In Reply to: Why so many SG exers are not Christians posted by anovagrrl on March 11, 2004 at 06:18:46:
I think you summed it up, AG, and I'm not sure what to really add. The toxic faith, wrathful "God" made in Berg's image, the "Jesus" that supposedly looked on approving while kids were abused, the "Holy Spirit" that convicted and condemned them for being selfish for wanting to be with their parents -- I think all these are something most SGs feel a lot better off without.
And another thought: choosing to have faith is a very personal thing. FORCING rubber-stamped faith on people -- including your own kids -- is not the mark of free choice and individuality, but the mark of a cult. Remember the ML "Your 2-Year Old Can Recieve Jesus?" Mother Eve was saying that 'we're going to have a birthday cake and ice-cream and then afterward we'll pray with all the little children to receive Jesus in their hearts.' Someone objected saying that you can't do it like a blanket think, kids have to choose for themselves, but Berg blasted back that you CAN simply have them pray and they become saved. They didn't have to understand a THING about what they were supposedly doing.
That was the cult's big mistake. They prayed with all the kids when they were barely old enough to talk then spent the next 20 years shoving toxic, angry, legalistic religion down their throats hoping it would "take." When it refused to stick, they trucked the poor kids off to Victor Camps and gave them forced ML readings, public shamings and hard labor, and repeated exorcisms of so-called 'demons' to make them good little Christians.
And now Zerby has the friggin' audacity to wonder SGs reject that kind of anti-Christ Christianity when they leave the cult!??
Helllooo?