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?
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?
Comment