Just my opinion--Agree or dissagree.

from movedon - Thursday, January 27, 2005
accessed 1245 times

Reading all those abuses in one sitting kept bring all these verses and thoughts to mind, i know many have used and written about them before. I personally haven't read the Bible hardly at all when I decided to throw the "word" out the window but for any of you who still believe in Jesus, the real Jesus from the Bible--not the family's portrayal of what Jesus says "the new fucking wine", it can be a good reminder to read the following...I so much more prefer the Bible to any fucking doctrine, and as weak as my faith may be sometimes, I still have to thank God for keeping me sane all those times I cried out alone in the dark for help whilst still in the Family. He was the one who comforted me, not my shepherds or parents, and He promised me it wouldn't last...and I am proud to say that my life is so much better now with out all those guilt trips, doctrine and abuse. For those of you who haven’t found some sort of peace of mind yet, my heart goes out to you

I'm sure you are all familiar with these but for me they took on a whole new meaning than the way we were forced to perceive them:

From Matthew 18:

7. Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that the offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (This speaks for itself, and it is obvious Jesus does not approve of these abuses/offences if you verse 6 about "offending one of His little ones which believe in me")

10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

14. Even so it is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish. (So much for all the times we were told so-and-so died because they were out-of-it, backsliders and wicked dangerous ex-members and that they received God's judgments and by ending up committing suicide or were afflicted with disease--BS!! I find that hard to believe reading this verse, peace be with you Ricky all of our other brothers and sisters who have lost their lives or decided there was no other way to deal with their pain.)

15. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (Which was impossible at the time because of all the shit they gave us and fear “of the Lord” [–not], that we had. It was more like fear of the shepherds lack of understanding and wrath we were afraid of, so really for the most part this verse was really not an option for us esp. for those of us who got abused by our shepherds.)

16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (A pretty hopeless clause for most of us to have applied back then as they only heard what they wanted to hear no matter how many ppl said it.)

17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (So really, wanting justice for all the “trespasses against us” is perfectly Biblical. These are trespasses according to the Bible--yes the good old wine, not MO’s new wine doctrines that say it’s ok to abuse innocent kids in Gods name. And as far as I’m concerned, these perverts and abusers are heathen men and publicans in my books, not oh I “fuck Jesus everyday so therefore he has overlooked what I’ve done in the past” holy Family members.)

21-35 (is the story of the unmerciful servant and ends with Jesus saying) So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Now this is where my doubts come in, but I have a few thoughts on this. First, forgiveness comes after someone has repented, made amends, and said “SORRY I FUCKED UP”, which sadly hasn’t been the case with so many of these abuse cases, therefore I totally understand and justify why someone who got abused would not want to forgive these abusive people when after all they believe that what they have done to us isn’t at all wrong and try minimize the affect it has had on us. Secondly, I personally have had horrible things happen to me since I was 5, too young to even remember who it was that did it, so I constantly battle with my conscience on this, “How can I forgive someone I don’t know?” That question I have yet to answer although I put most of the blame on the Family and the leadership and haven’t forgiven them yet, simply because they aren’t really sorry for what they have done. Lastly I think if there is anyone to forgive, I’d forgive my parents and give them the benefit of the doubt, only because they have said they are really sorry to me for allowing these things to happen to me in the first place and they have personally acknowledged that they were wrong, negligent and selfish parents who were only out for their best interests, so with as much pain as I suffer and for all the memories that don’t go away just because they said sorry, I rest at peace knowing that I have forgiven them to some extent.

By the way, this gradual forgiveness has happened over a long period of time and a long healing process and in no way do I think it is reasonable to ask anyone to “just forgive and forget the past”. So for all of you who are insensitively saying to just ‘get on with your life’ ‘hurry up and forgive the family, look how good they are now’ don’t’ forget there is something also know as human nature and feelings, which we all know that in the Family they give little regard to, therefore, if someone wants to and is trying to get over their past, the best thing you can give them is sympathy, understanding, and most importantly give the abused time—whether that be time to heal, time to forgive, or a time to be angry about it! So please, no more “forget about it, lay off the family’s back, move on with your life” insensitive comments. It breaks my heart to hear how people who supposedly follow the Bible can be so insensitive and judgmental and then turn around and completely forgive, excuse, and turn a blind eye to something they half the time have no idea about!—I think if you’re reading this you know who you are!)

Matthew 23 (the whole chapter pretty much applies) :

24. Ye blind guides who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. (This speaks for itself.)

Matthew 24:

4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (i.e. Prophecy, Jesus Speaking:)

10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. (Never in all my years in TF did I question, but as read this verse it dawned on me, “Hmmmm, Mo and Maria the Prophet and Prophetess and Co.”)

12. Because iniquity shall about the love of many shall wax cold. (No there wasn’t only iniquity in the big bad “system”, there was iniquity tolerated and encouraged in the Family.)

23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (I bet it never dawned on them that they are fulfilling the scriptures with their “signs and wonders” and ever so “false prophets”.—Oh, and maybe King James couldn’t think of the term “power of the keys” to add to it.)

Oh for those people who claim that Jesus is all of a sudden ok with adultery, here’s what he had to say for that:

Mark 10:11,12 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another she committeth adultery. (I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally was sick of the breakups and broken families I saw due to the Family’s “lift” on the adultery law. I came from a screwed up insecure family as a result of their “Law of Love” doctrine. If it didn’t hurt the parents, it sure as hell hurt me as a kid, and to this day I have phobias about marriage because of what I have seen and felt growing up. I can’t count the nights I cried my eyes out in confusion and hurt for being misunderstood and given the “One Wife” spiel one toooo many times. I even have 5 different fathers of my (oops, I have to say half) brothers and sisters to show for it. Family doctrine just doesn’t beat natural instinct and Godly jealousy. But that is a whole other topic and I won’t get into that now.) That’s all I have the time to write for now. Thank you for giving us a chance to speak our peace from our hearts. If you don’t agree with me that’s perfectly fine, but don’t take it out on us. WE ALL HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND A RIGHT TO OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND OPPINIONS.—WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! (Did I just hear a few “pops”)