In Reply to: kathy.. posted by ray on August 07, 2003 at 20:16:23:
Ray, I do truly understand what you're saying, and I don't entirely agree with Kathy's view--I think in a sense it's a little strong--and I agree with you that God is a wonderful Father....
But if you spend any amount of time over at MovingOn reading the horrors they suffered as the second generation, it is a shocking wakeup call. Yes, I enjoyed the scripture memorization and the soul-winning of the early days and the world travel and fellowship, but it's very difficult for me, knowing the horror that was under the surface back then and soon to be unleashed upon the group.
Please Ray, believe me, I don't say this in any way to upset or offend you. If I'm coming across too strident, please forgive me. I hope you will have the Christian grace to see my heart and that I'm only trying to express something deep, but as a Christian and a first generation ex-member in contact with second generation adults, I feel their pain, anger and how the Family experience has turned them off to God. I freely admit it colors my perception of the Family and prevents me from enjoying the "Christian" side of the Family experience.
Yes, I can freely talk about the early days BEFORE the SGAs were very old, when we witnessed hours every day on the street, but when the "Story of Davidito" came out darkness and sin came upon Eden, nothing was the same. Have you read the article on MovingOn where a young girl cries out to our generation, "How could you have thought the world was more important than your own children? Why were their souls more important than ours?" Or have you read JerseyGirl's heartbreaking statement -- and it literally brings tears to my eyes now--how she was out all day litnessing with her mom and the other kids, feeling hungry, and they say happy "system" kids going along, and Jerseygirl said that she was so tired she just wanted to go home, let alone bother to eat. Or the kids who suffered hell in Victor Camps? All the Family's witnessing stats ring a little hollow when placed against the big picture.
I cannot help but believe that Jesus feels these SGAs' pain in a very real, constant way, and their cries and their pain is the kind of thing that he was feeling the day He wound a whip together in the Temple courtyard. Jeremiah wept for his people, and Paul said to "weep with those that weep." Paul asked, "Who is offended and I burn not?"
I have great love for Family members, FGA and SGA, but maybe now you understand why it is very difficult for me to think of the Family as a "Christian" environment. Ray, I hope I haven't offended you. I trust that I haven't. Maybe now you understand why I'm a little obsessive on this topic.