People with experience with Cults please read

Stirner said:
Can you tell me anything about being 'turned around from your paganism'?
Click to expand...
Well I stopped going to church 20 years ago and really got into lots of different things. All pertain to spirituality and phsycology. After a very long hard journey I finally found myself on my knees before God. What brought me there is a very long story. But when I was turned back to the light of this world, Jesus...He is the one that gave me the answers. Everything else I had gotten into left me always searching and feeling somewhat confused and tormented by living what I would now say were false teachings and doctrines. The occult for me was dabbling with astrology, numerology, tarot cards, and going to phsycicis. All which I now know what God's word tells us is following doctrine of demons. Many skeptics think there is no power in this at all. I'm here to tell you there is demonic power behind the New Age Movement and God is what I would say now not amused.
If we let ourselves go astray from the truth we have two choices.
1.We will either be turned over to the evil one and spend eternity away from God. (ie...eternity in hell)
2.Or we can choose to believe and accept God's word is true repent and find the forgiveness and restoration that only Jesus can give us. This is why I am so voicetross about my faith, I have lived through something that I would tell you was a very supernatural experience, and now I am compelled to tell others about Christ.
"If it wasn't for Jesus I would already be dead!"

There is life after death and people need to realize this!
 
Last edited:
kurious_kathy said:
Many skeptics think there is no power in this at all. I'm here to tell you there is demonic power behind the New Age Movement and God is what I would say now not amused.
Click to expand...

What power do you speak of? Proof please, and not any of that scriptural clap-trap.
 
kurious_kathy said:
Well I stopped going to church 20 years ago and really got into lots of different things. All pertain to spirituality and phsycology. After a very long hard journey I finally found myself on my knees before God. What brought me there is a very long story. But when I was turned back to the light of this world, Jesus...He is the one that gave me the answers. Everything else I had gotten into left me always searching and feeling somewhat confused and tormented by living what I would now say were false teachings and doctrines. The occult for me was dabbling with astrology, numerology, tarot cards, and going to phsycicis. All which I now know what God's word tells us is following doctrine of demons. Many skeptics think there is no power in this at all. I'm here to tell you there is demonic power behind the New Age Movement and God is what I would say now not amused.
If we let ourselves go astray from the truth we have two choices.
1.We will either be turned over to the evil one and spend eternity away from God. (ie...eternity in hell)
2.Or we can choose to believe and accept God's word is true repent and find the forgiveness and restoration that only Jesus can give us. This is why I am so voicetross about my faith, I have lived through something that I would tell you was a very supernatural experience, and now I am compelled to tell others about Christ.
"If it wasn't for Jesus I would already be dead!"

There is life after death and people need to realize this!
Click to expand...

To quote Cheech and Chong:
"I used to be all messed up on drugs, now I am messed up on Jesus."

Kathy, there are many forms of christianity that are cults in nature and practice. Many small groups exhibit the classic warning signs of cult like behavior.

There is no demonic power, the power is the same, call it god, call it goddess, call it anima mundi, the source is all the same. A god that created billions and billions of stars and billions and billions of planets and 10 to the 70 particles, is truely an imaginitive god that is tolerant and greatly beloved of diversity. There are tens of thousands of different kinds of creatures on the earth.

Why would the source of all that diversity be so close minded as to say that there is only one god?
 
elaine said:
I tell them. Works, except once they sent a couple of elders back to talk with me. Elders are the only JW's allowed to speak to me.
Click to expand...

And I'll bet that a night with a couple of JW Elders has GOT to be a night to look forward to. I've spoken to people who believe the JWs are a cult. :)
 
kurious_kathy said:
After a very long hard journey I finally found myself on my knees before God.
Click to expand...

Which has GOT to be better than finding yourself on your knees in front of a priest. ;)

kurious_kathy said:
I'm here to tell you there is demonic power behind the New Age Movement and God is what I would say now not amused . . .

There is life after death and people need to realize this!
Click to expand...

I believe there is demonic power and I believe it comes from men who cajole others into believing hilarious fairy tales. Demonic power is only the manifestation of the evil men do without taking credit, war can be rationalized, killing in the name of God can be rationalized, but only those crimes too heinous to attribute to either are blamed on demonic powers.
 
"A cult is a religion with no political power."-Tom Wolfe

Too bad Stirner is suspended. Hard to tell if he is sincere. Something about lurking for five years and then showing up expecting answers begs disbelief. He is asking for people to perform for him for no particular reason. "Zoolike".

I was born into a small xenophobic religious sect. Our family was not poor but not well off either. I remember riding in the back of a beat up brownish Rambler station wagon. Sundays were always entirely around church - being there or getting there or visiting someone from there. It seemed my dad traveled everywhere to preach, all at our own expense of course: it was simply expected of believers. I can name several people in similar situations whose families were wrecked by demands of time and money. I felt sad when friends 'left the church'. More always seemed to leave than come. This makes you work harder, so I had less time to think about it.

My entire life was surrounded by a kind of comfortable shell where everything was filtered through a particular view. Any town you traveled to that had members in you would be welcomed into homes. No questions asked except that you were expected to know the 'language', which was easy because of course you already did without even thinking.

Nobody ever had to teach me that 'outsiders' were bad. My only contact with "outside belief" was finding the occasional Chick Tract on all the car windshields after services. The doctrinal walls built by groups like Maranatha Inc & CRI to keep the flock "in" are as effective at keeping those who are outside "out". TV evangelists and faith healers are like a cell wall that keep otherwise curious people away from the 'inside' Christians.

Atheists do this 'wall thing' too. I dunno, maybe it is some great truth that we isolate ourselves into tribal groups and place the fierce warriors on the outside ring of camp. Or maybe that's just all crap.

So anyway, the topic question is something like how did you escape the world?

My exit might have started with my dead grandfather.
 
LordoftheLeftHand said:
Oh so you mean like regular church members?

Actually my only experience with a cult (outside of regular church) is meeting the surviving members of the Branch Davidians. They were nice people but a little weird. They refused to consider the possibility that they might be wrong about their beliefs. Sound familiar?

LLH
Click to expand...

Yes, sounds familiar. Catholics, Muslims, Baptists, Mormons, pretty much agree that I am going to hell, for example.

What is the primary difference between a cult and any "religion" other than size and general recognition by society?
 
Elind said:
Yes, sounds familiar. Catholics, Muslims, Baptists, Mormons, pretty much agree that I am going to hell, for example.

What is the primary difference between a cult and any "religion" other than size and general recognition by society?
Click to expand...

My religion, your cult.

The standard defintion involves the usual aspects of violence, isolation of the victim, brainwashing and shunning.
 
kurious_kathy said:
Well I stopped going to church 20 years ago and really got into lots of different things. All pertain to spirituality and phsycology. After a very long hard journey I finally found myself on my knees before God. What brought me there is a very long story. But when I was turned back to the light of this world, Jesus...He is the one that gave me the answers. Everything else I had gotten into left me always searching and feeling somewhat confused and tormented by living what I would now say were false teachings and doctrines. The occult for me was dabbling with astrology, numerology, tarot cards, and going to phsycicis. All which I now know what God's word tells us is following doctrine of demons. Many skeptics think there is no power in this at all. I'm here to tell you there is demonic power behind the New Age Movement and God is what I would say now not amused.
If we let ourselves go astray from the truth we have two choices.
1.We will either be turned over to the evil one and spend eternity away from God. (ie...eternity in hell)
2.Or we can choose to believe and accept God's word is true repent and find the forgiveness and restoration that only Jesus can give us. This is why I am so voicetross about my faith, I have lived through something that I would tell you was a very supernatural experience, and now I am compelled to tell others about Christ.
"If it wasn't for Jesus I would already be dead!"

There is life after death and people need to realize this!
Click to expand...

I'm glad your journey has brought you back into the fold. God is patient.

2 Peter 3: 1-18
Not Willing That Any Should Perish

http://picturesofjesus4you.com/gallery1.html
http://www.shelovesgod.com/baw/images/shepherd2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dancing David said:
My religion, your cult.

The standard defintion involves the usual aspects of violence, isolation of the victim, brainwashing and shunning.
Click to expand...

The only words here that I would say are not present as policy in mainstream religion is violence, unless of course you happen to be a Muslim in the Middle East where shunning and isolation are replaced by violence.:(
 
Mephisto said:
And I'll bet that a night with a couple of JW Elders has GOT to be a night to look forward to. I've spoken to people who believe the JWs are a cult. :)
Click to expand...

This is what I said when they came. Keep in mind I spent the first 18 years of my life with these people. Time I'll never get back. Really not interested in wasting anymore time with them. Not like they're interested in an honest exchange of ideas.

"Are you f***ing kidding me? What part of go away do you people not understand? I know where to find you if I ever lose my mind and want to go back" And I slammed the door. Haven't seen them since.
 
Elind said:
God is patient? Do you have no understanding of how utterly inane that comment is; while you simultaneously pretend that a god is fiddling around with human affairs?
Click to expand...


I think he meant "God is A patient".
 
Elind said:
The only words here that I would say are not present as policy in mainstream religion is violence, unless of course you happen to be a Muslim in the Middle East where shunning and isolation are replaced by violence.:(
Click to expand...


There is plenty of violence to go around, violence includes words that demean and hurt, marital rape and child abuse. There is plenty of that in non-Islam.

Are you singling out Islam or just in denial?
 
Dancing David said:
There is plenty of violence to go around, violence includes words that demean and hurt, marital rape and child abuse. There is plenty of that in non-Islam.

Are you singling out Islam or just in denial?
Click to expand...

Well, yes. I am singling out Islam in that particular example. Can you think of any other religious based violence that is as prominent today?
 
Elind said:
Well, yes. I am singling out Islam in that particular example. Can you think of any other religious based violence that is as prominent today?
Click to expand...


There are a few notables : like Fred Phelps, then there is domestic violence that churches turn a blind eye towards and the treatment of wwomen which is sanctioned by Xians and Hindu's.

Xianity is what I am most exposed too, it tolerates a lot of violence in it's members.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom