When Worldwide Church of God states that "getting in touch with your feelings is New Age," they are so wrong and are cutting off one more path to freedom.  New Age teaching is wanting to become God and be the Ultimate Maker yourself.  Being able to see what was done to you in the cult and then feeling your hurts is necessary to begin healing. One of your body's God-given signs of danger is pain.  Ignoring that pain signal is how people continue to be damaged. There is nothing New Age in seeing and understanding what makes you feel pain and finding the source: WCG lies, deception, authoritarianism, punishments, unattainable rules for living, giving of resources that you don't have, belittling, twisting of minds and twisting of Scripture, creators of pain and confusion, distrust and FEAR programming! This isn't New Age thinking, it's critical thinking. It's viewing things for what they really are, and not through men's interpretations.  It is appalling that the government of WCG would hurt members and then have the nerve to tell them what hurts. 

What really helped me was to tell the tale. Just say exactly what I was thinking and then look back and ask myself why I was thinking that. Discernment comes from understanding the motives of others. People need to read those OIU Newsletters and other articles from professionals. They need to go through Lifton's Eight Criteria of Mind Control step by step and apply their circumstances to that. When you do that, it is very obvious that mind control was used on you. We were cogs in a money-making machine and empire of an egomaniac, and the leadership in WCG is still defending Herbert W. Armstrong and Tkach Sr. 

The Bible clearly shows how to know a false prophet--by his false prophecies. And a false teacher will be known by his works. Did anything that HWA prophesized ever show itself as truth?  No! None of his over 140 prophecies ever came true. He surrounded himself with lies and he changed his story as the lies were revealed.

It helped me so much to see HWA and the business organization for what it is.
Once the self-proclaimed emperor is seen without his clothes, the castle underneath him crumbles. Everyone HWA ever gave power to, and every rule or proclamation ever spoken in the entire organization, is false. Liars continue on to find new victims. It is so painful to uncover the lies and feel the humiliation of being used as a pawn, but the truth is the key that allows you to start thinking and to free your mind. 

I've spent so many years looking for God in a church or religion. It never dawned on me that God is only in that building because people are in that building who have Jesus in their life. Jesus didn't give us rules. He gave us principles of love to take to heart. He expressed anger towards the religious leaders who laid burdens on people, but he gave forgiveness to those who had sinned, and He treated them with compassion. 

Christ alluded to His flock of sheep. He did not say anything about them being blind--only needing care and nurturing from the Shepherd. Would a God who professes to love you and want you with Him forever have a flock of sheep pinned tightly in a corral in pain and confusion1 and misery, and then every so often cast one out to wander alone and afraid until they die in misery? That is the work of men and Satan. That is not God's plan or His methods.

It is humbling that Jesus would help me in my worst time of need when the religions of the world turned their backs. That the Creator of infinity would even see one person cowering in the corner and take the time to stand behind me and walk with me out of the tomb. I know I'm in for more pain and suffering, but I've got nowhere to go but up. I have seen the bottom of the pit--believe me--and I don't want to go back.  

By Shelly - Child Survivor of WCG
March 16, 2001 

Footnote by ESN:

1 Confusion is a result of the mind control that WCG survivors endured.

Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused

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