty sick if you ask me. It's akin to people who enjoy being tied up and whipped...
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WordWolf
That's what I was thinking.
I think it's MORE dysfunctional. People who enjoy being tied up and whipped know they
have options on who ties them up and whips them. They can find someone else to
handle that if the current person isn't working out. And the thing they're always mentioning
when they speak on the subject is that it involves TRUST and consent. twi is NOT conducive
to cultivating TRUST.
=====================
One comedienne had trouble with a shower that went from HOT water to COLD water
without warning while the controls weren't touched. She kept trying to adjust the water
to stop that, and she said she eventually began to feel like she'd been through an
abusive relationship-
"I can control you, you're hurting me, I can control you, you're hurting me..."
==============
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WordWolf
http://www.recovery-man.com/abusive/abusive_signs.htm
You may be in an abusive relationship if he or she:
= Is jealous or possessive toward you.
(Jealousy is the primary symptom of abusive relationships; it is also a core component of Sexual Addictions and Love Addiction.)
= Tries to control you by being very bossy or demanding.
= Tries to isolate you by demanding you cut off social contacts and friendships.
= Is violent and / or loses his or her temper quickly.
= Pressures you sexually, demands sexual activities you are not comfortable with.
= Abuses drugs or alcohol.
= Claims you are responsible for his or her emotional state. (This is a core diagnostic criteria for Codependency.)
= Blames you when he or she mistreats you.
= Has a history of bad relationships.
= Your family and friends have warned you about the person or told you that they are concerned for your physical or emotional well being.
= You frequently worry about how he or she will react to things you say or do.
= Makes "jokes" that shame, humiliate, demean or embarrass you, weather privately or around family and friends.
= Your partner grew up witnessing an abusive parental relationship, and/or was abused as a child.
= Your partner "rages" when they feel hurt, shame, fear or loss of control.
= Both parties in abusive relationships may develop or progress in drug or alcohol dependence in a (dysfunctional) attempt to cope with the pain.
= You leave and then return to your partner repeatedly, against the advice of your friends, family and loved ones.
= You have trouble ending the relationship, even though you know inside it's the right thing to do.
Does the person you love...
• constantly keep track of your time?
• act jealous and possessive?
• accuse you of being unfaithful or flirting?
• discourage your relationships with friends and family?
• prevent or discourage you from working, interacting with friends or attending school?
• constantly criticize or belittle you?
• control all finances and force you to account for what you spend? (Reasonable cooperative budgeting excepted.)
• humiliate you in front of others? (Including "jokes" at your expense.)
• destroy or take your personal property or sentimental items?
• have affairs?
• threaten to hurt you, your children or pets? Threaten to use a weapon?
• push, hit, slap, punch, kick, or bite you or your children?
• force you to have sex against your will, or demand sexual acts you are uncomfortable with?
==================
http://www.stanford.edu/group/svab/relationships.shtml
What is Relationship Abuse?
Relationship Abuse is a pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control over a former or current intimate partner. An abusive relationship means more than being hit by the person who claims to love or care about you. Abuse can be emotional, psychological, financial, sexual or physical and can include threats, isolation, and intimidation. Abuse tends to escalate over time. When someone uses abuse and violence against a partner, it is always part of a larger pattern to try to control her/him.
It is not your fault
If you are being abused by your partner, you may feel confused, afraid, angry and/or trapped. All of these emotions are normal responses to abuse. You may also blame yourself for what is happening. But no matter what others might say, you are never responsible for your partner's abusive actions. Dating abuse is not caused by alcohol or drugs, stress, anger management, or provocation. It is always a choice to be abusive.
============
* Understanding relationship abuse can help you know if you or someone you know is a victim of relationship abuse - male or female. Relationship abuse is a pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control over a former or current intimate partner. An abusive relationship means more than being hit by the person who claims to love or care about you.
Many survivors find that emotional abuse is difficult to name or even talk about. They often wonder if it is serious because it isn't visible, like bruises or broken bones. Emotionally abused survivors state that one of the biggest problems they face is that others seldom take it seriously.
Signs of abuse can be difficult to recognize, especially from within a relationship. Friends, family members, and colleagues may often be the first to notice signs of being in a controlling and abusive relationship.
Abusive relationships rarely start with physical violence and incorporate numerous methods of one person exerting power and control over another. This diagram exhibits some of the common ways that abusers control their victims and why abuse can be so much more than physical or sexual violence.
"Why is my friend still in an unhealthy relationship? Why don't they leave?" The reality is that there are many barriers to finding safety from an abusive relationship. Leaving can sometimes be dangerous and there are many factors that an abusive partner can use to keep the victim from leaving the relationship. Understanding these issues can better assist someone to help a victim out of an abusive relationship.
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potato
this one particularly strikes home for me.
not that the hitting and name calling, the controlling of my every activity and thought wasn't enough, but to destroy the things that I owned that defined me as a person or tied me in any way to other people or places... it was a way to destroy who I was and make me into what they wanted.... both twi and my ex-husband.
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Twinky
QUOTE (WordWolf @ Nov 21 2008, 12:40 AM)
• destroy or take your personal property or sentimental items?
Cunningly, they got US to destroy our personal property! Told us to get rid of things that held us back - that harbored devil spirits - we should forget those things that are behind.
What they really wanted to destroy was our individuality.
But the part of the body of Christ that I am does not need me to be an "ear" or a "hand" or an "eye" - it needs me to be ME.
I seem to recall something from PFAL that said that God gave us holy spirit and it was unique to each one of us as individuals - you couldn't take the holy spirit from one person and try to fit it into another person because it wasn't so made. It just wouldn't work out. (No doubt someone can supply a reference.)
Seems to me that
(a) God recognizes us as individuals;
(b) TWI doesn't and tries to fit a one-size "holy spirit" into each one of us.
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penworks
Yes, that's true for me and I regret now that I no longer have some books, papers, old photos of me growing up, etc. For anyone who doesn't know how this worked here's my experience: A couple of verses used to motivate and justify this destruction [of course a verse was usually quoted to justify everything] were:
Colossians 3:9, 10 "Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of him that created him."
This was made to mean the knowledge of the Bible (as taught by twi of course) and the version of the Bible as we have with the canon in KJV today. TWI never pointed out that this canon, much less the KJV, wasn't even defined much less in existence when this verse was written...but who cares about tedious details like that? <_<
Another doozy: II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."
Since I was convinced by vpw to believe these verses came directly from gawd almighty, then as any good little fanatic would do, I tried to wipe out all evidence of my identity prior to taking PFAL. After all I was a "new creature in Christ" and who I was "in the flesh" didn't matter anymore.
Granted, there's no doubt there's value in changing bad habits, but it's a shame people fall for this sort of manipulation that breeds extreme behavior all across Christianity and other religious groups, too. Lots of creativity gets squelched, to say the least...and it can take years to recuperate from that destruction of identity.
Lucky for us we live in a country where we CAN have the chance to recuperate and where the gov't (so far) cannot force us to adopt any particualr religious beliefs. I've been to some countries where a religion is so ingrained in the culture, it's unthinkable to question it.
Let's KEEP our chance to have separate church and state issues (boy how did I get on this rant?) Speak up when and where you can.
peace,
penworks
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Sunesis
I agree, they did try and get us to squelch who we were. I got rid of somethings I still regret to this day. To squelch who you are is unhealthy can can lead to mental health problems and breakdowns as one gets older.
I just cannot for the life of me imagine why someone would want to go back there - no matter how nice they are. Here, have some Kool-aid - its a new flavor!
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WordWolf
If you view it more as someone returning to an abusive relationship,
does it seem to make a little more sense?
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Nottawayfer
What a great analagy WW. I keep up with a few friends who I knew on Staff. It's amazing to me how their lives are not their own while still being on Staff.
They can't take vacations whenever they want. They can't date or marry whomever they wish. They can't leave until the ministry year is over, and even when it is over they can't leave unless they fight for it at placement time.
One friend in particular told their overseer that they wanted to move to an area to be near their aging mother, which is a warm area of the county. The overseer said "Yeah? We all want to go there too." This overseer has been a major manipulator in TWI and has been at HQ for 20 years or more. Even the idiot overseer doesn't see he should be able to go where he wants when he wants.
Stay in bondage for all I care. Hopefully they all figure it out some day. What a waste of life.
Next month will be 6 years out for me!! It's been AWESOME!!!
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