religious groups, organizations, cults

      During this last season of darkness the desire for family, a people, came up for revisiting. I looked into the Twelve Tribes Commonwealth of Isreal group.  I had bumped into them one evening when someone I was traveling with took me there to stay the night. My daughter had thrown up in the car and the women took us right in, washing the carseat and seeing to all our needs, including laundry. We left the next morning but that kindness had stuck with me. I want my children to be exposed to good examples of humans interacting rather than only the wordly ones in all the people around us. It is pretty much just us three against the world here. In researching them I came across a post by a former member who quoted their leader and seemed pretty enlightened. I figured if a group contained those with such a level of spirituality and lived as one big family, it might be just what we need or at least what I wanted. Upon further investigaation and with a return to clarity, I know they are not what I want or we need. I like the idea of having a household of my own.
      Most of the complaints about more devout groups referred to as cults are simply their seperateness from the world. Anti-cult movements are pretty much a high control group/cult themselves in that their religion is devout worldliness and any deviation is considered evil. Their charismatic leader would be Rick Ross. Those they seduce from other cults parrot their interpretation of the new recruit's former religion like brainwashed zombies. I see it and have been there myself. Jumped into it when I left the Jehovah's Witnesses.
      I see how much of the doctrines held by high control groups is sound religious pratice gone to extreme or corrupted by evil motives. I also see how such tendencies could be created not just by a leader who flipped a lid when his annointing ran out, but by recruits themselves who yearn for rules and regulations, a law to live by, like children craving discipline and guidence in a world devoid of it. They don't trust themselves, have been conditioned not to by society. Their neediness feeds a darkness in a prophet and together they bring the destructive cult to life.
     Mainstream religions are worldliness's wink at a pretense of righteousness and spiritual interests. But all contain a grain of truth to lure you  in and satisfy your need to find what is right enough to make the rest not matter much as long as you don't have to leave the world behind. They have the world's full approval with legal recognition. Their ministers all carry cards with the world's stamp of approval on them.
      The only church in our small village is not attended by anyone who lives here. It's patrons travel from other towns to attend it. The preacher stands at the pulpit preaching the trinity while condemning it and states openly how he would never visit with or share a meal with those in his congregation. They all hollar out "Amen" at his statements and he is worshipped, getting constant adoration. he degrades their attempts to serve him affectionately. They are Apostolic pentacostals, widely accepted and respected. lol crazier than any high control group I have been in or looked into. They read words from the bible that they have been taught to see rather than what is written in black and white. It is amazing how brainwashed they are.
      In scripture we are admonished not to argue doctrine. We are told we would be recognized by the love we show oneanother. In Revelation, the messege to the churches include reassurance that it is known who believes which doctrine in each congregation. I figured I could join a "faamily" even if my doctrine was different. I could tolerate them and their doctrine if the focus was the love shared. None would have me under those conditions. One has to be initiated into every single one of them, which won't occur if you don't agree with their doctrine. Matter what religion it is, not only would you not be welcomed as a member unless in agreement with their doctrine, but if you attempt to stay and share the love anyways, they find ways to discourage you from coming. You definately won't be invited to join in any reindeer games. They all "love bomb" you at first.
      Even non-denominational, unorganized home churching is becoming extinct and being swallowed up by new-age christianity housechurching. They are all becoming one new age Jesus worshipping conglomerate whose members bash eachother for minor differences so they feel elite and the only ones with "THE Truth". They all preach themselves as the only true organization and God's chosen people, the spiritual Isreal. They all smell the same:righteous pretense with evil shades behind the scenes. No matter how sincere the majority of general members and occassional leaders, the undercurrents of evil are there coloring it through those who take the lead recognizably or not.
      I just wanted someone supportive to come home to! Or at least spend the day with. I want to homeschool my children. Doing it with others would make it far more interesting to the children and lighten to burden of it on me. But I am not going to pass a whipping stick ritualistically to another who will homeschool for me and take over authority to guide my child with the "rod". Anyone I trust my child with would have to be subject to my authority and responsibility before God as parent. That sort of thing is where doctrines DO make a difference. Taking responsibility from a parent is not loving. sharing chores isawesome when done companionably, but not overseen and under emotional, spiritual duress.
      I cannot stand TV. It literally makes me sick. But dead of winter some programming is fun and eductional for the children. I want them to use their imaginations. The partt of the brain used for it is also the part we receive from God and experience His formlessness and limitless. "All your sons and daughters will prophesy" we are told. Not if we kill the imagination, they won't. And internet? Most of it is unuseful for me, but we have an inborn nature to share ourselves. Most people can't take me in great doses, no matter how much they love me. Here I can express openly and freely. Others can browse at their ability. Contrary writings can stimulate a need for a new or deeper understanding. I don't completely shun "outside literature". Sometimes it can cement what I do believe as what I believe is tried and tested, challenged by it. There is a time, place, season for everything.
   I did have one brief good experience of communal living. I got to be a woman, independent but doing womanly things I found very fulfilling. Shared meals and spiritual discussions were daily experienced for nourishment. Everyone pitching in as they were moved to provided for bills to get paid and material needs to be met. Yet no one was dependent upon the rest nor deprived of having anything of their own. Each had their own room and space. There was no set schedule or assigned duties. We just did what waas needed when it was needed. There were no romantic undercurrents. I was respected, not hit on. My children were encouraged to respect me. The one responsible for it, under whose roof we dwelt, let it all fly..... until the season of enlightenment came upon us. Turns out his carefree attitude was an extreme he hid his darkness in which was the opposite extreme, a control freak. The entire household disbanded and partings were not pleasant. But I got a taste of what could be if everyone involved had spiritually matured and reltionships coould hve survived the season of enlightenment. I would have perservered, but wouldn't put my children through it. We had had enough of that the years before under a control freak's oppression. But, like I said, I got a taste of what could be and am grateful for it.
      As I wrote above, the perceived need to share a household is passed and past. Now I just want a place of my own. I want to live at my own pace, the one God gives me. I am blessed with being capable to do the rest if He gives it to me to do. we're all set.
     Another religious venue I was into for a time was New Age enlightenment. I am going to include Buddhism with this because so much of new age beliefs are based on belief systems such as this. Reading the intro to the book Siddhartha, I learned Buddhism was founded in the search for extinction.That's right, spiritual exctinction. I had noticed that about the new age practices; that their practices led to a oneness that meant back into the original melting pot/nonexistence. We'll just let them go there, I won't be following. I did find techniques for quieting one's self and releasing fears very usefull and meaningful to my spiritual journey. Channeling methods taught me how to experience oneness comfortably, allowing God to speak clearly to and through me directly. Fearing possession, I never would have otherwise found those who could train me in allowing spirit in safely and consciously. I am a conscious channelor, meaning I do not go unconscious and have complete control over what comes out of my mouth. Very handy.
    Right-wing patriotism is very much religious, though it is a political movement. It is all about independence and self-sufficiency. It includes alot of fear-mongering. They are another extreme and imbalanced, drawing opposition and violence. Independent thought and self-sufficiency from the system are useful, however. You learn to break free from mainstream and seek other venues for material sustenence. Doing it without the fear, paranoia and hatred draws freedom in peace. Instead of being anti-government, one simply is released from it. You use it when you need to but that becomes less and less a concern. The Al Morrocans Empire/Moors fall into the right-wing extremist grouping but are very religiously based. They do believe in the superiority of women over men but are paranoid about mating. They believe in inbreeding. I'd lean more toward inter-racial breeding as a way to reuinite soul aspects before I would ever consider inbreeding to protect a single one so old it becomes stagnant and void of all potential. I read about the two-by-twos which was nothing more than a sound spiritual principle gone bad/corrupted. They all begin like the one called Jesus: not a member of any state sanctified religious order (pharisee or sadduccee), then end up like his apostles canstantly tried to go ("master, we tried to silence him because he was not one of us" and "which one of us is greates?").
     One might think the church of Scientology would be the place for me. One of the chief tenants of their beliefs if that no one can tell you what to believe because all our beliefs are based on our experiences. But all one has to do is browse their website to see in truth that is not bsolutely so. They have courses to take to guide you into the experiences needed to arrive at the beliefs they believe you should have, heehee. Gotcha. Do they believe in one god? why yes, it is referred to as theta. Guess what? They also call the ultimate spirit within all men.......theta. They are just nother "you are god also" group geared toward people with a fundamentlist bent.
    Mormons are cool, but it's founder was another who misinterpreted his visions to be too literal and eventually it turned controlling. They baptism the dead via stand-ins. I know this was a practice of the first century church, but I believe it to be an innapropriate one. Scripture says each man will be judged by his own actions."Where you are going (upon death) there is no work", etc. They are also too worldly mindend, into prestige and making something of one's self in this system.
    Ultimately, the truth in my search for God's people was unneccessary, if only I had seen what God prophesied about them: "they would be scattered among the nations like morning dew". We would not be all together living as one people in the end. We are wheat among the shoots of chaff, not touching oneanother until the ingathering. He will bring us into households, I think. But I don't see an orgination, a legal entity involved. Just a naturally occuring growing up and out and into eachother, like blossoming flowers. What I saw in a vision was families/households that looked like lights as we drew back to look at the earth from a distance. The earth was dotted with a countless number of these little lights seperated and shinging in what was otherwise complete darkness. One light began to brighten more than the rest and kept on expanding until it completely filled my vision. But we all seem to start out being told what to believe and what scriptures mean. Very few reccomend reading the bible cover to cover independently. The high control groups discourage it, even call doing so evil. The Amish are amongst those, from wht I had read bout them. High control groups believe you cannot rechunderstanding unless guided by a person who is annointed to teach and of course, they are the only ones annointed to do that. This is in conflict with prophesy where God states "My shepards have failed. I myself will teach them.".
      When the one called Jesus said "I am the way and only through me...." he was channeling God's voice, not making himself the only way to salvation. He was repeating what had already been stated through prophets for ages. One God, One Truth, One Way: God Almighty. No one could be drawn to the one called Jesus unless the Father drew them. Of those drawn, called, few are chosen and of those chosen, how many accept the invitation? Quite the weeding process, eh? a very narrow road and limited number indeed. And guess what? We would not be teaching anyone anything. The disciples were sent out to seek the lost ones, to preserve a tradition of beliefs, but to let the righteous continue in righteousness and unrighteous in unrighteousness. They weren't to change anyone. God would do that. Many believe the command to go forth baptising and making disciples was added on you'll find god's people doing that, though, I think. And not just amongst themselves, but their neighbors, also.