A friend's involvment with a church

[Sammy_W]

Hello all,

A friend of mine with a deeply troubled background went along to a fired-up evangelical church. There they comforted it and supported her, and welcomed her into their fellowship.

But when she joined the church, she realized there were many things she could not accept. She wavered, and felt she had made a mistake. She had always considered herself something of a humanist and a liberal, and couldn't align her beliefs to the church. So she tried to leave.

They changed their tactics. warning her that she would know God's wrath if she walked away. Others had done so and their lives had just crumbled, they admonished! To finish off, they quoted a Bible verse to her, saying that she would 'not live very long in the land' if she turned back. I think it was somewhere from the Old Testament. She interpreted that as meaning she would die.

To my mind, she had become involved with a freaky, fanatical cult. And I think what they did to her was deeply wrong. As far as I know, she is still with them - though she struggles trying to bring her worldview into alignment with theirs.

I wonder what people think?

[always]

Any church that would compel an individual to stay with their flock through the means of fear tactics is wicked and wrong, if this is your friend convinced them with love and the Word of God to leave

[teddyv]

Based on this, which is one side of the story of course, what they did was wrong. It sounds a lot like a cultish church group I was associated with years ago in my university days.

There are many other churches out there that would be willing to disciple her and grow her faith.

[Sammy_W]

The last I heard, she was wavering - almost despairing. They seem to be trying to dismantle her entire personality and rebuild it in their own image. She has been told she must let go of rebellion in all its forms...

[teddyv]

The last I heard, she was wavering - almost despairing. They seem to be trying to dismantle her entire personality and rebuild it in their own image. She has been told she must let go of rebellion in all its forms...

That really sounds like the cult group I was in. Can you share the name of the church?

[Sammy_W]

I won't share the actual name, if you don't mind - but they're affiliated to something called the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary.

[teddyv]

Never heard of them before. Their methods sound a lot like the old Boston Movement, a splinter from the Church of Christ. They emotionally and spiritually manipulate and abuse you if you started questioning anything. Claimed to be the only true church, and leaving consigned you to hell. I almost certain I had members following me around, observing what I was doing.

[Sammy_W]

One of the things that concerned me is that they changed their tactics very quickly - reeled her in with sweet promises, then began to threaten her. She is in deep with them.

[teddyv]

I was hooked in with pretty basic interest. While at university a fellow student asked if I was interested in joining a Christian Bible study group on campus. This was a large public university and I was interested in meeting other Christian people there, so why not? Anyway, that first "Bible study" was this guy pounding on me, with another sitting quietly beside him (I assume that's too have a witness). Three weeks later, I left this group. It was a pretty traumatic experience at the time. Thankful for family, friends and my pastor at the time for helping me see through the fog I was in.

[Sammy_W]

I was hooked in with pretty basic interest. While at university a fellow student asked if I was interested in joining a Christian Bible study group on campus. This was a large public university and I was interested in meeting other Christian people there, so why not? Anyway, that first "Bible study" was this guy pounding on me, with another sitting quietly beside him (I assume that's too have a witness). Three weeks later, I left this group. It was a pretty traumatic experience at the time. Thankful for family, friends and my pastor at the time for helping me see through the fog I was in.

It was great that you had an understanding pastor who helped you through this. I only wish I could believe that my friend has someone to stop her getting too hooked.

[always]

The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary. is a branch of the Luthern church, with a bereavement over the Third Reich's treatment of the Jews, I would be very leary of any splinter group coming from them, one of the first things that cults do is demand conformity.