Compelled to Comment...
PLEASE READ THIS
The above is a link to a public blog post from a man named Paul Dyal. He is a very prominent man in the cult I was raised in. His blog popped up on a Google search I did months ago and I still occasionally read his blog just to see what kind of arrogant things he is saying on any given day. This man's church is in Jacksonville, Florida. Even when I was still a part of this group, there was something about him that put me off. His demeanor and public remarks, in my opinion, wreaked of arrogance and certain comments demonstrated a blatant disrespect for women. This was merely my impression of him. I never sat down and actually talked with him personally. I had no desire to know him. I vividly remember groaning internally when he rose to speak (in the general conventions our church hosted).
I am thankful that he is posting so publicly on the Internet about his beliefs. It is a constant reminder of the spiritual deception and abuse I was raised in. The one thing I will say for this man is that he isn't vague and evasive; he doesn't try to conceal what he truly believes in order to gain acceptance from mainstream Christianity. He openly states the beliefs that formed my spiritual foundation in life. My former church (Christian Gospel Temple) has attempted to deny the control, the heavy legalism, and the fact that we believed our group was THE Body of Christ exclusively. Oh, we believed God had people in denominations, but ultimately those sincere Christians would come out of those other churches/false beliefs and find us, the true church with "the truth" about salvation (as well as many other of our distinct revelations). We absolutely did believe that in order to "make it," a believer would have to find the "truth" about salvation (that you had to become perfect to receive eternal life), come under the true ministry God had appointed in the earth today (our ministers with the vision of William Sowders) and "go on to perfection."
I was raised to believe that if one left "the Body" to go to any other Christian church outside our fellowship, it was displeasing to God and there was no point in deceiving yourself; you would be leaving the "truth" to be a part of Babylon. You were better off not even trying to serve God than to "think" you were serving God out in the "religious world." The message was not ambiguous or vague in the forty-three years I spent there. It was very clear and transparent. That is why I find it so offensive today when this is denied.
If you had a conversation today with some of the "leadership" of my former church (CGT), many would attempt to convince you that we never looked down on other Christians or operated in exclusivity. It has been stated to me that since CGT has no written doctrinal statement, they don't really have doctrine. That's not how I was raised. And it insults my intelligence to be told that as if I am so stupid that I will buy it. It is patronizing and condescending and dishonest. I may have been conditioned and indoctrinated and manipulated all my life to buy into most everything that was spoon fed to me all those years, but I haven't lost my memory or my mind. I remember. They cannot rewrite my memories or my history.
If you read this man's words, he is honestly telling you the attitude of the group (as a whole) toward other Christians in many, many posts. I'm not suggesting you read exhaustively. But he tells it like it is, like it has always been in that group. He is honest enough to flatly and unambiguously state, "We have always, and still do, disdain religious Seminary's...."
He is recognizing that their lack of ministerial training is handicapping them as a group and they need a school for the ministry, "... seminars that are solely designed to facilitate the needs of the Body."
However, because they have disdained formal education all of these years and believed that their education has to come from within their own system, no one within their group is really qualified to teach any of the things he sees the need for. People who are qualified to offer real counseling, for instance, go to school for years and then accumulate hours of training under a professional's guidance in order to obtain knowledge and experience in such areas. But in their arrogance, they have never believed they could learn from anyone "outside the Body" because of their disdain for a formal education.
I don't know why I feel compelled to comment on this. I think reading these words just triggered an emotional response from me. In spite of my disagreement with just about everything he believes, I'm glad that this man blogs as transparently as he does. I wrote in my book about the attitude that was cultivated in me toward other Christians and while I expect some to attempt to deny the truth of my words, this guy makes it abundantly clear that I didn't pull my memories out of a hat.
The above is a link to a public blog post from a man named Paul Dyal. He is a very prominent man in the cult I was raised in. His blog popped up on a Google search I did months ago and I still occasionally read his blog just to see what kind of arrogant things he is saying on any given day. This man's church is in Jacksonville, Florida. Even when I was still a part of this group, there was something about him that put me off. His demeanor and public remarks, in my opinion, wreaked of arrogance and certain comments demonstrated a blatant disrespect for women. This was merely my impression of him. I never sat down and actually talked with him personally. I had no desire to know him. I vividly remember groaning internally when he rose to speak (in the general conventions our church hosted).
I am thankful that he is posting so publicly on the Internet about his beliefs. It is a constant reminder of the spiritual deception and abuse I was raised in. The one thing I will say for this man is that he isn't vague and evasive; he doesn't try to conceal what he truly believes in order to gain acceptance from mainstream Christianity. He openly states the beliefs that formed my spiritual foundation in life. My former church (Christian Gospel Temple) has attempted to deny the control, the heavy legalism, and the fact that we believed our group was THE Body of Christ exclusively. Oh, we believed God had people in denominations, but ultimately those sincere Christians would come out of those other churches/false beliefs and find us, the true church with "the truth" about salvation (as well as many other of our distinct revelations). We absolutely did believe that in order to "make it," a believer would have to find the "truth" about salvation (that you had to become perfect to receive eternal life), come under the true ministry God had appointed in the earth today (our ministers with the vision of William Sowders) and "go on to perfection."
I was raised to believe that if one left "the Body" to go to any other Christian church outside our fellowship, it was displeasing to God and there was no point in deceiving yourself; you would be leaving the "truth" to be a part of Babylon. You were better off not even trying to serve God than to "think" you were serving God out in the "religious world." The message was not ambiguous or vague in the forty-three years I spent there. It was very clear and transparent. That is why I find it so offensive today when this is denied.
If you had a conversation today with some of the "leadership" of my former church (CGT), many would attempt to convince you that we never looked down on other Christians or operated in exclusivity. It has been stated to me that since CGT has no written doctrinal statement, they don't really have doctrine. That's not how I was raised. And it insults my intelligence to be told that as if I am so stupid that I will buy it. It is patronizing and condescending and dishonest. I may have been conditioned and indoctrinated and manipulated all my life to buy into most everything that was spoon fed to me all those years, but I haven't lost my memory or my mind. I remember. They cannot rewrite my memories or my history.
If you read this man's words, he is honestly telling you the attitude of the group (as a whole) toward other Christians in many, many posts. I'm not suggesting you read exhaustively. But he tells it like it is, like it has always been in that group. He is honest enough to flatly and unambiguously state, "We have always, and still do, disdain religious Seminary's...."
He is recognizing that their lack of ministerial training is handicapping them as a group and they need a school for the ministry, "... seminars that are solely designed to facilitate the needs of the Body."
However, because they have disdained formal education all of these years and believed that their education has to come from within their own system, no one within their group is really qualified to teach any of the things he sees the need for. People who are qualified to offer real counseling, for instance, go to school for years and then accumulate hours of training under a professional's guidance in order to obtain knowledge and experience in such areas. But in their arrogance, they have never believed they could learn from anyone "outside the Body" because of their disdain for a formal education.
I don't know why I feel compelled to comment on this. I think reading these words just triggered an emotional response from me. In spite of my disagreement with just about everything he believes, I'm glad that this man blogs as transparently as he does. I wrote in my book about the attitude that was cultivated in me toward other Christians and while I expect some to attempt to deny the truth of my words, this guy makes it abundantly clear that I didn't pull my memories out of a hat.
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