In Reply to: Re: something else and I am a Christian now, but wasn't in the family) posted by juni on September 10, 2003 at 03:56:30:
Juni,
I'm sorry you think I was being condescending or judgmental. That was not my intention. Your own postings, however, validate what I wrote about how so many ex-fam members were completely turned off to Christianity because of how it was twisted into the monstrosity that the Fam has become.
Is it not a factual and honest observation that many ex-fam members no longer identify themselves as Christians? You accuse me of being condescending, but I don't believe that's a fair statement. You accuse me of being judgmental, but look who's talking. You are judjing me and unfairly accusing me of being condescending.
I think you have become hyper-sensitive due to your bad experiences in the fam. It has affected your outlook on all of Christianity. The fam beat us all over the head with the Bible. They misused God's word to abuse and control us. Many of us (including me) left the fam with a bad taste in our mouths for anything Christian. I know it's a cliche, but it really fits what many of us did: Throw the baby out with the bath water.
You wrote that you love the Bible, yet you say you have rejected it as something to live by. You posess a lot of head knowledge about the Bible and faith, but it has no place in your heart. As long as it's just an academic exercise, you'll never experience the miraculousness of it.
I'm not judging you, not in the Biblical sense of judging, which is something only God has the right to do. I am simply making an analysis, based upon your own words. You need to admit that your perception is colored by your experience in the fam. It was a toxic environment, and for many ex-fam members it has hindered their spritual journey.
I went through a long period of rejection of all things spiritual too, and it took a near-fatal encounter with an 11 1/2 alligator to cause me to reach out to Christ. I hope you will ask Jesus to touch your heart again and that you can at last know his love for you is real.
Alan