Wait, It's A Cult?

[Sons to Glory!]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm very confused about this post. Members are free to leave the local churches, and with hardly any attempt at contacting them after they leave, according to my main impression. I entered the church several years ago and have never had any problems with them. The church is really good and the saints are really good. The things we say should be accurate so as to avoid spreading misinformation.

Now, you may ask why this is only my main impression and not my entire impression. Because get stuffed, that's why. I have never experienced any kind of insidious retention of individuals. Also, I can successfully annoy everyone in the church without getting so much as a tiny reaction from them. This shows that they are truly of Christ.

Regards,
A brother, 24

Another thing might be the locality you are in. At least when I was in the LC (70 & 80s) the localities differed in how things were handled. Some adhered closely with the central control, and others didn't. The LC in Columbus I was in during the 80s, was not so tightly constrained in the Anaheim orbit, at least not back then. So my family didn't experience much overt/control things from them upon leaving.

Our experience was more about what I would call "covert control." That is, a kind of fear that if we left we would be putting ourselves far outside the will and purpose of God . . . and that carried with it fearful consequences. These consequences included God's punishment and judgmental calamities, and probably exclusion (outer darkness) during the thousand year reign of Christ. I had a lot of unrealistic fear of this type of punishment for years after I left the LC. Then I realized one day how silly it was to think that God was going to try to kill me by kicking the jack stands out from under my car, of which I was working on underneath!

Then, after I came to a group of healthy believers, I began to get a sense for how much He loves us, and that His whole motivation and purpose is executed out from His love for us. Before, in the LC, I heard that God eternal has a purpose - and praise God for that teaching! - but I also heard that He was like a gigantic steamroller you couldn't resist, and if you got in His way He'd flatten you like a pancake. This instilled a lot of fear in me and others. BUT HALLELUJAH - PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT ALL FEAR!

So, like many on this forum, I am in recovery from some of The Recovery teachings like this, and these days seeing more and more of His amazing love for us. (truly seeing His love was for me, the key that opened the accurate meaning of His purpose in the Bible . . .)

Does that help dear "bro, 24"?