 Posted Monday, September 29, 2003 3:47 PM
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Dear Anonymous/TJG,
CS, as a "denomination," is beyond the state of decline: it is in freefall. This will provoke strong emotions in people.
I am one of the ex-CS'ists who holds that CS is not just wrong, but dangerous, even evil. It leads people into a lifestyle where they suffer needlessly and die prematurely, and maintain a self-mesmeric state of denial. ["We abhor mesmerism!!" you say? Paradoxically, the bogeyman you detest so much is actually a part of your family....a blood relative, in fact.] And, as a Biblical (as opposed to a metaphysical) Christian, I hold to the clear teachings of Christ Jesus: that there will be a final, irrevocable separation in the afterlife of the saved and the damned, errr...."lost." Believing "another gospel" and following a counterfeit christ (cf Gal1.6-8), and instructed by a deceiving spirit (I Tim 4:1,2)(I John 4:1-3), hundreds of thousands of humanly decent and good folks are led through physical maladies without relief into an eternity of anguish and torment that beggars human language's capacity to describe. Satan is a real being, described as a liar and a thief: what he steals are people's souls. And these are from the teachings of Christ Jesus, not the truncated "lesson-sermons."
A friend of mine, a former employee of the Publishing Society, put it this way: (paraphrase) "CS is definitely on the way out. The spirit that inspired and used Mrs. Eddy is through with it. CS has served his purpose, and he's now doing something else."
I realize you have emotional attachments to CS, and it's painful to see something you value wither and die. For the same reason, people (women, particularly) have difficulty extricating themselves from dysfunctional and abusive relationships....they keep hoping that somehow, someway, things will turn out...better. BUT THEY DON"T!! Please, Anonymous, use your head..think clearly and objectively!! More evidence is available showing that pople in CS do not necessarily live better or longer. Orthodox Christians have been pointing out, for over a hundred years, that MBE's teachings are deviant.
Please continue to read the posts, and keep your mind open. But I, --sorry this hurts your feelings -- an encouraged by the reports of CS decline and imminent demise.
PS Sorry if my vebosity is a drag. It's a common fault of those of us brought up in CS. Like MBE, we tend to use words both too many and too large. I'll try to be more succinct in my postings!
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Posted Monday, September 29, 2003 4:23 PM
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| You failed to mention the aposles who died prematurely, needlessly, cruelly, and extremely painfully just because they followed Him. Please change your handle to: following secular world.
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Posted Monday, September 29, 2003 5:45 PM
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| The strong emotion it provoked in me is that you need help followingHim. Get some good medication.
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Posted Monday, September 29, 2003 8:13 PM
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You are so right and the fastest growing religion in the US is Muslim.
FollowingAllah
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 8:47 AM
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Hey, followingAllah...
I think you mean Islam, not Muslim.
And, to you followingHim......I suffered as a child beyond belief. Physically, emotionally, you name it. However, it was more due to my crazy mother's idea of CS, not just CS itself. She seemed to enjoy watching my sister and me suffer...especially if the neighbors were aware of what was going on. It's just nuts. Amazing I lived to tell the story.
Nevertheless, your fundamentalist rantings are as crazy as she was, I'm sorry to say. So, all the CSers will end up in flames? Where will the Jews and Muslims end up>
TJG
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 10:42 AM
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TJG,
Do you believe in universalism (i.e., does everyone go to Heaven regardless of faith, belief, or actions)?
It's really easy for anyone with strong, passionate beliefs to sound like ranting to anyone who doesn't share those beliefs. Achieving a balance in such communications is difficult and may be impossible. Democrats think Republicans rant, Republicans know Democrats rant ( ), and I freely admit that I often sound like a ranting, raving lunatic to everyone and am sure many would concur. For example, I used to say the same things that CSists say on this forum yet did not understand why Christians and other non-CSists didn't get it. As a Christian, I now know why they thought that.
Back to the topic of CS in the news, I am genuinely saddened by the imminent demise of the CS church. I still have many fond memories of my years as a CSist especially the fellowship of Annual Meeting, Biannuals, or other gatherings. The Church Center in Boston is one of my favorite places from the sense of appreciating architectural beauty and function. Rather than praying and hoping for the demise of the CS Church, I hope and pray for the CS movement to divest itself of apostasy in much the same way as the Worldwide Church of God. That represents to me such an awesome potential! Imagine the impact of a core group of people predisposed to radical reliance on God and seeing them fully aligned with Jesus' teachings as taught clearly and sufficiently in the Bible.
Do Go Be Man
<><
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 4:20 PM
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Dear TJG:
I am so sorry to hear about you and your sister. My best friend's mother and father were Lutherans and they did horrible things to him and his twin sister. He loved his sister, but admitted she was now crazy and was in and out of mental institutions. He and I got along great, but if he felt that someone was trying to cheat him, he would go beserk. He was very good at what he did, but he got fired several times. He would call me after his outbursts and I was always able to calm him down. His daughter turned on him two years ago so he went up to his bedroom and blew out his brains. I pray that you do not take things so hard. You have had a tough life, but be glad for Allah has many good things in store for you.
We will all go to heaven in time. First will be the Muslims, then the agnostics, then the atheists, then the Christians and finally the Jews.
FollowingAllah
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 5:02 PM
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FollowingAllah,
We will all go to heaven in time. First will be the Muslims, then the agnostics, then the atheists, then the Christians and finally the Jews.
Would you cite Sura and verse for that?
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 5:27 PM
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followingAllah...
Will all the agnostics, atheists, Christians, and Jews get those virgins too? What do the women get?
TJG
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Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2003 7:05 PM
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I offer my apologies and regrets for posting thoughts that have gotton this thread so heated. I'm annoyed when others do it, and I'm embarassed that now, I have done it. So, I'm sorry.
But I do, still, contend that my position - and sentiment - is Biblical. Although people have enjoyed fellowship, quality journalism (Monitor), architecture, and so on, I still hold that since CS leads people into ill-health, premature deaths, and eternal damnation, it is not just erroneous or misguided, but evil. It's an extreme word, but evil, however nicely packaged and comfortably situated, is still evil.
There's an interesting book called "The Beautiful Side of Evil" by Joanna Michaelson. It's a Christian best-seller. Michaelson was involved in another form of occultic healing, "psychic surgery" and was apprenticed to a prominent shaman. To the Brooks Brothers-clad world of CS, this sounds hokey, but the healings that she participated in, and demonstrated herself, were medically validated. After a period of time, she sensed something wrong, and eventually came to see that, for all the "good" she was doing, it was the bait for something decidedly unholy.
God's word tells us "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." (Rom 12.9). So, I confess I hate CS, and am heartened by further evidence that this fang of the Serpent is rendered impotent. Satan rarely comes with bloody tooth and claw: he presents whatever visage is most appealing and benign to us mortals.
I think Paul had the likes of MBE, who looks Christian and sounds Biblical to the unwary, in mind when he tells us, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not suprising, then, that his workmen masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Cor. 11.13-15)
Consistent with this issue of false workers are Christ Jesus's very own words (I wonder if they ever appear in any of MBE's writings?): (Note: they are also relevent to those who believe that everybody will someday achieve some kind of "heaven.")
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord,Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!'" (Mat. 7.21-23)
So, it's rough telling people painful truth, especially if they are used to comfortable fictions, illusions, even delusions. People in darkness are shocked and offended by bright lights, and I suppose I'm guilty of using too bright and harsh a light at times. A great verse on this is from Isaiah (30:10-12)"
"They say to the seers,
' See no more visions!
and to the prophets,
'Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!'"
It's not fun telling people they are on the wrong road. But the consequences of the wrong turn are tragic beyond human understanding.
Lastly, in the thread, "CS Parents" I have posted a parable aboaut a man who has a life-history of wrong investment decisions. Before you respond to my posting here, please take the time and check it out. Thanks, and God bless (and save!) you!!
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