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God:
Anger at God
Feeling God has
betrayed, deserted and/or abandoned you
Questioning
God ("Why
me?" "Where were you?" "Why did you allow this?" "Why
didn't you protect me?"
etc.)
Unable to feel God's love
Unable to
feel God is really there
Believing
God has placed you under a "curse" whenever
any problem or disaster
occurs
Feeling
God does not approve of you or accept you
Feeling God is teaching
you a "lesson" for your "sins" of leaving
Problems
integrating the God you knew in the WCG and the God (or Jesus) you think you're
supposed to know now.1
Feeling
you lost the God you knew (especially if you were a prior Christian)
Unable to
understand what God or Jesus are really like
Bible:
Unable to read the Bible
(inability to concentrate, fear of being triggered back into the group mind set,
reminding one of study in the group, etc.)
Feeling
too tired to study the Bible all over again (after years of feeling you found its truth)
Guilt over
not studying the Bible
Much confusion with Scripture
(especially concerning law and grace)
Questions of whether the Bible is
entirely true, part true, or has been changed over time
Churches:
Feeling
"Where do I go now?" (needing to find the "true" church)
Fear of all churches
Guilt for not attending a church
Wanting to
replace everything you felt you lost in the group
Anxiety in attempting a new church
or Bible study group
Anxiety in attending a new church on Sunday, instead of Saturday
Religious addiction (desire to immerse oneself in as many Bible
study groups, church activities, etc. as possible)
Anxiety
when reading any Christian literature that reminds you of the group's teachings/control
Wanting to reject all forms of belief
Wanting to
be free of all churches
Ministers
& Other Christians:
Fear or deep lack of trust of all ministers outside the
group
Fear of being controlled or deceived by a minister
outside the group
Feeling
different around other Christians
Feeling
alienated from other Christians in thought and practice
Feelings
of inferiority or inadequacy around other Christians
Feeling shame
and humiliation for having been in a deceptive, exploitive, fraudulent group and afraid to tell
other Christians
Feeling no other Christian could ever understand the
abusive involvement
Great hurt
when other Christians don't understand
Feelings of sin for worshipping
Christ the group's way
Prayer:
Feeling that God does not hear your prayers anymore (prayers
going to the wall or ceiling and stopping)
Depressed,
pressured, or ill feelings when attempting to pray, especially in the same position as in the
group
Feeling guilt for not praying fervently enough, not long enough, not
regular enough, etc.
Beliefs:
Desperation for "the truth" again
Very
confused and not knowing who or what to believe
Blaming one's "sins" for going into a
deceptive, exploitive, abusive group
Blaming one's "sins" for being disfellowshipped
Fearing the
"Lake of Fire"
Fearing a
loss of salvation
Searching
out various non-orthodox belief systems
Spiritualizing
everything (magical thinking)
Feelings
of pain, betrayal and grief at how the
group took the true Jesus of the Bible away from
you
Wanting to
drop out of religion all together
Other:
A
compulsion to talk to everyone about your group experience (this is a hold-over
from the group-instilled confessing behavior
Wanting to immerse yourself in a round of activities so you won't have to stop and think and feel
A need to
feel "used" by God
Wanting to
be a part of something "important"
Not
feeling a part of the human race
Wondering if it was a mistake to leave the
group (thinking of
returning)
Compiled
by
D. W. and Mike
Exit & Support Network™
Footnote:
1
These feelings are a result of the group
leader being able to
transfer the member's feelings for God to him and the government in the group. This is a mind control technique.
Recommended
books: The
Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by Johnson & VanVonderen Captive
Hearts, Captive Minds [Read
excerpts from chapter 12; covers seeking professional counseling and questions to ask.]
Recovering From Churches That Abuse by Ronald Enroth Trauma
and Recovery (covers Complex Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder)
Booklist for more titles
on recovery.
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God
will never love you any more than he loves you right now, but He will never love
you any less, because He loves you perfectly. If you can understand that, you
will grasp and understand that to be perfectly loved is to be perfectly
accepted, and to receive that is life and deliverance and freedom. ~
Dr.
Greg
Reid, An End to Guilt
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Amazing Words
That Have Been Said to Exiters -or- (What Never to Say to Someone Who Has Been Deceived by an Exploitive Group)
Questioning Why I
Was in a Deceptive Cult
Exiting
an Exploitive, Deceptive Group (covers the healing process)
Healing Through Grief
(articles and stories)
Prayers
for Freedom From Spiritual Strongholds (very effective in gaining
liberation from many strongholds and oppressions due to involvement in any
harmful cult or occult practices; includes moral issues)
Back to Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused
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