(Alphabetical by author) |
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Bacchiocchi, Samuele |
An Open Letter to Pastor Joseph Tkach and the Worldwide Church of God
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Bacchiocchi, Samuele |
Worldwide Church of God: Crisis and Lessons |
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Botting, Heather and Gary |
The Orwellian World of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Paperback - 213 pages (May 1984), Univ of Toronto Pr (Trd); ISBN: 0802065457
This careful study of the literature and beliefs of this group, including the ways they alter history and manipulate the perceptions of their members is really a case history into how a cult works. I recognized the Worldwide Church of God in this book, and don’t doubt people from other destructive groups could also find value in it. It is written with such careful research, and reported so objectively, that its message is more powerful than books which base too much on emotional responses alone. |
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Ditzel, Peter |
The Two Faces Of The Worldwide Church Of God
a web article, © 1997 - Personal Freedom Outreach. |
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Frankl, Viktor
(preface by Allport, Gordon W.) |
Man’s Search for Meaning
Mass Market Paperback - 221 pages Rev&Updtd; edition (January 1998)
Washington Square Pr; ISBN: 0671023373
Originally published anonymously, Viktor Frankl's honest account of his time in a concentration camp has, ironically, become better-known than any of his other books. Unlike many other books by camp survivors, it does not dwell on the horrific events, but chronicles the inmates' reactions to them. The sudden shock to the psyche from so much extreme change of circumstances into the nightmarish setting of the camp did much to alter people's mental state. This is probably the "snapping" phenomenon discussed in the book by that name. Frankl struggled to transcend this morass, and tells how he, and others who survived, not just physically, but psychologically, managed to do it. He built his revolutionary psychotherapy, Logotherapy, on this insight.
I found this book very comforting when I was going through the difficult adjustment back to normalcy from the WCG cult; the fact that his experiences were so extreme gave me nothing but comfort and encouragement. I knew something that could help someone come out of such extremity could help me in lesser distress, and it did.
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Frankl, Viktor |
The Doctor and the Soul : From
Psychotherapy to Logotherapy
Paperback - 318 pages Reissue edition (November 1986)
Random House (Paper); ISBN: 0394743172
This book helped me understand that my ex-husband's behaviour was beyond eccentric, and in the realm of mental illness. Since I left the WCG primarily because I could no longer live with him, and they did not permit separation and divorce, I needed to understand what had gone on. If I had truly understood when I was with him, I would have tried harder to influence him to get therapy, though I recall my pleas did fall on deaf ears. Years later, when his family informed me that he had finally been diagnosed with mental illness, I got the sad confirmation of what I learned from this book. I also learned a great deal about mental health, and the personal responsibility everyone can take to improve on their own mental health, though this may not have been the direct intention of the author.
This book also helped me work out my own psychological issues with leaving the Worldwide Church of God, and the brainwashing I was struggling to free myself from.
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Frankl, Viktor |
The Unconscious God
ISBN: 0671224263
Availability: This title is out of print.
This is the first book to give me a hint that I could not only rescue my mind, emotions, and life from the Worldwide Church of God, but my spiritual life, as well. Frankl helped me regain my hope in recovering to the point of true wholeness.
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Holbrook, David (Editor)
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The Case against Pornography
ISBN: 0912050284 , out of print
This book discusses the human cost of pornography; it is where I got my parallels between religious manipulation and pornography, and the similar psychological effects. |
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Hopkins, Gerard Manley |
Patience, hard thing! the hard thing but to pray, Untitled poem quoted at the end of "Where I’m at Now", poem number 45 from: Poems and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins, selected and with an introduction and notes by W. H. Gardner. 1974, Middlesex: Penguin Books.
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James, William |
The Will to Believe
an essay from Will to Believe and Human Immortality
Paperback - 70 pages (May 1985)
Dover Pubns; ISBN: 0486202917
This essay clarified, for me, the psychological issue of what it is possible for an individual to believe. James' discussion of "live options," that is, things one could bring one's self to believe, versus things a person cannot imagine believing, made sense to me. I don't think that just because one option is "live" for an individual, it is more likely to be true, or "dead" it is more likely to be false, but it helped me to understand my own journey in the context of what was possible for me at any time. This essay was a bit of an anchor for me, that way, because I found my "live options" changed over time.
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Orwell, George (afterword by Fromm, Erich) |
1984
Mass Market Paperback - 268 pages Reissue edition (May 1990)
New Amer Library Classics; ISBN: 0451524934
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Pope, Alexander |
An Essay on Man
(quote on "desensitization" to vice) |
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Ruth, Alan (Barnabas Ministries) |
The Worldwide Church of God Splits: Their Triumphs and Troubles
©1994, 1996. My original source was Alan Ruth's web page list of Organizational Addresses (List of Worldwide Church of God related offshoot churches, fellowship groups, and bible study groups, including name of founder, originating group and year, where known) . This list now is incorporated at the end of the PDF file. The article itself was not available when I wrote my own article, though I would like to discuss his findings elsewhere, later, perhaps in yet another addendum. |
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The Associated Press Newswire Service |
Associated Press Summarizes WCG Theology And Cultural Change: Amazing Grace That Saved The Church, Copyright 6/14/97. |
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Tkach, Joseph |
Geneological chart showing Worldwide Church of God origins and offshoots – WCG website. A very instructive graphic listing. |
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[still looking for URL or cached copy.] If you know where to find it, please send me the URL at jesseancona@hotmail.com |
Cult listing on Internet, "We’re not there yet." |
(In rough order of importance to this topic, in my opinion)
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De Becker, Gavin |
The Gift of Fear : Survival Signals That
Protect Us from Violence
Hardcover - 304 pages 1 Ed edition (June 1997) Little Brown & Company; ISBN: 0316235024 Paperback - 372 pages (May 11, 1999) Dell Pub Co; ISBN: 0440508835
This book seems like it would make you more afraid, but it made me much, much less afraid, and more confident. While Gavin de Becker, as a security consultant to stars, politicians, and others at high risk, has seen enough to make your hair stand on end, he confirms that each one of us has that precious gift he calls "fear," the real survival instinct, that can warn us early that trouble is brewing -- before it's too late to escape. He contrasts this with "anxiety," which is a constant background noise that can drown out the quiet, insistent voice of true fear. Learning to recognize, and trust this voice is, I think, the most valuable lesson in this book.
However, in the early part of the book, de Becker tells us how predators get our confidence, and pull us in to their web. He lists various "con man" tricks that very scary violent people use to victimize others (generally, scary men victimizing women). The interesting thing is, many of these tricks are those used by cults and cult leaders, as well. I found this truly fascinating.
Read this book twice: once, to learn how to trust your "inner voice" to protect your life. Then, after you've regained confidence in your instincts (something destroyed by cults), read it again, seeing the predator as the cult leader. Very, very illuminating.
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Peck, M. Scott |
People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil Paperback - 269 pages 2nd touchs edition (December 1997)
Simon & Schuster (Paper); ISBN: 0684848597
A very good book for understanding the nature of evil. Evil needs to hide itself by lying, and an examination of the twisted nature of deceit makes for fascinating reading. |
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[Still looking for author] |
Lying
A good study on lying and how it robs people of free choice by manipulating their choices through false information. I read this book many years ago, with great fascination. It shows why lying is at the root of all other evil, and allows it to flourish unmolested. (see also "People of the Lie" by M. Scott Peck) |
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Lewis, C. S. |
Examples of The Tao from The Abolition of Man. Lewis quotes from various religions and philosophies to show the fundamental agreement among all faiths and systems of thought on the basics of ethical behaviour. He makes the point that we all know what right and wrong are, and it's no point insisting Jews and Christians just made it all up. Very enlightening, especially for those not familiar with other religions. A small essay, fitting, since "The Tao," itself, is a very small book. It just refers to "the way." Interesting that in the New Testament, Christianity is referred to as "this way." |
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Schaeffer, Franky |
Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century
Christians and the Arts
Paperback 5th edition (February 1981)
Good News Pub; ISBN: 0891073531
While I didn't use this book when writing this article, further reading found this wonderful book, discussing modern Christianity’s suspicion of the arts, and the devastating effect on Christian artists. A very positive, upbeat book, illustrated with cartoons and approached with maturity and humour, full of very true barbs. Reading it, I found myself crying out "Yes!" many times. For those familiar with the work of Francis A. Schaeffer, the author is his son. |
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Barr, James |
Fundamentalism
(referred to by Robert Price as being anti-evangelical; don’t know much more about it). [Still searching out fuller information on obtaining this information, either on the web, or in print.] |
(Alphabetical by author)
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Flo Conway, Jim Siegelman
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Snapping : America's Epidemic of Sudden
Personality Change
Paperback - 401 pages 2nd edition (December 1995)
Stillpoint Pr Inc; ISBN: 0964765004
A book on brainwashing by cults; recommended to me as one of the best books on the subject, by someone who has dealt with cults and ex-cult members for years. This is a book I have not yet read. When I read the following excerpt, though, I was impressed by the contrast between the descriptions of the speed of recovery from the deprogramming process, versus the milder, watered-down version done by "exit counsellors," whose therapies seem to be built first and foremost on avoiding lawsuits, rather than being most effective for the victim of brainwashing. Even the psychological associations did not want to acknowledge the existence of brainwashing, something that has been well-known and used in military contexts for decades, if not longer. Read this bit and decide for yourself if you'd like to buy the book and read more:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/deprogramming7.html
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McGuire, Christine (Carla Norton, Contributor) |
Perfect Victim: The Girl in the Box
Dell Pub Co; ISBN: 0440204429
A horrible true-crime story of a young woman held captive for many years; a very interesting study of how much freedom someone brainwashed can be given, without fear they will try to escape. A good answer for people asking, "Why didn’t you just leave?" A chilling example of what happens when you alter someone’s view of reality to the point of denying their free choice. Interestingly, the woman in this case, was vindicated in court partly because of Patty Hearst's struggle to have her kidnapping and brainwashing understood. Her successful court appeal helped people like this woman, but also raised the topic of brainwashing as a serious modern issue.
From Amazon.com review:
"Called the "sex slave," and "the girl in the box" case, this is the story behind Colleen Stan's terrifying, seven-year-long imprisonment by Cameron Hooker as told by the district attorney who tried the case. Too bizarre to be anything but true, it is a tale of riveting intensity and gripping courtroom drama."
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Jon Atack |
A Piece of Blue Sky
http://home.kvalito.no/~xenu/archive/books/apobs/index.html
A book on a particularly destructive cult; recommended to me, but one I have not read. Now available to read on-line. While this particular organization makes the WCG seem like a walk in the park, it is very instructive to see how far you can push people once you have control of their minds.
A quote from the now-dead founder of that group:
"THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM. You can write that down in your book in great big letters. The only way you can control anybody is to lie to them.
[...]
"[An] individual is lying to you because he is trying to control you---because if they give you enough misinformation they will pull you down ...so that they can control you."
L. Ron Hubbard, "Technique 88"
Quote taken from Operation Clambake, http://www.xenu.net/archive/co_pls.html
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Price, Robert M. |
Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
Library Binding / Borgo Press / January 1995, ISBN: 0393039617
The author says, "What I will be proposing is a really new Evangelicalism, something transcending Harold J. Ockenga's "Neo-Evangelicalism" (fundamentalism with better manners) and Richard Quebedeaux's "Young Evangelicalism" (politically and behaviorally liberalized Neo-Evangelicals). While I had not seen this book before writing my article, it comes closest to dealing with the issues I heard about when listening to interviews with members of Fundamentalists Anonymous. Price discusses the narrow world-view that clouds free thought among evangelicals ("the hard religious line"), based on his own experiences with moving beyond its boundaries. I found his points very relevant to my discussions on the Worldwide Church of God, in a similar way that The Orwellian World of Jehovah’s Witnesses is relevant: the details of belief are different, but the mind-traps and emotional results are very familiar. I found this to be a very helpful read.
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So far, I have not found much out there that is not still full of all the pain and toxicity and garbage we've all been through, and are trying to purge ourself of, and heal from, not dive back into! But, I have hope, and I include here, specifically for emotional healing, books that I think are important to read, and the few emotional healing websites I have found -- one of which is actually a healing site for ex-Worldwiders. I hope, over time, to find more. If you find one (my two main criteria are: 1) a positive, healing, merciful, loving, grace-dealing book or site that makes you feel better and healthier after going to it, not sickened, and upset all over again over past hurts, and/or 2) a book or site, devoid of negativity or judgment, dealing with the emotional issues, and/or basic human ethics, decency, and the return to mental health. I don't want books or sites dealing with religion or specifically with doctrine, but those helping with emotional healing. Books on "core Christianity" I will place under "Rehabilitating Your Faith." If you have any suggestions that rise above the ordinary, common offerings, email me at jesseancona@hotmail.com. One note: if there are real "problem areas" or tendencies to fanaticism or any kind of nuttiness, let me know. If the good parts are valuable enough, I will add them with a warning -- otherwise, I will try to protect people from stumbling into new traps. Thanks for any assistance!
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Exit & Recovery Network
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For a positive guide to recovery from cult abuse, see
Exit & Recovery Network, the first really positive ex-WCG website I've ever seen! The tone is missing all that toxic feeling, and it seems to have been written by people who have really healed, rather than those who are still deeply wounded, so you feel you are sharing in their health, not their sickness. In contrast, most ex-WCG sites can cause flashbacks, which ERN recognizes, and gives warnings about on their link pages, if they think a particular site might be "triggering" for some people.
The sites written by those still working through the pain may be therapeutic to the writers, but I wonder how therapeutic they are to the readers. I can only say that for myself, they bring me down, set me back, and make me feel like Arlo Guthrie before his military physical in "Alice's Restaurant," that is, "hung down, brung down, hungover and all kinds of mean nasty ugly things..." (quoted from memory: must check the accuracy some time, but my copy is on an old LP, and I don't have a turntable anymore).
Other sites also remind me of the line in Melanie's "Candles in the Rain,"
We were so close
There was no room
We bled inside
Each other's wounds.
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Joyce Meyer: Life in the Word
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This website has a lot of good information on emotional healing and inner growth, including developing emotional and spiritual maturity. There are many good articles on a number of issues, particularly in the "Help for the Hurting" section. While Mrs. Meyer comes from an evangelical background, her focus is not on denominational doctrine, but on healing from emotional and physical abuse, and in this she has a strong Biblical grounding, and a great deal of personal experience. Many ex-Worldwiders have found comfort and wisdom in her words. She is very down-to-earth in her teaching, and on her tapes, at least, she manages to inject much-needed humour into the topics, which provide some relief and help emphasize her points.
http://www.joycemeyer.com/
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Enright, Robert D., PhD |
Forgiveness is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope
2001, APA Life Tools, American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1-55798-757-2
To order:
online: www.apa.org/books/
email: order@apa.org
mail: APA Order Department
P.O. Box 92984
Washington, D.C., 20090-2984
This is the book on forgiveness I have been looking for! Not only does it answer and dismiss many of the misapprehensions about forgiveness -- that it condones evil acts, eliminates justice, or is an obligation someone else can force upon you. It also discusses pseudo-forgiveness used as a weapon, and other imitations, such as the stoic "moving on".
While no one has to forgive anyone of anything, there is much to be said for ridding yourself of the painful baggage of unforgiveness, which destroys peace of mind, and can lead to many physical symptoms, and even illnesses.
This book is based on many years of teaching people how to forgive, using many guideposts that appear to be a natural part of the process, and the results have been statistically shown to be more beneficial than therapy without learning to forgive. While reading it through is enlightening, it is also meant to be worked through. You'll be surprised at the first two "steps": 1)Understand that forgiveness as one of your real choices, and 2) Let yourself acknowledge and feel your anger and rage over the injustice you have suffered! Don't minimize it! Forgiveness is not about saying terrible acts are OK, but about purging yourself of their power to hurt you. It is not an easy process, and is often a slow one. Be patient and kind with yourself, as you consider working towards freeing yourself from the bondage of bitterness.
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(Alphabetical by author)
Part of the damage caused by the Worldwide Church of God is its extremely narrow focus of reality to things that make sense to no one but members of the cult, and if explained to outsiders, would be seen as, at best, trivial, and at worst, insane. The first step away from this is to rejoin the human race, and rejoin the physical world God has created, and to begin to regain a normal perspective on reality. I wanted to assemble a number of interesting links and references about the wonderful, fascinating world around us, which I was going to call "Antidotes." Unfortunatley, I have not yet have time to do so. In the meantime, I have assembled books that deal well with the toxicity in churches, and have positive, realistic suggestions about returning to a loving, peaceful Christianity full of joy and grace. Please let me know if you find other books or websites that are useful antidotes or inspirations for you: email me at: jesseancona@hotmail.com. The following books and websites deal with healing spiritual damage, and beginning again with God. While some of these books are my own finds, I owe my knowledge of many of the titles on this list to Gordon M. Thanks.
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Breese, Dave
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Satan's Ten Most Believable Lies
PB, 1987, 144 pp. (Original Title: His Infernal Majesty, pub. 1974)
Moody Press, Chicago ISBN: 0-8024-7675-9
A short list of the various lies about God abroad in the world and the church, this book is a breezy corrective for many wrong assumptions that can come between ourselves and God, and take away our peace of mind.
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Campolo, Tony
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Following Jesus without Embarrassing God
PB, Dallas, 1997.
Word Publishing. ISBN 0-8499-4068-0
This is an interesting book that looks at a number of aspects of daily living, and attempts to show how Christians can apply Biblical principles to their lives without becoming just plain weird. While the gospel is "foolishness to the world," we ourselves are to be "a light to the world," so our conduct must be exemplary, even if our beliefs seem odd. If we, too, allow ourselves to become odd, our witness is lost, and we are easily dismissed as "nut cases."
This book is the first one I have seen to tackle this problem head-on, and it is well-written and interesting, and worth reading. In a way, its purpose is like the book of Proverbs, attempting to show people how to use common sense and sanity when applying true religion to all aspects of their lives.
I particularly liked the chapter on "Dealing with Technology without becoming Amish," and the author's account of a field trip he took with his Bible students to visit an Amish leader. In it, many misapprehensions about the Amish way are dispelled, and the leader makes many astute points. Each chapter deals with a practical aspect of day-to-day living, and shows how Biblical principles can be applied to it in a balanced way.
This book does assume that the Christians reading the book are acting embarrassing because they are OK deep down inside, but just need some practical pointers. The prospect must be faced that many embarrassing actions occur because one's heart is wrong. Philip Yancey's books, particularly "Soul Survivor", deal with this problem very clearly, and Steven Mosley's "Burned out on Being Good" approaches the problem of superficial religion being based on wrong assumptions and motivations. But then, none of these books get into the kind of nitty-gritty detail, offering practical guidance using the number of life examples that Campolo does, and I think this approach, as well as his title, is brave, and taken in context with an understanding that one's actions must proceed out of a right heart, can be a useful one.
I must admit that this is another book I read on retreat, and had to return to the library before finishing it, but I liked its balanced approach towards a Christian's external behaviour.
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Crabb, Larry
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Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy.
PB, Colorado, 218 pp., 2001.
Springs, Colorado
WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc. ISBN 1-57856-506-5
This is the best book on Christian living and spiritual maturity I have ever read. It compares
favorably to the best of C. S. Lewis in its content, though it does not quite have the same felicitous
style or turn of phrase. This is the book I’d hoped Lewis would have written long after his wife
died, as a sequel to "A Grief Observed." It answers, in a humble way, the age-old question of why
God allows his people to suffer, allowing many specific questions to go unanswered, but dealing
with the experiential reality, and following the Biblical pattern found in the Book of Ruth.
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Erwin, Gayle D.
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The Jesus Style
PB, 1983, 1988, Palm Springs, California
R. N. Haynes Publishers, ISBN: 0-8499-2989-X
This book explores Jesus' exemplification of the "servant style" he wants his followers to adopt. The author examines Jesus' teachings and life, to show how He put this principle into practice. While Jesus willingly laid down his life, and lived it in service of others, he was not willing to be manipulated or abused. I found this clarification quite interesting and refreshing, and the author shows many examples clarifying that the servant style does not mean losing one's free choice; it simply means one mainly chooses to do what is best for others.
The author also dares to point out that all church organizations he has ever known have operated in direct opposition to the servant style of Jesus, so he questions whether it is even possible to do God's work through such institutions. He makes very clear and hard-hitting points, and as a former PR man for various religious organizations, he knows what he's talking about.
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Knowles, Brian P.
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Because There Was No Shepherd: Ministering to the Walking
Wounded of Churches
PB, Monrovia, California, 2000.
Wild Olive Publications. ISBN 0-9703930-0-8
In this book, Brian Knowles deals with a topic seldom touched on in Christian writings: the damage
churches inflict on churchgoers. As he says, in these days, the damage is increasing. Knowles fearlessly catalogues the kinds of things that drive people out, but basically, it comes down
to pastors who are not "shepherds" caring for the sheep, but "hirelings" caring only for their
paychecks, promotions, and church statistics. They approach their churches like businesses – and
bad businesses, at that, since good businesses care about "good will," customer loyalty, and
customer retention. But then, to the
businessman, they are "his" customers: he feels they belong to him, and he wants to care for them,
and keep them, so he doesn’t lose them. These "hireling" pastors, on the other hand, care only about pleasing
their bosses: the church members are not "their" people, so they don’t care about losing them.
The rest of Knowles’ book, after describing how people get pushed out of churches and often
turned off of God, deals with how, if you are one of these people, you can return to God, and deal
with your traumas, and find a way to fellowship with other believers again, without expecting to find
a perfect church or having to rely on anyone else for your own spiritual development. He also deals
with the importance of forgiveness and letting go, since he knows by experience that it is impossible
to move forward with such unfinished business in your heart.
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Mosley, Steven
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Burned Out on Being Good: what to do if your religion is
wearing you out.
PB, 1998, Nampa, Idaho.
1998, Pacific Press Publishing Association, ISBN: 0-8163-1578-7 (alk. paper)
"...A religion of avoidance manages to be both intimidating
and unchallenging at the same time. The thought of
spending your life, always vigilant, guarding against those
little sins, fills people with dismay. It’s just too hard not to
fall. And yet, though terribly difficult, the prospect doesn’t
arise as a great challenge, either; it doesn’t seem worthy of
life’s best energies."
from Chapter One: "Are You
Worn Out by the Weeds?"
The cure for false religion is true religion. The author gives a very good
grounding on how to start over, and build on what is real and true and eternal,
and that starts with God. And love. And goes from there. Doing this will allow
you to be happier, and feel a sense of purpose and challenge in your life. It will
also make it easier for you to get along with other people. When you have to
make a stand for your religion, it won’t already be old and tiresome, because
you won’t have been spending all your days "crying wolf."
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Yancey, Philip
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Soul Survivor: How my faith survived the church
PB, New York, N.Y., 2001
Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., ISBN: 0-385-50422-X
Philip Yancey speaks frankly here about how he nearly left the faith over the many spiritual wounds he'd received from the church, but the inspiration of certain exemplary Christians was the thing that helped him preserve his faith. The light of these believers' lives showed him the face of Christ in a way that helped him regain his vision of what Christianity is all about. After the Introduction, this book consists of short spiritual biographies of "a baker's dozen" (13) people that he has been inspired by, including his friend, and co-author of several works, Dr. Paul Brand, the worker with sufferers of Hansen's disease (leprosy), as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., G. K. Chesterton, and others. I confess, I began reading this book on a retreat, and have not read all the biographies, but would recommend it even based on those I have been able to read so far.
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Yancey, Philip
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What's So Amazing About Grace?
PB, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 292, 1997.
Zondervan Publishing House, ISBN: 0-310-21862-4
The author looks at God's grace and forgiveness and lovingkindness, and challenges us to strive to show the same level of grace to others. He shines a light on the prevalence of "ungrace" in the church and among individual believers, and challenges us to move beyond this, to being people known for their unusual love. While this book is hard to read, because every one of us fall so short in this way, it is also helpful to know what we should be striving for, and how we are to be a light to the world.
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Yancey, Philip
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Where is God When it Hurts?
PB, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 187, 1977
Zondervan Publishing House, ISBN: 0-310-35411-0
This book takes a unique approach to the Question Immemorial, "Why is there Pain and Suffering in the World?" Instead of tackling the harder philosophical question first, Yancey first steps back, and spends time looking at Pain, as part of God's creation of our physical bodies. He does this by discussing his friend who works with victims of Hansen's disease (leprosy), and how difficult their lives are because they cannot feel pain.
Then, he moves on to the rest of us, who are blessed with the Gift of Pain, and discusses suffering as best as he can, struggling with the ideas, like we all do. He looks at the function of pain, what pain can tell us, and shows us how people respond to pain.
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(In reverse order of harmfulness: the top ones are more positive, as you go down the list, there is more negativity and chance of "triggering")
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My emphasis in choosing these sites is in choosing those that are 1) Helpful for ex-Worldwiders trying to "deprogram" themselves 2) Informative about the effects of the cult its members and ex-members 3) Reliable about WCG history, for those wanting to look into particulars of this church.
I have deliberately excluded those with articles and doctrinal information about their own particular ideas, simply because ideas and doctrine are a red herring, and I believe that to prematurely change one's doctrinal position can be an escape from truly exorcising the influence of the cult from your heart, mind, and soul. Once cleansed, one can re-think one's beliefs, and look for some "uncontaminated" source of information (the Bible, by itself, is a good start!) and, finally, some "non-toxic" people one can meet with.
I, myself, would not trust myself to teach actual doctrine without some completely outside editorial and spiritual scrutiny, since I know I still bear the poison of the WCG. How do I know? Ex-Worldwiders instantly "make" me from across a room, and will gravitate towards me. Whatever it is, it has left its mark on me. It's a bit like ex-cops: something permanently changes about you. If you're a "Lord of the Rings" fan, it's like the wound Frodo suffered, that bothers him on its anniversary date for the rest of his life. In real life, Malaria can work like that.
While there is no end of ex-WCG websites, I have been extremely severe in limiting my choice of sites for this list. I will not include a site unless I feel it has something substantive and original to contribute, or at very least, has organized its information and expressed it in such a superior way that it is the most useful source of summary information.
There is probably not a single site on this list that I can endorse all the views of, and none that I can say will not possibly cause flashbacks in ex-Worldwiders. The ones in this list are those I have found useful enough to take the risk of dredging up all those old feelings. I always approach new sites with trepidation, because even a short taste of the best of these sites usually makes me feel sick at my stomach: it is the taste of the poison of the WCG. To read the writing of many of these people is to participate in their struggles with this poison and damage, and it is almost inevitable that some of that rubs off, especially if you have your own cult history.
I don't advise any former member of any cult, especially a former Worldwider, to spend much time on any of these sites: it is too easy to be plunged back into the whole mess, and the preoccupation with all these names and organizations and obsession with picky doctrinal issues, and I believe it is not healthy. However, since these sites are quite easy to find, I thought it might be a help to at least pick ones with some redeeming value, to reduce the numbers of hours searching through this kind of material.
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The Painful Truth About the Worldwide Church of God
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http://members.tripod.com/~ejm/pain.htm
The owner of this site, "Ed," no longer uses his last name, because of attacks and threats by Worldwiders or ex-Worldwiders, because he is no longer a Christian, and no longer believes the Bible has any validity. He appeared to have teetered on the edge of atheism, but, unlike the people in the former website, managed, through the sheer weight of Creation, to hang onto some kind of Theistic belief. Since this is pretty much what happened to me for many long years, I relate to it very closely.
He hosted the "Ambassador Report" through the project to put the archives on-line, and still has all the files on his site, though the AC now has their own site.
A very reasoned and thorough site, but also very hard-hitting. Once he has the facts, he does not pussy-foot around. But he is obviously still in great pain from what has been done to him and his poor wife before her death (read about it), and he does the important work of this site in the teeth of such pain.
It saddens me that all WCG-ers and ex-WCG-ers can offer him is more grief and threats. It does not, however, surprise me. The WCG always was, and still seems to be, an exceedingly cruel and hard-hearted organization that does not flinch from inflicting pain and suffering with their eyes wide open, and then expecting it to be overlooked without them having to even apologize, let alone really repent of their cruelty. As a matter of fact, this is, to me, one of the most obvious marks of an ex-WCG-er, and I'm sure I bear it, too: the cruelty usually comes through the excessive judgementalism flowing from a bloated sense of self-righteousness. Every time I feel the sting of this from an ex-WCG-er, I wonder how many times I am unwittingly doing the same thing, and pray God will give us all a softer, kinder, gentler heart.
Regarding this business of counselling people to reject medical treatment to prove their faith in God, I recently spoke to a man who was counselled years ago not to allow his newborn to have a very simple surgery that would make the difference between sickliness and death in early adulthood, and a normal life. Thankfully, he and his wife went against ministerial blustering and threats (and when he imitated the hitherto-anonymous minister who thundered condemnation at him, I broke out laughing, and named the man) and let their child have the surgery. I was pleased to find that their child has now grown to the age when death would have been expected without the surgery.
At the same time, another man who had been Ambassador-College-trained about such things commented that the teaching to the ministry was to do whatever possible to discourage people from using doctors without out and out telling them not to seek medical treatment, due to the potential liability problems! Of course, as always, there was no concern for the poor sheep, only for their own skins! The Leopard certainly has never changed his spots.
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Ambassador Report
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http://homepage.altavista.com/AmbassadorReport/files/Home.html
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The Secular Web: Internet Infidels
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http://www.infidels.org
Looking at this link, now, this is not the site I had originally found. Its site search has a few links to mail about the WCG, but the site I originally read was one of ex-WCG atheists. I will continue to look for the direct link. Email me at jesseancona@hotmail.com if you find it before I do.
I actually found the original site less depressing and more refreshing than many other Ex-WCG sites. One at least gets the idea that these people are doing whatever radical thing necessary to make a fresh start. It is sad, though, so see that so much of their spiritual experience was invaded by the cancer of the WCG that amputation was the only option. Unlike the physical, though, the spiritual can regrow and recover over time, though in my experience, this can take many slow years. But what if it doesn't, in some cases? That is a kind of spiritual murder, and the blood of all these victims are on the hands of those who are now pleading that everyone just "fagedd-aboudd-it".
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