Some may be interested in my latest post. This time it's a story, inspired by a sermon, and with an author's note afterward partly based on my Christadelphian experiences.
The biggest problems are who and what define the "refining" process. "Life" refines us plenty simply by being "Life." I didn't need the "refining" created by the trauma of being in a cult. Some here would pooh-pooh that idea, saying that the CDs are a relatively benign sect and their own experience was only mildly inconvenient in their life's journey. I'm sure for most of us that sentiment is true. Some of us, though, were put through the wringer, as some of the stories on this site indicate. The end effect is that you are less capable oftentimes of meeting the challenges that come later in life -- because your cult experience has damaged you.
Good stuff. What I found most objectionable was the pretense of human connection, compassion and interwovenness, which, once the sun shines clearly, is mostly a delusion. It's just like the outside world, where mostly you're an island unto yourself, no matter how hard you may try to connect with other people. And when times get hard, and your supposed support system is determined to be a mirage, then it all becomes the stuff of madness.
I know there are good people in the CDs. I know there are people who indeed try to help. In many regards, however, it's not enough, or it's too little, too late. I've seen too many people who ended up the collateral damage of the faith groups they believed would sustain them -- and then those groups didn't. When I was told I was receiving "The Right Hand of Fellowship," I believed it. And then, as the road diverged in different places, I became simply "The Other." "The Malcontent." "The Boat Rocker." "The Insatiably Needy."
I was none of those things, I just wanted the fellowship and compassion that had been advertised to me. They weren't forthcoming.
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By Jon Morgan
The biggest problems are who and what define the "refining" process. "Life" refines us plenty simply by being "Life." I didn't need the "refining" created by the trauma of being in a cult. Some here would pooh-pooh that idea, saying that the CDs are a relatively benign sect and their own experience was only mildly inconvenient in their life's journey. I'm sure for most of us that sentiment is true. Some of us, though, were put through the wringer, as some of the stories on this site indicate. The end effect is that you are less capable oftentimes of meeting the challenges that come later in life -- because your cult experience has damaged you.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. What I found most objectionable was the pretense of human connection, compassion and interwovenness, which, once the sun shines clearly, is mostly a delusion. It's just like the outside world, where mostly you're an island unto yourself, no matter how hard you may try to connect with other people. And when times get hard, and your supposed support system is determined to be a mirage, then it all becomes the stuff of madness.
I know there are good people in the CDs. I know there are people who indeed try to help. In many regards, however, it's not enough, or it's too little, too late. I've seen too many people who ended up the collateral damage of the faith groups they believed would sustain them -- and then those groups didn't. When I was told I was receiving "The Right Hand of Fellowship," I believed it. And then, as the road diverged in different places, I became simply "The Other." "The Malcontent." "The Boat Rocker." "The Insatiably Needy."
I was none of those things, I just wanted the fellowship and compassion that had been advertised to me. They weren't forthcoming.