For those who want to know...RULES at my church!

[nahkoe]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

Most? What ones would you endorse? (As described of course)

I'm curious which ones would he change how they're described, and then endorse. That could be quite telling as well.

Originally Posted by Michlow

I don't know that I decided to live as "bad as I want", though I'm sure many here might judge it that way.



Ok, this got me a little fired up.

First off, did I ever truly have my eyes on Jesus? The real Jesus? Or did I simply always believe in a Jesus of their making?

They were the ones that told me about God. They were the ones who gave me a "bible study" in which they told me what all the Bible verses meant and why their doctrine was "truth".

From the very beginning Jesus was portrayed as a Tyrannical Fascist who demands perfection and is never satisfied. As a God who is waiting for you to make one tiny mistake so that he can cast you into hell and torture you for all eternity.

So the question remains, did I truly walk away from "truth"? Or did I simply stop accepting the lie?

I am not saying you are living bad... I am just saying I have lots of friends who are and it is a very real, very sad thing that does happen. The other sad thing is that they also feel like UPC is the only correct religion so they will not try anything else.

[nahkoe]

I only want to address the bolded, since I used part of a post I typed and deleted in my sigline now. lol

I'm slanted all right, very, very slanted. I lean waaaaaay too far in the wrong direction to be fitting most places. Somehow, God still decided I need to be where I need to be and created a church just for me and grew up a pastor just for me and put me right where I am now at just the right time.

I almost think I buy into the "once backslidden always backslidden" philosphy. I don't think I'll ever fit into mainstream Christianity in much of any way due to my experiences on both sides of the Church walls.

Originally Posted by Amos

These terrible people (The Oregon pastor and wife) probably would love to know how many thousands of words have been devoted to chronicling the depth of their depravity and evil.

I would just like to remind all and sundry that the testimony of backsliders is generally very slanted at best.

I know that isn't popular with the "Kill the Preacher" crowd, but it is true nonetheless.

All the info is coming from a pretty narrow source, and the pastor has no voice here.

Nothing personal against STS, but just a reminder that one side of any story rarely gives a clear picture.

[The Mrs]

Originally Posted by Amos

These terrible people (The Oregon pastor and wife) probably would love to know how many thousands of words have been devoted to chronicling the depth of their depravity and evil.

I would just like to remind all and sundry that the testimony of backsliders is generally very slanted at best.

I know that isn't popular with the "Kill the Preacher" crowd, but it is true nonetheless.

All the info is coming from a pretty narrow source, and the pastor has no voice here.

Nothing personal against STS, but just a reminder that one side of any story rarely gives a clear picture.

I would also like to add that the 'narrow source' you refer to include 4 (apparently backslid) posters here. One witness was formly licensed, one should have been licensed, and two regular lay-people. Sounds like a fairly broad spectrum to me.

[Amos]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

Most? What ones would you endorse? (As described of course)

I guess I would need to see a comprehensive list of the "practices" in question.

I said most because I hate to use absolutes since they are so rarely accurate.

And furthermore, anyone who has the temerity to defend a pastor on this forum needs to be extremely cautious in his wording, because the barracudas will school around you and pick at any slight point of inconsistency in order to crucify and discredit the poster.

I have watched it enough to know how it goes.

Originally Posted by Michlow

What those who have NOT been there fail to understand is that it is neither an easy or a fast concept, as most of the tools that you used to originally find faith have been tainted.

Spiritual authority, the church, the Bible, rules, and even Jesus himself, have all been twisted and distorted and used to manipulate and control.

People think that I have given up, what they fail to understand is that it has taken everything that I have to not chuck it all away completely. And I have actually found peace where I am. For the first time in 7 years I don't spend all my waking hours worried about all the things in my life that are going to send me to hell. Actually I don't think about hell at all.....

I actually started reading the Bible all over again without looking at it like I had been taught. I read it using "MY MIND" It is amazing the things that is says I have never seen or understood before.

[nahkoe]

All listed earlier in the thread. Are you now admitting that you're casting judgement on those who have posted without even reading their words?

Originally Posted by Amos

I guess I would need to see a comprehensive list of the "practices" in question.

I said most because I hate to use absolutes since they are so rarely accurate.

And furthermore, anyone who has the temerity to defend a pastor on this forum needs to be extremely cautious in his wording, because the barracudas will school around you and pick at any slight point of inconsistency in order to crucify and discredit the poster.

I have watched it enough to know how it goes.

[Amos]

Originally Posted by The Mrs

I would also like to add that the 'narrow source' you refer to include 4 (apparently backslid) posters here. One witness was formly licensed, one should have been licensed, and two regular lay-people. Sounds like a fairly broad spectrum to me.

Narrow in the sense that they are all anti's.

Pretty simple.

If the pastor (and I have no clue who he even is) were here, we might get an interesting perspective from the other side of the coin.

[nahkoe]

Anti what?

Oh, since you haven't read the thread, I'll point out here that I haven't posted anything about any pastor in any church or shared any of my experiences. lol

Edited to add that there's also been no names mentioned, and it's not just one pastor being discussed. In general, it's an attitude and behavior that's being discussed. I think this thread has gone pretty smoothly considering the topic. It sure could have gone bad in a hurry but those posting personal experiences have made pretty sure to keep it personal and keep the *slant* if you will, towards sharing what they felt and saw.

Originally Posted by Amos

Narrow in the sense that they are all anti's.

Pretty simple.

If the pastor (and I have no clue who he even is) were here, we might get an interesting perspective from the other side of the coin.

[Amos]

Originally Posted by nahkoe

Anti what?

Oh, since you haven't read the thread, I'll point out here that I haven't posted anything about any pastor in any church or shared any of my experiences. lol

I was not addressing you.