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Originally Posted by recoveringCK
I did grow up in the church.
After a specific incident, I decided to disconnect from the church. But my parents and family were true believers, and I did not want to disconnect from them. At first, I continued to go to meetings, just less frequently. Going to college in another city helped. Sometimes I talk to them about spiritual related things or to other church friends. At family get togethers, I listen more than talk. Sub-optimal or not, that is how I handle it.
It was not until after studying mind control manipulation methods used to manipulate people that I began to realize that was what the BBs were doing in the LCs. Then I found this LCD blog, confirming my worst fears. :-)
I have discussed specific complaints with my parents and select others. When talking to a church person, if I want to talk about disagreements, I use specific verses or passages from the LSM publications pointing out specific discrepancies between words and deeds.
My greatest criticism of the group is that the LSM BBs and elders violates what they themselves state they should do or not do in administering the church. Then they quarantine anyone who points that out publicly. They say it is about the lord's recovery. It's all about the hierarchy which they established and maintain for themselves using deception. "Hypocrites!" Quoting what Jesus said to the sadducees and pharisees. They damage many people.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DistantStar
The good: they were there even during a time when I felt incredibly lonely. I didn't know anyone on campus and I went through some stuff. Just meeting with them on campus and at their houses helped a lot psychologically. I think I would have had a much worse time without them.
They were also accepting of other Bible versions (despite obviously preferring the Recovery version) and what I really respect them for is that not a single time did they ask for money. That showed that they are at least honest in their intentions.
The bad: At the time a friend of mine became an atheist. Being a young earth creationist at the time I did not have any good arguments to make to convince him to stay a Christian. The LC dismissed this. They don't seem to care for any rational discussion of anything really. My one LC friend said in a similar discussion he would just repeat "Jesus loves you" or something similar. That really put me off. How many non-believers go away thinking the Church has nothing to offer?
Also, their references to man becoming God became very scary and seemed more and more heretical. I began to seriously consider whether this group is a cult. Their disdain for other denominations as I mentioned made my suspicion even worse.
Tying in with what I said earlier about my loneliness, in second year things were better. I made good friends on campus and I stayed with my best friend nearby. At the same time the two LC members I were close with moved to other campuses, which basically removed any personal links I had. So leaving them became easy. The last time I went to a meeting I brought a friend with me. During that meeting I saw the whole thing through my friend's eyes: I realised how utterly weird this whole thing is: the people, the music, the "Oh Lord Jesus". My eyes were opened and I never went back.
Also, a minor thing, at one point where everyone shared something they learned, one guy told a Biblical story that was completely wrong scripturally and no one bothered to correct him.
tl;dr The good: they are nice people. The bad: they are exclusionary and don't care for reasoning.
As a last note I'll say this: you mentioned that it's difficult to leave because of your parents. And that's just it, isn't it? It's all so personal. It's all so a part of you. Not grounded on truth, but on relationships. That's not always a good thing.
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The corporate living has both good and bad aspects to it I'll agree. While I don't live in corporate living, I am there enough to get a sense of what it's like. It can be helpful to those looking to be separated from the typical 'college scene' that can do more harm than good. And it does allow you to get closer to people you live with...to an extent.
I've noticed that if you don't act in a certain 'way' a lot of times (at least in the sisters house at my university), everyone seems to ignore your presence. For example, there is a girl in corporate living who's been showing clear signs of depression, and instead of extending her a helping hand and compassion, I've noticed a lot of the other sisters tend to freeze up when I ask about her. They rarely include her in things or mention her at all. You would think she doesn't exist!
It's troubling, because I know from my own conversation with her that she's also struggling with her relationship with the Lord and the LC. In practice, it seems that the compassion they extend to new and struggling believers only goes so far. It's kind of scary, because the only real difference between her and I is just that I'm better at faking it.
I've also been struggling with completely dropping contact with the LC because I do care about that sister, and I don't want to leave her completely alone. Additionally I've gotten close to another sister who's struggling with the LC. She's the first person I've openly talked to about my hesitations towards the LC.
It's quite a dilemma, but it does help that I'm not completely isolated with my apprehension anymore.
