[zeek]

Originally Posted by nwolfe85

I will compose a more thorough narrative at some point, but just wanted to say hello. I was born and raised in the LC (18 years), and left when I went off to college. Unlike many of the other posters on this forum, I am not Christian, and I suppose I never was after reading most of your own testimonials, despite having been "saved" and "baptized" in the LC as a young teen--there is a lot of social pressure to do this, as you are all well aware.

I never had a subjective physical experience in the LC, despite thousands of various kinds of "meetings," that I could definitively point to and say "I was in my spirit then," although I strongly believe my family members--who are all still card-carrying members of the LC--have these kinds of experiences regularly. As a child and teen, I very much tried to get "out of my mind," etc., but I never felt It, and I suppose that's why I never bought in, nor had a very challenging time leaving, relatively speaking.

(Having said that, I never really saw how terrible the LC really was--I had always humorously called them a "cult" when describing my childhood to friends, but now I use that term in a much more serious, frightening way. The LC is no joke, especially when I think about the effects I already see in my nieces and nephews who are still in it.)

I do understand that if you *are* "bought in," leaving the LC is extremely traumatic. The reason I signed up to be a member of this forum is to hopefully be able to speak to young people raised in the LC like myself, who are feeling ambivalent about staying in/leaving, and are at the age when they are striking out on their own for the first time.

I also wanted to provide another reasonable, rational POV that is non-Christian. I respect all beliefs and hope I can contribute something positive out of my own experience.

Thanks for reading!

-nwolfe85

Welcome to LCD nwolfe85. You were programmed to be a Christian and you nihilated your programming. How heroic. You have quite a story to tell, and I'd like to read it. Don't wait. Share it while it's fresh and uneffaced by time. That way it will be as valuable to you as it is to the rest of us.