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
|