Chin up :)

[HERn]

Originally Posted by stella

Hello, my friends.

I discovered this forum a couple of months ago, and as I made my way through many of the threads, I began to feel a great weight lift off of my shoulders. I wasn’t so alone anymore....

Wow Stella! That was awesome! You are an excellent writer; did my heart good to read your post.

Here's a verse that has been meaningful to me lately.

"But that's alright. God is ultimately in charge and I can trust him to put all things right. Meanwhilie, I will stay near to God, make him my refuge, and go on telling of his deeds."

Psalm 73:28

Just wondering....are there any other groups/churches (that are not cults like the JWs and Mormons) who have a forum such as this to discuss the oddities and unrighteousness of a church body? If so, I have not seen one.

I am sure that there are some posts somewhere in which current members of a church discuss these things but I am wondering if it is same kind of forum where the members of a group have to come "in the cover of night", so to speak, to talk about things happening in their group--lest they be excommunicated.

My thinking is that the only reason that this forum is necessary is the practice of excommunication so diligently applied to all those who dare to disagree in the LC. And we see the result! The worst possible kind of publicity is now theirs!

In the church I grew up in, people were allowed to disagree agreeably. Anything not specifically spelled out by the Lord as a command could be discussed. Everyone's thoughts were welcome. When we had Bible studies, each person felt free to share what they themselves honestly thought--not just information provided by one adored author. Multiple sources were used and no one was pushed to "get in line" with what some leader said.

This is very sad, indeed

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just wondering....are there any other groups/churches (that are not cults like the JWs and Mormons) who have a forum such as this to discuss the oddities and unrighteousness of a church body? If so, I have not seen one.

I am sure that there are some posts somewhere in which current members of a church discuss these things but I am wondering if it is same kind of forum where the members of a group have to come "in the cover of night", so to speak, to talk about things happening in their group--lest they be excommunicated.

My thinking is that the only reason that this forum is necessary is the practice of excommunication so diligently applied to all those who dare to disagree in the LC. And we see the result! The worst possible kind of publicity is now theirs!

I do know that ex-members of the Exclusive Brethren have websites and forums just like these. The parallels are uncanny. I have also read their history and at times could literally substitute current members of the Recovery into their accounts.

The Exclusives also had extensive excommunications over the most ridiculous of offenses, which led me to conclude that every quarantine or excommunication was not as it seemed. The published account never matched the real facts of the story. They were never about the truth, rather each was a struggle for power. Remember -- power corrupts. The lust for power is the key to understanding the sad and divisive history of both the Brethren and the Recovery.

And, btw, both systems were noted for their litigious ways silencing all critics.