In Reply to: "... or allows them." posted by ray on August 05, 2003 at 12:52:17:
Ray, I guess it is hard for you when I come down so heavily about it not being God's will for people to join the family. Just remember it's only one opinion out of the many. I think we'll all agree that with people being from left to right on this, I'm pretty much far right. I just cannot believe that the Jesus Christ I know would ever have led anyone he loves into something so corrupt and destructive.
It's kind of like the Jehovah's Witnesses. The nicest, most sincere people join that group because they are genuinely searching for the truth and they admire the JWs' level of commitment, but what they end up finding is a pure lie.
But let's just accept that I'm far right on this and that most people are not going to be so adamant about it. I accept that I'm far more rigid than most about it.
As for whether or not there are Christians in the family, I actually wrote a book in 1993 about all the answers to prayer and miracles I experienced during my years in the family, as well as the many extremely unusual experiences I had. Many, many people have read it and I have a drawer full of letters from people saying how much it inspired them. And this was while I was in the family! I actually had one woman who was dying who stayed up night and day reading it. Her husband told me she couldn't eat or drink but she read it and constantly called him in so she could quote him paragraphs from it. And when she finished it, she died. So obviously God did things for us in the family and even used us, but I do not give the family and its nonsensical beliefs one iota of credit for that.
This is how I see it. Out back on my property I have this patch of land where we throw junk. It's swampy when it rains and we throw stuff out there until we make a trip to the dump. It's hidden away so no one really sees it. It's shady, so no sun shines there. It's slimy, wet, dark, yucky and unattractive. But every spring, the most beautiful flowers grow there. I never fail to be amazed at the beauty I see there among the junk and wonder how such messiness can give rise to anything so beautiful. It's not that the surroundings give life to the beauty, it's that the beauty exists in spite of the surroundings. And that's how I see us Christians who joined the family. We loved the Lord so much that we somehow managed to live as Christians, seeking God, witnessing, praying, believing, raising our children as loving parents, and wanting more than anything to glorify God. But it was because of who we were and who Jesus was, not because of anything good in the family.
The reason I said I have "seen through" the bread and stone thing is that I have carefully observed several people in the last 18 years who are genuinely searching and genuinely believe they are being led by God who end up in cults and false religions that really end up harming them by stripping them of things that I think are essential to anyone's well being. I don't understand why, but I know it happens. Precious, sincere, loving, altruistic people who genuinely want to make a difference in other people's lives and glorify God end up in the craziest cults and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. I just know it happens. The COG is just one of dozens.