People Born Into Cults, When Did You Realize You Got to Leave?
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These posts with "not really a cult, but I was in..." then proceed to name a very prominent cult are so sad.
P
U
F
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"never trust a system that treats suffering as a virtue"
Define “suffering”.
@@elijahtiemens5532 Literally means pain.
What Squid here is saying is that pointless pain shouldn't be viewed as a good thing.
Nova Star What is the criteria by which you judge pain to be pointless?
@@elijahtiemens5532 It's fairly obvious when one feels pointless pain and suffering. The fact that you make a statement like that makes you look kinda sheltered.
The kind of suffering that these cults force upon these people (prejudice against homosexuality, denial of basic human rights, etc.) are indoctrinated to feel "normal" upon the cult members. It's pointless to people that have left the cult/never joined in the first place, but appears to be "useful" if they drank the koolaid.
If you're happy and you know it that's a sin
I really started to disbelieve around 11 when the adults couldn’t answer simple questions. Left fully at 13 when I was informed that I shouldn’t be friends with non-members unless I was trying to convert them. Verbally told them that this was a cult and walked away.
Parents and neighbors made my life hell for it but damn if it didn’t feel good to think for myself.
How are you doing now, if I may ask?
Same! I left around 9, same thing happened at 11. Luckily my mom and dad are atheist.
the "if they found Jesus body christianity would be fake" thing never made sense cause if it weren't real AT ALL you wouldn't find a damn body cause it's made up WTF that's when i stopped believing
Rip
I did not get inside an active church since i was 7
When I went in the marine corps and learned how to pick out key riot inciters in crowd control / riot situations. I learned to spot the speaking technique's used to trigger fight or flight status and induce adrenal response. went to my childhood culty church one last time and realized the preacher was inciting adrenal response with perfect technique. the "holy spirit" was basically a bunch of peeps tripping balls off of adrenaline and borderline oxygen deficiency from borderline hyperventilation. never went back to any church since.
D*mn 😳
I'll bite, how do you do it?
That’s fascinating and terrifying.
Sounds exactly like court.
@@V3RITAZ_42 by joining the military ofc
"My parents would let me die if I needed a blood transfusion"
Is that even legal?
Laws about religion are supper vague, a chuch with a good lawyer can get away with just about anything
*Generally*, you can refuse on your own, and if your child is old enough you can pressure the kid into refusing. For younger kids, it often depends on the state.
Most states say you can't prevent it; we'll save the kid and you can worry about the 'sin' later--but like Cody noted, a good lawyer can do just about anything.
Yeah it is they make you have this little piece of paper you put in your wallet and even have keychains that’s the cult Jehova witnesses for you
I get that 'religious freedom' is a thing in the U.S., but there's gotta be SOME kind of law against causing bodily harm or death that supersedes religion, right? Cuz let's be real here, those jack-fucks that don't allow kids to receive proper, life-saving medical treatment SHOULD be charged with- at a bare goddamn minimum -child neglect.
If you ask me, any religions that promote child neglect, child abuse, domestic violence, and other criminal activities should not be considered religions at all. Oughta snap the good ones into line and clearly expose the bad ones.
@@hauntedshadowslegacy2826 I wish that it wasn’t legal either but it is I know because I was raised a jehova witness and you are told to not accept blood transfusions no matter what🙃 so glad I’m out
"Shouldn't we stop to help the people stranded on the road?"
"We are... we're praying for them to receive help"
It's sad that an 8 year figured out what the right thing to do was when her parents didn't 🤨😢
That's why "thoughts and prayers" became such a meme.
🙃
I'm not religious, but if god does exist, I think they would want you to do good by helping other people. Like wtf kind of logic is it to pray for someone who needs help.
That's not what Jesus said in the parable of the Good Samaritan; get in there and help people! Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.
@@jgw5491
GOD ISNT REAL
GOD IS FAKE
HES MADE BY THE CHURCH TO MAKE YALL GO TO CHURCH
@@objectshowshipper ok Thats kinda rude
To be fair, that family that prayed for someone to help the family by the side of the road? Their prayers worked. They created someone who would always help bystanders - their tired-of-their-bullshit kid.
The Lord works in mysterious ways! :-p
and u realise that the true go, is human more precisly
the lak of humanity of some making people trie to compensate
Dont tell the parents that or it'll validate their bullshit lol
As an Orthodox Christian these kind of people piss me off. Yes it's very important to pray but God won't help you if you don't take some action yourself. If you see a family like that, pray and go and help them.
@@tennisuniverse5671 I am a Christian and that made me face palm. Because, my Dad was Christian but if he saw anyone on the road who needed help. He'd go over to them and offer a helping hand. He had a much better balance of praying and taking action, something that I am still grateful about to this day.
I was invited to visit my friend's 'youth group' one day. Turns out this is what they tell their members to call it so they can trick people into coming. Over several weeks they cut out the fun activities and games, and introduce worship, religious songs and stories about god. By this point, you're in, you've made friends, everyone is nice and you'd feel bad if you didn't show up next week. So you keep going, and they start to get in your head, maybe it's true?
I started to notice they stopped being so friendly, and started talking more and more about things that made me uncomfortable, like punishing sinners, or not blaspheming against God. One girl had a breakdown, because her parents were trying to make her see sense, and the group were telling her to turn her back on them, that her family were betraying her faith.
Around this time I was starting to question my sexuality, and one day they started a collection to protest against gay marriage (which was about to become legalised). I finally decided to leave, but my friend (who was also secretly gay) didn't. I remember people in the group telling me they knew about this, but would try to 'help her get over it.'
I never heard from her again after I left, but I hope she got out and is happy.
@@morigaena333 as far as I remember it was a gathering of local hardline Christians (I think some were jehovas witnesses) who were just extremely serious about their faith. I remember they would send people to other countries on 'missions,' one guy even gave up his job to do it. They'd take us on camps to meet other groups and we'd go into a tent to listen to intense worship music, and you'd be expected to raise your arms in praise and shout to the lord, then some people would be 'overtaken by the holy spirit' and collapse. If you said you hadn't felt anything they'd question you and get very judgemental. I remember some kids spending the whole night crying because they were so desperate to feel god's presence and be accepted.
And when I say hard line, I mean I once randomly quoted Four Weddings and a Funeral (the Father, the Son and the Holy Goat) and the whole room went silent and I genuinely thought the leader was going to hit me, but he just said 'Don't ever say that again' in a very threatening way.
@@charlielouise2428 so basically you went to church and didn't like it. You can make it as overdramatic sounding as you want but you were never actually threatened or in any actual danger.
@@sirraf23 just like all those altar boys were never in any danger.
@@sirraf23 a cult doesn't have to put you in danger to be a cult. We were vulnerable teenagers being tricked into attending meetings, lured into the faith with bribes and treats, judged for our every action and taught to judge, and told to turn our backs on our non believing families and friends. We were told to convert anyone we met. We were told to ask friends to come, but told not to tell them 'what we're about, just tell them we're a youth group.' They were a cult. I've been to several other churches in my lifetime and they were all lovely places with wonderful people who were open to all sorts of ideas, I have nothing against the church whatsoever.
I'm genuinely surprised other kids faked being "slain in the spirit" to get the adults to stop rubbing up on them in a "prayer circle." I thought I was the only one being groped in the name of weekly "exorcisms"...
I wouldve done the same thing, and wouldve taken a stab to my feelings about that religion, and i also would feel betrayed.
Sorry you went through that
Yep, I did it too. They would shove on my head and my neck would start to hurt, and I was worried they'd knock my vertebrae out of joint if I didn't.
As a Pentecostal Christian I never once had to go through that or see it. Some parts of Christianity is messed up
man i dont think thats a christan religion anymore
11:20 I went to a Catholic HS. Girls were not allowed to wear skirts because it distracted “male students and *teachers”.* I’m not talking about “no mini-skirts”. No skirts. At all. Because it was the female students’ faults that some male teachers were pervs and our responsibility to prevent grown men from looking at our 14-18yo knees.
My friends and I did a mini-protest by all wearing skirts for our Senior picture. About 50+ girls in all, in varying lengths of skirts. To show the true ridiculousness of having such an open-ended rule, I wore a flowy skirt that literally reached my ankles. I was not allowed to sit in the front row of the bleachers because...?
A length rule I could understand, but _no_ skirts because *adults* couldn’t focus just struck me as backwards. Shouldn’t they have confronted the teachers who apparently couldn’t control themselves instead of banning all skirts?
I wonder if they made that rule before or after a teacher (who still taught there) married his old student when she was in college. She ended up teaching Calculus... at our high school. It was odd. lol. He was never inappropriate with us & was a nice man; it was just a situation my friends and I found weird.
That's super weird. In the cult I'm forced into (apostolic pentecostal), women are ONLY supposed to wear skirts, and only knee length and lower. Neither rule makes sense because different pieces of clothing are more modest on different occasions.. (this all aside from all the problematic things about purity culture and gender roles in general ofc)
There's also a ton of other weird restrictions they put on women and girls. I can talk about it if you want to hear it but for now I'll leave it here cause I don't wanna write a whole article lol
Jesus i would have killed to be allowed to wear pants. All of high-school we were only allowed to wear skits. No matter what. When it was raining, when it was snowing, even when it was windy as hell outside. The skirts had to be below the knee, but it didn't help. Skirts flew up all the time and no one said anything because there wasn't any point.
Their excuse was that some people had religious views that went this far so we all had to do it.
No one I know who left that school doesn't have mental issues as a result.
@@sophisticatedPJs >_> I wanna know!
@@Amaipuppy ok ok.
So, people who are AFAB (assigned female at birth) are all forced or pressured into:
- not wearing pants or shorts
- not wearing any jewelry
- not cutting their hair (like, ever. My hair has so many split ends I stg)
- not getting any tattoos
- not wearing any makeup
- not wearing skirts above the knee
- not wearing sleeveless shirts
- not wearing "low cut" tops (aka anything that could possibly hint at the existence of having a chest because feminine anatomy is scandalous!1!1!! 😳😳😳 /sarc)
And probably more I'm not thinking of atm. They really really like to push toxic gender roles on everyone they can using old testament scriptures most Christians no longer follow. I personally can't wait to chop off all my hair and go all out with alt fashion, but it might be a bit before I can do that :/
@@sophisticatedPJs - I have friends who are Apostolic Pentecostal, and better people you never met, but the "man-is-the-head-of-the-household, period" thing drives me insane because my friend has more common sense in her little finger than her husband has in his entire body, and yet they all have to do what he says even if it's harmful because, well, you know. And she does it because it's what you're "supposed" to do.
Wasn't apart of a cult, but my mom made me take part in an after school Bible study because one of her friends kids was in it. Now, I considered myself to be a fairly intelligent kid for an 8 year old and asked many questions. When I sat through the class, the teacher sat there and tried to convince us that God created all fairytales even the inspiration behind Disney movies, and that if you believe those you believe in God. My logic at the time was that only kids believed in fairytales which fueled their magic and once you got older, you stop believing but the next generation of kids will keep their magic going. I began to question this until I asked, "Only kids believe in fairytales and adults don't. So does that mean when you get older you'll stop believing in God?"
The room got quiet after that. Too quiet. Her and her 2 teacher assistants just stared at me since they didn't even have an excuse for me. I was punished by having me read the Bible in the corner to "reflect and reevaluate my faith" instead of getting to play with the other kids or play games.
I even overheard one of them telling my mom that I had a disciplinary problems because I "wouldn't listen" and "asked too many questions."
That moment stuck with me after that which made me question Christianity to the point of avoiding it altogether. I have met a few decent Christians though, but the negative ones are the ones you always hear about.
Woah
Using Bible reading as a punishment is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. It should be something you encourage kids to do, not something to lazily force them to do because you couldn’t answer a question! I am a Christian, and I believe as strongly as I do because I was allowed to ask questions and wasn’t punished for it. Having doubts is okay because if you aren’t allowed to wrestle with difficult questions and ask God about it, how will you ever grow?
@@Thinginator The Christian community I grew up around wasn't the greatest. My mom wasn't brainwashed, but she didn't see the BS I was talking about. I've been to a few circles after avoiding that one, and since I didn't own a personal Bible or read it outside of church, I was always tasked with reading the Bible to "reflect" or "re-evaluate my faith" to the point that I got sick of it and just stopped going. It basically turned into school outside of school and I was just done with it.
What the heck... You were told that believing in disney is like believing in God...That is not true christianity but a bunch of nonsense. I hope that you have had some better experiences with churches... And I am sorry that you have decided against christianity because of it.
@@neperson7647 It was ALL fairytales. Including the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause. I remember my friends older sister tried to convince me that God gave presents to Santa so he could deliver them to the kids. Then I asked "then why don't the poor kids have presents if they believe?" That shut her up real quick
My 13 year old son went to some Christian group that met in his friends home. He came home and told me the kids had been warned not to listen to heavy metal and hard rock music because there were "satanic" messages hidden in the music that you could hear if the record was played backwards. My son would never have heard of this if he hadn't gone to that church meeting. My son and his friends then kept trying to play records backwards to hear these satanic messages. They were very disappointed because, of course, the silly theory of "backward messages" in records was utter rubbish although fundamentalist Christian groups firmly believed it at that time.
Son and his friends not sin and his friends
My mom told me something similar when she found out I listened to metal plus she doesn’t let me watch anime because she says it’s demonic.
@@parisortiz8731 well, in Black Butler there is a demon jajajajaja
Loving your son's attitude.
@@parisortiz8731 Even if it's a happy, slice of life anime?
"We are helping them. We are praying to God for someone to come and help them."
... I...WHAT?!
Like that's all handy dandy mate!
I remember once reading a short story about something similar. It was a fictional story about a man who was at home when a hurricane threatened to flood his home. He prayed that God would save him. Afterwards, a neighbor offered to drive him out, but the man refused saying God would save him. The flood came and the man prayed again for salvation. Someone in a boat came by and offered to help him, but the man refused saying God would save him. The flood was rising and the man had to climb on his roof. Someone in a helicopter flew by and offered to help him, and again the man refused saying God would save him.
The man drowned, and went to heaven. When he got there, he asked God “why didn’t you save me?”
God said, “I tried. I sent you your neighbor, the boatman, and the man in helicopter, but you refused their help. What more could I do?”
A lot of Christians can get so caught up in being “spiritual” or expecting miracles that they can miss the fact that God often works in ordinary ways as well as mysterious ways. This is why we have the parable of The Good Samaritan. Nothing is more spiritual than helping another human being in need, especially right when they need it.
@@hannahpense9973 would it be more accurate to say that god works in mysteriously normal ways perhaps? Like in your example, he sends you someone to help you or provide you with the means to help yourself or something? Curious mind enquiring.
Well, if everyone thinks like that, then they will never get any help!! These people need to think a bit farther into the future.
@@megandunnett7900 Absolutely! Some Christians get the impression that because a lot of Bible characters or people of faith experienced unexplainable or earth shattering miracles that they must expect God to work the same way. God works in whatever ways will bring His followers peace and direction, and in whatever way brings Him glory. In the case of this family praying for someone to help the stranded driver rather than helping themselves, God knew what the driver needed, and so did this family. But the family chose to keep driving and praying for a miracle rather than be the answer to their own prayer.
I find that for a lot of Christians, especially modern ones, sometimes that miracle that they're waiting for is simply the courage to be proactive in their own faith.
"Not really a cult" = totally, 100% a cult
The term "cult" isn't 100% specific. It's definition is "worship of a person or object" so it's very subjective. Anything could be called a cult.
Rule of thumb: if you must never speak to anyone again because of a decision they make and tell everyone else to forget them and shame them, you don't really love them and have really weak beliefs. Even Jesus sought out the sinful and tried to save them.
Jesus went round to the house of a known sinner, despite protests, and he did a 180 almost instantly!
That is an excellent point
And this is what I tell all JW's
Hum, toxic positivity could be read as a cult? And I don't think you should keep rapists or violent racist or homophobics around, most because self preservance is necessary and all.... No hate, but you have the right to stay safe. People full of hate against oppressed people aren't safe for these people.
I’m not religious, but I agree with this. If a person did something horrible and unforgivable to me or my friends, I’d cut them off and never speak to them. However, I think it’s too far to convince everyone they’ve ever known that they’re a horrible person. There are boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.
Ex JW here...
I was about 8 years old. And one of the elders said that you couldn't say you love Jesus when praying. I found that odd, considering the fact that JWs consider themselves to be the only true Christians
Yeah cause Jesus is the son of Jehovah and even though there shouldn't be anything wrong with loving them both, prayer is through Jesus to Jehovah God, so I guess awkward messenger stuff? Plus they gotta be unique against those Jesus only worldly churches amirite?
Current JW, that doesn't make any sense to me?
@@papal1500 jeah why should he say that i always say i love Jesus tho my Pray goes to Jeovah
When you pray to god you are talking to god not to jesus if you want to say you love jesus you CAN, their nothing wrong with that, all prayers end in "In the Name of Jesus Amen"
@@Superlicious852 they do? Oh ya you right, they do. Ive said that last bit so many times its lost all meaning
Hank Hill - excuse me are yall with the cult?
Cult member- were not a cult. Were an organization that promotes love and ...
Hank- yeah this is it.
744 likes no replies
It is illeagle here in America. You can't refuse medical attention to your child over religion.
@@panzerkrieg3509 *laughs in jehova witnesses*
@@panzerkrieg3509 illegal*
@@panzerkrieg3509 it's not over religion then, it's over the hospital bill
I new a guy a few years who was born into a cult. His parents help the pregnancy secret from the government and had him at home unreported. He learned when he was 20 that he couldn't leave. Legally he didn't exist. Couldn't get a job. Couldn't get a place to stay at all. Couldn't even sue his parents for doing it to him. As far as anyone cared he didn't exist. Ended up going back to the cult because that was the only way he was going to eat and have a place to sleep.
Holy shit. That can happen to someone? That would be HELL.
That sounds like the backstory of the world's greatest Ninja. Like having Nord VPN in his veins, ain't tracing this dude!
@Jay Bryant technically it isnt but there isn't much to stop you from doing it
Wow. He didn't have vaccines or any kind of modern medicine other than OTC meds. How's his health..his teeth? Everything else?
@@Alleykatsksa lot of Amish live like this. More dental issues, and other medical issues but they’re typically fine.
9:05 The audacity to ask for money when they find him disgusting and won't let him attend.
What I thought, their behavior was disgusting
Wasn’t born into, but was a part of the Black Hebrew Israelites for 8 years on my youth. One of my “ oh crap, I’m in a cult” moment occurred when I was at a neighbors house on the “community property”. They were serving their children’s lunch and one of the kids said they were still hungry. I’m paraphrasing since this was 13-14 years ago but the mom said that they have to practice rationing food to prepare for the “tribulation period”. Left that area 12 year ago.
I swear I went to the most chill Presbyterian church on the planet. Truly, the greatest mystery of the congregation was what cookies were going to show up with the punch they served in the social hall after the service. I remain suspicious of the secular nature of the Milano cookie to this day.
HaHa, I feel you bro, I go to a chill free will baptist church with like ten people and act like normal kid. I kinda feel sad tho for the people with bad experiences who have dropped religion. Another thing is that my Pastor is so cool about his preaching and he says that if he makes any mistakes or false things regarding scripture that we are free to talk to him about it. I also go to a Christian school and I like how you do not have to be Christian to go there. It is so diverse. sorry for the rambling, Have a nice day.
Everyone knows Milano cookies are the work of the devil, along with Tim Tams and Piroulines!
Seriously! I don't really believe, but I'm still stuck going to church until I get up the courage to say I don't believe, and of course the church is Presbyterian. It's like, so chill, all the time.
It really is a shame that so many people have bad experiences. My Faith is not dependent upon my church; during COVID my relationship with God has improved even with less frequent visits. I go to a Southern Baptist church, btw. I believe that churches, real churches, are in place to offer communion, and for people to have a place among other people who share their Faith. However, it is not necessary.
Churches were extremely necessary back in the day all around the world, around 150 years ago and before that. This is because not everyone could read and write, so they trusted the words of the preacher or priest. Now, the world has become much more diverse in ideologies and lifestyles (as far as it goes in the US), and while there are many, many good teachers, things have gotten much cloudier. The only sources I could ever trust completely, under any circumstance, would be the Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, and their guidance, as well as what my Bible says (standard 66 books across the Old and New Testaments. Not sure which version, but I inherited a few old ones from my great-grandmother).
I realize that perhaps not everyone who reads this will agree with me, and that's alright. I just wanted to share my view and experience. I ask that you do not spur conflict in a hurtful manner, and I would be happy to discuss my Faith in the comments if anyone is interested.
@@SirPancake1 That's awesome
I have a Jehova church near my home and sometimes one or two tries to recruit me. It's hilarious to me because their arguments just vanish when I brought up science to the conversation.
An example:
Jehova Man: "You know there's fish fossils in the Everest."
Me: "Yes"
Jehova Man: "This is a proof of the universal flood happening."
I explain tectonics to him.
Jehova Man: "But that's just a theory."
Me: "A theory that has been proven right."
Jehova Man: "But I don't believe it."
Me: "And I don't believe in a planetary flood that would require double the water in this planet to happen and then that water vanishing from existence."
TLDR: I'm worse than a Jehova cultist and I'll make you believe in science.
Atheist? Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm a Christian Baptist) But do you guys rely on Science or do you worship the "Supreme being"? I'm kinda curious
@@melo9175 Atheists, like myself, don't believe in a religion but do believe that there is a higher being. We don't follow a text or any other book, we just live our lives the way we want and try to accept people the way they are.
Yeah, science is a big thing. I love science. Though, I do believe in a higher being so science of say, the Big Bang or stuff like that confuses me. Science has given us so many good things and to reject it is to reject medicine, electricity, math, etc.
I have no qualms about any religion, unless if you are harming others or yourself in the name of that religion or being prejudiced against others. I'm bisexual so I'm very cautious around people that are religious. On the Internet it's different but in real life? Nope.
I just want people to love one another, regardless of our differences. We are all human and we should embrace our differences instead of shunning or killing those different than the norm.
@@desirosethorne4429 Tbh atheists seem like they have the most common sense, They just live their lives with appreciation, not sure about the other religions though, but no offence if some of you reading this, its just that some of the people who endorse religion rely on false claims
@@melo9175 Yeah, religion is a bit of a hit or miss thing. The fact that there are so many and so diverse makes it even worse. If there was just one religion I could see myself following it, but because there are so many? I need evidence, proof that there is something like that. Sure I believe in a higher power because it just doesn't seem like a coincidence that we are the smartest animal on the planet and are able to do so many amazing things just because of evolution.
I mean, dolphins are smarter than us. Yet, they're not making things or able to do half of the things we can. We're sentient, we're sapient and we can go to the moon for fricks sake! That can't just be a random "oops" in the Matrix that we're able to do these things.
I respect your religion, I really do. I'm not gonna just burn a Bible because it's a sacred text for so many people, as well as the Quran and many other religious texts. That and, if God is real, he'd not be too happy with me. I'd be pissed if someone burned my personal books, I'd probably stab someone if they did. My books are important and so is yours. Well, you know what I mean. It's more of a book, the Bible.
@@desirosethorne4429 Agreed.
Not a cult but a private Christian school which translate to “preppy child cult” for me anymore. Was constantly bullied and punished for reading instead of playing. Got detention in 2nd grade for bringing an Archie comic to school because it was a comic. (The cleanest comic known to man I feel like at the time) Had a teacher make me eat the half a sandwich I threw in the trash because of “the poor”. Was open about me moving to a public school starting the fifth grade and my TEACHER asked me “what made me think I was gonna make friends there if I couldn’t here?” I graduated high school almost 5 years ago, have a college degree and moved across the country and I still have night sweats thinking about it
Fuck dude was that school trying to be grim-dark? Sorry u went through that bro
Glad you survived with intelligence and sanity
I was raised Southern Baptist. Basically Protestant but with more fire and brimstone. My brother came out as gay. According to my church, he was not worthy of heaven. I decided that if God didn’t want him, he couldn’t have me. If there is a God, I’m sure he would not care about sexuality or what you eat.
Hi. I was raised a Baptist as well, sorta southern. I believe that homosexuality is not something that will prevent you from reaching heaven. The way it is spoken about in the Bible seems to be about sex crimes so I don’t think it’s fair to say that Homosexuality is condemned. God doesn’t make mistakes, we are all made in his image, it doesn’t matter if you’re straight, gay, black, white, male, female, or anything else. From your final sentence I think you’re agnostic, I personally hope you reconnect with God, but if you choose another path then I would respect that decision.
Uh sorry that might have gotten a little weird, and you commented months ago so yeah. Have a good year!
Yeah bro im sure you know better than God
My first church was SB too. I've come a loong way since then. After several years with no church affiliation, I started going to an Episcopal church. Totally accepting of LGBT+. It was a good decision for us.
I love your comments. Thanks. I do struggle with being agnostic. I love people and wish and want good things for everyone. I get called naive at 48. I'm not. I just don't 2ant to live in the sorrow and harm that we can do to each other. All the best to you and your family.
You are an amazing person. I can’t believe that a large group of people are being marginalised and treated badly and even hurt and unalived just because of a translation error in the Bible. Geez….
I have leukemia and I have had many blood transfusions, LIFE SAVING TRANSFUSIONS
I'm glad that you were saved by medicine so many times. Stay healthy 💗
I hope you can overcome it one day, keep fighting
@@TrueSonOfWalhall actually I recently just finished my chemotherapy and i'm all cured!
@@cicibear76 congratulations, so happy to hear that.
@@TrueSonOfWalhall ty!
Critical thinking is definitely the key to getting out of the cult mindsets. While I've never been in a cult, I know enough about them to know they thrive on the members never questioning anything they're told
Was born into a Mormon family.
First instance was when I came out to the Bishop that I was attracted to guys, and the following Sunday he gave a sermon on the sins of homosexuality. People started distancing themselves from me and a couple others. Parents were oblivious.
Second was when they started repeating the same lessons every year. When I pointed them out, and even showed them, they brushed it off believing it was new.
Third was reading their "Pearl of Great Price". Do suggest people read it. It's not used in teaching, but they haven't removed it. Mainly because it's all about their earlier beliefs, and it's science fiction.
Final straw was around the time I found out I was naturally sterile. That section of the church was big on family and having kids. When they found out I couldn't have any, and didn't want to adopt nor be around children (was going through depression), they basically asked me to leave and join another group. Not an immediate kick to the curb, but a definite one.
Mormons are, by and large, one of the nicest cults out there, but after this? No thanks. Have been free and clear of religion for almost a decade.
Morganify absolutely right. There’s even a common trope called “good is not nice” in fiction
? They still use the Pearl of Great Price in teaching, and it's still cannon doctrine
Sigh. This really sucks a fat one. I am really sorry you had to go through that. I am a convert of the Church of Jesus Christ and, let me just say, your bishop really really really screwed the pooch. First, conversations between someone and the bishop is supposed to remain entirely confidential and for the purpose of counsel. Him going out of his way to publicly single you out was 100% wrong. It betrayed trust between you and God because for you he was supposed to represent someone being lead by the spirit to help you. Also, the scriptures (old testament I think) has passages that reference blessed are the barren. In other words, if you can't have kids, that's okay. You are still precious and loved and have other wonderful gifts and capacities. I get super frustrated because I see so many examples of wards, branches, and even entire stakes falling into this cycle of really culty behavior, completely disregarding the doctrines they supposedly claim they follow. I know that isn't a new thing and it is sadly part of the human condition, but when people force their own imperfections and insecurities on people who are confused, lost, and hurting, it really shouldn't take gospel rocket science to figure out that's not okay. I hope you are doing well, and still have or have a relationship with Heavenly Father. No matter what people say, or how they try to judge you, you are still and always will be precious to Him and he can gives love and help that sadly we imperfect people fall short on providing. Sorry for the long rant and if this is doesn't make sense. I'm not the best writer lol
Im an atheist too
I’m ex-Mormon too! Glad you got out
"Chanting is of the devil." Quite ironic, really, since the earliest church music we have is Gregorian Chant...
Also, not quite culty, but my dad got called a heretic from the pulpit by both my grandfathers (yes, both pastors) for daring to say that the church had completely violated their bylaws in installing their new pastor. Thanks to the greatness of God's provision, I now have restored and loving relationships with both sets of grandparents.
Yeah but what about your dad
Well, churches are kind of a type of cult.
"Chanting is of the devil." Quite ironic, really, since the earliest church music we have is Gregorian Chant...
Same thing I thought when I heard that part lol
They're not catholic, so I suppose they demonize St. Gregory.
The one about the little girl who sinned by not dying from a blood transfusion 😂😂😂 I CAN'T 🔥🔥😂😂😂😂😂
I sincerely hope child services took her from that disgusting cult. Child neglect (especially the medical kind) is atrocious and should not happen.
This isnt an appropriate comment.
Actually that just sounds depressing- no healthy person would think they sinned if they don't die
So awful
When the church members and my parents attempted an arrange marriage
Yooo what???
That is insane!
Oh hell no
(provided you live in the USA) are arranged marriages even LEGAL in america?
@@keithsvenson568 I don’t think so
Ten years ago my brother met this religious girl. I haven't spoke much to him since. He doesn't spend time with his friends. They rarely do anything together unless it is church related. It is so weird. Two years ago I got married at the courthouse and had an amazing house party to celebrate. My brother and this religious girl did not attend. When they eventually got married in a church, they let me know they shunned me and didn't attend my wedding because I live in sin. 🤷🏻♀️ The crazy part is I have never met a radical group of Roman Catholics. Which they say they are. But it is looking more and more like some weird LDS/Mormon or Jehovah Witness type thing. I just know I miss my brother. Oh well guess I'll be in hell at some point according to them.
It doesn't sound like mormon. But you will be ok.
I’m sorry, that’s awful.
LDS is nothing like that. We believe in allowing others to believe in what they will. Go look at the LDS website and check out the articles of faith. Those say what we believe in. We aren't like that.
I mean if they were Mormons, they would be “sealed in the temple” so probably not that, but the Mormonism in Utah is insane, they shun everyone else for not having the same beliefs as them.
That, sadly, is true of a lot of LDS people in Utah. As a member of the Church myself, it makes me really sad and angers me that these zealots give our religion a bad name.
I went to a regular ol' roman catholic church, and must say, it was easily the worst years of my life. I've always been inquisitive by my nature, and loved asking questions about everything because of my need to understand everything around me. Well, they didn't like that I was looking for 100% factual and backed by evidence answers as opposed to from a mistranslated book that was written thousands of years ago. On top of that, I am on the spectrum, and thus acted out at times at the school that was connected to my church. You can only imagine what they said to me, but I think I'll tell you the worst. The principal, the goddamn principal, called me the son of the devil, and told me I didn't deserve to live. His words, to a 7 year old! I was praying every night for it to stop, the bullying from my classmates and the staff, but nothing ever happened. By the summer of 2009, I was 8 years old and a complete wreck psychologically and emotionally. I had been regularly attempting or speaking about suicide for months by that point, and my doctor was *DONE.* He knew we were already looking to move, so he pulled out a physical map and said to go to *THESE* schools, see *THESE* therapists, and if I didn't there was a high chance that I wouldn't live to see summer 2010. My parents took the hint, and we moved. That was over 11 years ago, I turn 20 in exactly one week, and I still carry the scars on my mind. The nightmares and flashbacks from PTSD are still there, but they've gotten better over time. I have massive social anxiety, and next to no true friends. I'm also extremely syndical, especially when it comes to religions. When someone tries spouting off bullshit facts from religions, I tell them to back up their claims without using their bibles and take joy in watching their argument crumble in front of everyone. I give no quarter to them, just as they gave no quarter to me.
My heart felt like it dropped a bit when reading this. I’m sorry you’ve had those experiences. That isn’t something anybody deserves to go through. Those people should’ve treated you with much more kindness and patience. Much love to you, hope you’re doing okay now.
For the sake of understanding, I figure I’d tell you I went to a Roman Catholic Church as well. They’re not all that bad. Through listening to the stories, I learned some lessons and also questioned what/how/why things happened. Some of it seemed out there. However, it helped set the values I feel are important to work towards.
One of the values I believe; it’s important not to pass judgment onto others. Even to those who believe in something radically different from me. We’re all just finding a way to come to our own understanding in this world.
@@jackkeller5752 it's kind of easy to pass judgement when you've been on the wrong end of it, especially if you have massive anger issues as a result. Don't worry; I'm getting therapy for it, and to learn how to be a better person in spite of it.
Major cult right there
Lol this definitely happened
@@vietnammailman7626 it did. Same principal was fired for his abuse of me and for also embezzlement of funds
When the preacher said people who hid jews from the nazis in ww2 were sinning because they were not "obeying authority". This was not in a cult, per se; it was a very conservative christian church. But then again, what's the difference? There were a lot of "oh shit, I'm in a cult" moments before this, but the fact nobody took issue to this being uttered by such a venerated preacher in the denomination scared me.
That's a cult.
I know this is old, but chapters like Joshua 2 directly contradict that thinking. You'd expect a preacher to know that. It's a shame that people twist the meaning of scripture so often.
Just obeying any authority figure is very naive. A family member of mine also holds conservative views and believes you should listen to father figures/parents or preachers....and it's like she has no critical thinking. Some churches will also tell their followers who to vote for.
I don't care who people vote for but I sincerely hope they're making their own informed decisions... not because some pseudo authority figure told them so
Wtf are those people out of their goddamn mind
Did Jesus himself disobey authority figures?!
Whenever I hear that their parents would let them die if they needed of Blood transfusions, I just think of saying to the parents, "What the fuck is wrong with you. I know I'm not allowed to say this, BUT, if you'll let your child die just because you won't allow something that allow people to try and survive, even if that's the only way that will help them survive, you don't love your child. If you did love them, you wouldn't let them die like that."
But that's just me. I'm not sure about others.
Yeah
They belive that blood transfusion will make them tainted, I once heard of a kid who was in coma, and doctors decided to transfuse blood (parents werent around). After the whole thing they left him in hospital to be adopted, because he was no longer their child. This is seriously fucked up
Your stereotype cult was my situation. My wake up call is when they covered my forehead in goat blood on my 13th birthday.
What the frick
@@bonnie7594 they had been doing it for 13 years and only just then I realized t was weird
What was your cult called?
@@victoriat8922 I have surpresed that memory to far to get it back
damn that's wild u were just like wtf are they covering me with oh hell no
I was born into and baptised as a Witness, and I don't know what to do. I regret being baptised. Even if Witnesses are right, I don't think I want to be part of the Paradise. But leaving would mean I'd lose 99% of my family. I just don't know what to do.
Wait. Eventually you'll know what to do.
I'm the same except I never got baptized. I'm not sure how closely your family observes the rules. I've met people who study daily and preach constantly. I've met people who smoke weed but still identify as a witness. I told my family I don't believe and got hit with the apostasy argument. It hurts because we're close but they do still talk to baptized but withdrawn family members so I went ahead with it. But if you are still young it'd be best to fake it till ya make it and can stand on your own 2 feet.
I left two years ago,, shortly after baptism, lost all my friends and only family. I'm doing much better now, my mental and emotional state or more stable than they've ever been with no medicine. I went through some rough times the first year, but that was expected. That's just my experience...I think you already know what you want to do, though
but also yes, what he said, I've been paying bills at home since I was 15, like a good Christian boy, so I had the opportunity to leave, but make sure you can do it financially if you're set on it
Any plan u make will have to be long term to be safe so dont panic about immediate consequences, personally i drifted slowly and made new connections outside the organization ya'know? Like dont cut cold turkey without a support structure and/or a way to take care of yourself. I hope things are stable enough in your life for that idk, good luck though.
9:38 yeah JW came around to my parents and tried it with my mum once. That was a mistake. My mother instantly called cr*p on them being against blood transfusion because it saved her life when she had me. My mum had complications having me and a blood transfusion saved her life.
Sadly I know someone who had leukemia and died due to refusing blood transfusions. They were twelve. Not only that but the child abuse, it's a huge issue. Millions are affected. Crimes that weren't even called in. Victims silenced into surrendering.
I feel so bad for the guy that was controlled by the church to leave his wife like dude i hope that all those members went straight to hell
Most of that is on him though. Like, he child have just called them on their BS and left.
7:59 reminded me of that deranged man who tried to kill George Harrison. His motive for wanting to kill him? He was convinced that George was a witch and felt that he was doing "The Lord's work." I simply believed that the man was insane.
My cousin died when she was like 25 (I was like 15 at the time) she died from refusing a blood transfusion well giving birth to her first child all because her religion (jehovah witness) it's very sad.
I'm so sorry for that
I’m so so sorry you had that happen that’s just horrible I hope your cousins child successfully sees that Jehova witnesses are a cult and gets out safely
How's the kid doing?
@@kevynnf.6310 no clue. They don't live around here but I'm sure she's fine.
I was born into JW and even from a young age I could tell something was off. I was forced and traumatized by that “organization”. To this day I have trouble listening to politics because their whole “peace and security” and the end of the world thing. It’s given me horrible anxiety attacks and I’ve almost ended my life out of fear. I’ve distanced myself from the religion for many years now but I haven’t been able to move out yet, I just turned 18 last month. I’ve gained a lot of hatred and annoyance towards JW. I listen to my mother when she’s having Bible study with her JW friends and she is a completely different person. Her tone of voice, her facial expression, even the way she laughs. They put on this whole happy façade and it’s really unsettling. The whole organization is so hypocritical and fake.
I was almost thrown out to live with my pedo father when I was forced to come out. (Long story) but she changed her mind when she “prayed to Jehovah”. She made me pray with her to basically cure me. We haven’t talked about it since. I’ll never forgive her for that. She told me straight to my face, “if I had to choose between you or Jehovah, I’d choose Jehovah.” It still hurts when I think about it, and really damaged our relationship even if she doesn’t realize it. The fact that she almost made me move into a house with a predator is sickening. I was sobbing on the floor because she’s all I had. I was going to lose the only family I had.
All I’ve gained from JW was hurt, betrayal, and trauma.
Your story is horrifying and I feel so so sorry for you.
sending you all the love and good vibes... I'm proud of your growth so far and you have big things ahead of u
I’m not sure how you’re doing now, but during quarantine - we are forced in close quarters with these people who can damage our mental state. Hey, please continue to fight.
Your mom seems to use Jw as a crutch to reality instead of dealing with her husband is a predator and her child needs her to be there.
I'm glad you could get out, hope you are doing well, Best wishes
I hope you're doing better now. Fuck them.
Fun facts that may or may not be true: Will Ferrell played the cow bell during his brief time as a member of a Blue Oyster Cult.
I... wat? Every word just keeps getting weirder
That was sooo funny "more cow bell"
"Shouldn't we help them"
"We are, we are praying for someone to help them"
Yeah, that should be a wake up call.
Former Seventh Day Adventist here. It wasn't so much an "oh shit" moment and more a "straw that broke the camel's back" moment. To start with I was already married at that point (he's Baptist but considering my mom was (and still is) married to a Catholic and that's way more of a no-no she couldn't really protest). I was still in my 20s and had never gone to the adult "Sunday" school classes yet so they were very nice and let me stay in the high school/college kid classes, especially because my husband wasn't there. So the teacher was going on and on about how immoral gay marriage is, which already had me pretty uncomfortable because my hubby and friends were slowly working on me about that, when the teacher turned to me and said, "Nanenna, how does it affect your marriage."
I replied, "It doesn't."
The teacher looked shocked and tried to push it, but I firmly held my ground. Looking back I wish I'd said more, sadly I didn't have the backbone I've grown since. Anyway, after he realized I wasn't going to fully and blindly support him he turned the attention away from me. I got up and walked out, absolutely furious. How dare he bring my marriage into a discussion about his own un-Christ-like hatred for his fellow Man?! I got in my car and left. I haven't been inside any church since, I haven't given anyone a cent in tithe either. I still believe because Christ's teachings: love, compassion, understanding, but don't take anyone's shit, are all very good. But organized religion is absolute bullshit and 100% corrupt every single time. No one gets to dictate my beliefs or relationships (especially with my deity of choice) to me!
Idiots make us all look like indoctrinated robots, trust me we are not all that stupid, and do not believe all of the crap that is technically part of the church's teaching.
"love, compassion, understanding bit don't take anyone's shit" - I love that summary of Big Brother's Word. You really boiled it down to the righteous core!
Exactly what you said in the end there. Personally, I do believe in God and that Christ existed, sent by God.
However, I don't "believe" in the church or organized religion. It's almost always people twisting God's words for their own selfish and self righteous reasons.
@@accountid9681 Unfortunately the outliers who "don't believe everything they are told" do not define the church. Just because some are not completely insane does not salvage the organization itself. If the church enables/encourages abuse and manipulation, the whole thing is corrupt.
I'm also a former seventh-day adventist. The preaching against gay marriage is astounding, not to mention i was in the closet hard then, so hearing stuff like that just made me mental and emotional health shit. It was like well shit what's the point my fate is sealed regardless. It even made me want to commit suicide but then they tell you suicide is a sin, its weird like no matter what unless you work your ass off and suffer and suffer and suffer, and not be guy, you'll get into heaven. And no pastor, gay marriage doesn't affect me in the fucking slightest
I feel so bad for these people & what they have gone through. I'm a devout Christian who reads & studies the Bible & I must say that what these cults do in the name of God & "scripture" is not at all Biblical, it gives true Christians a bad name, it does warn in the New Testament that many false prophets & false messiahs will come in the name of Jesus but their "scripture" is false. It's because of them that there are so many wounded people who don't know the truth & probably never will because of the suffering they went through.
Christianity is a cult dumbo
Morganify , The differences between a religion and a cult is its application of dogma, and who is endowed with authority (and this authority's origins and extent of application). I'll break it down as best I can:
Fundamentally, religion originates from the teachings of someone others credit with an enlightened disposition to moral or spiritual forces. An external set of dogma is established to guide life and lay an interpretive framework for experience, ostensibly to please its revered spiritual forces; the priority of authority is attributed to the spiritual or intangible. Throughout time, this dogma remains, without modification to its values and rituals, insightful and to some extent true, as people's experiences continue to uphold it (I'll here introduce my own personal bias: _"All truth is from God, and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not reject it; for it has come from God"_ - John Calvin; this IS NOT promoting Universalism or Unitarianism but is simply a useful exposition on God's active omnipresence).
Cults, meanwhile, appeal their authority to a central, charismatic authority figure - a single person, in the present - who regulates its members' experiences and usurps interpretation of religious dogma. Authority, insight, and accountability is bound in this person, who arises on his or her own credentials, and to establish authority such leaders add or detract from the Bible and may even be able to present "signs" of wonder. Cultic authority is ultimately exhibited to control, not guide, experiences. As a result of this personal meddling, cults are absolutist, divisive, secretive, manipulative, and codependent on its teacher. When the leader dies, the cult either contradicts itself as a new leader ascends and adds his/her own ideas, or it fizzles out altogether.
All that said, cults and religions in America are legally equivalent owing to an old Supreme Court decision (I don't remember the ruling's name or year, sorry), so the differentiations are largely forgotten, especially as priorities shift more to social, rather than spiritual, values. These ambiguities can make the differences between a religion and a cult extremely subtle, especially in offshoot denominations or churches that fragment over philosophical, rather than theological, disputes. Some Christian denominations and individual churches may be cultish in behavior but aren't necessarily cults. In fact, cultish tendencies aren't intrinsic to hierarchy; families or individuals within a church may exercise that independently. This is why Christ's warning of wolves in sheep's clothing (Matt. 7: 15-27) is so important: using truth narratives to mislead, deception is subtle by nature, and only by keeping our hearts steeped in the Truth can we protect ourselves and others from impurities that infiltrate the Church. Catechism, doctrine, and community are core components to a healthy church - they serve as simple truth assessments of coalesced Scripture verses, guidance for Scriptural interpretation, and a system of accountability. Unfortunately, most "Christians" are lazy and only interact with liturgy, hence secular critics' accusations of Christianity as a whole being a cult, and urging Christians to liberate their minds and livelihoods through education (which would ironically be true if Christians educated themselves in Christianity).
Again, the differentiation between religion and cults boils down to whence a spiritually influential system gains its ideas and how that system operates over its followers, and it requires personal intuition and a heart imbued with Truth to righteously distinguish teachings and evaluate teachers by taking sin and Christ's sacrifice and authority seriously.
Sorry for the inconvenience of the long post, but I hope I provided some helpful clarification.
@@super-luckabsol4834 All you wrote is garbage,all religions are cults that had grown bigger,learn to use your brain NPC,dont repeat some stuff from wikipedia
@@morigaena333 It dosent matter,all religions started as cults that had grown bigger.
@@super-luckabsol4834 thanks for taking the time to write that, it's very informative. Some people hate religion in the way some religious people hate atheism, there's nothing you can do for either of those kinds of people because they won't listen. I just don't let them influence the way I believe and how I live my life. I appreciate your respect in your response though.
8:26 that just hit my heart so hard.
Edit: I don't know who needs to hear this, but being a mainstream religion does not mean it isn't a cult, even if that sounds paradoxical to you right now. Protect yourself.
I’m sorry to say, but I feel all religions are kinda cults now.
Anyways ima tell u a story. (This happened on my birthday, and let’s just say these kids reminded me of the kids on Children Of The Corn.) So we went to a pool at an RV park because I wanted to spend my birthday in our camper. When we got there we saw a group of 4 kids in the pool (one boy was around my age, another boy was probably 7-8, there was a girl around 10-11, and another girl around 8-9) We didn’t really pay attention to them at first because they where just swimming around, then the oldest boy gets out of the pool and grabs something (I couldn’t tell what yet) the other kids started to look upset or annoyed all of a sudden that’s when the oldest pointed for all of them to gather around him. That’s when I realized he was reading from a Bible. My family had a lot of tattoos and we swore a little (there was no one else there except for the kids, which I don’t know where there parents where because the pool rules said you had to be 18 years old to swim by yourself without an adult) Anyways they all got out of the pool and headed to the hot tub, that’s when they kept doing there sort of Bible study. Eventually they got out of the hot tub and seemed like they where going to go soon, only the two girls where in the hot tub, the oldest boy was in the men’s room, and the littlest boy was at a table. We decided to get in the hot tub because it was starting to get chilly in the pool, we hop in and the two girls say hi to us politely (they seemed to enjoy us being around them because they smiled and seemed to enjoy us talking.) Thats when the oldest boy comes out and quickly waves the girls over to the table, there happiness changes quickly. They grabbed hands and closed there eyes, I think they where preying for “our sins.” Anyways we decided to leave, and we walked back to our camper, those kids followed us, but I think it was because they wanted to take sure we had actually left the pool so they could get Back in (I’m pretty sure they “cleansed” the pool after we left.
That’s was the weirdest experience I have ever had.
I remember that I realized I was in a cult(Mormon Church), when I just felt really uncomfortable with what they were teaching in Church, like trashing on Homosexuals and Trans people, when I was hella gay, and it made me feel like I needed to leave, it gave me so much anxiety, especially since women were basically taught to be incubators and nothing else, not flat out, but it was subtly implied
Were you in Utah or out of Mormon central, I find it amusing that, in Utah, LGBTQA+ is tolerated very well. At least my area.
As a mormon, I am so sorry and I can promise that not all of us are like this. I accept all people of all sexualities!
yikes that sucks, i’m sorry your ward/stake was like that. i’m bi and i’m still a member, and everyone that i’ve come out to has been super accepting. my dad is our ward’s bishop and even though he wouldnt be thrilled if i dated a girl, he would still love and support me just as much. i’m sorry you had a crappy experience.
@@misty9029 you can be nice, but that doesn't change the fact that the teachings itself are really harmful for lots of people. I personally wouldn't be comfortable around someone who believes in religion that is flat out lgbt and woman phobic
@@eggi4443 ah okay I understand. I don't believe in some aspects of the religion (like the lgbt and woman thing), but idk.
Coming from a cult I found this very hard to watch it definitely triggered some things from the past, lots of anger. Ex jw here
Sorry Man
Same
Me too this was very triggering and brought up some really bad memories of being raised as a Jehova witness
I'm so sorry for you, i know how it feels when q video triggers you. I feel you 😔
Each and every one of these stories made me sick.
that's uber extreme protestant cults for ya
@@xtroro5672 Or any kind of cult...
Hating people without them doing anything to you and feeling good about it. Chances are if your religion is saying to hate or discriminate against people you're in a cult "mainstream" or otherwise. Feelings Superior by hating or hurting others isn't part of religion it's part of a personal failing that others might be encouraging encourage.
True. As a Christian my self I’m called to love everyone. Example the lgbtq community. Do I support them? No. Just because I don’t support them doesn’t t mean I don’t love them. We’re called to hate the sin (which is what lgbtq community kinda is) but love the person
@@danielchandler3931 That phrase has resulted in a lot of suicides and broken families. Besides it's your notion of sin there are plenty of denominations that are kind to the LGBT community without judgment and other religions. I find that people feel really comfortable with that phrase until they see the actual cost. Thankfully more positive movements are starting in more or less every denomination.
@@Raechel11 believe me Ik some Christians have really hurt that community and given Christianity a bad rep for it and it sucks. I don’t hate them. Nor will I ever. I will will love them but will not support it. I will speak ok behalf for I will speak up for those who can’t.
@@danielchandler3931 thats not excuse.
“Shouldnt we help the people in the car accident?!?”
“Yes we are! We are praying to god that someone will help them!”
Well if that isn’t the most back asswards (ass backwards) thing I’ve ever heard!
11:04 My CCD teacher said the same thing but I found a day where you can bless your pets to help there SOUL!I told here my CCD teacher that they do have souls and there is a day for them.
Pope says they have souls
I was serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After being attacked I asked to go home but they said no. When I tried to leave they locked me in a basement.
Wow. Churches can get away with a lot... but not assault and not kidnapping.
Since my mother passed, my family tried to force me to believe in Jehovah. At first, I just went 'cause my aunt would be happy but, I slowly began to see the hypocrisy and hate behind the careful picked words. It was in middle school, when I realized that I was Pansexual, when i finally said fuck it and began to separate myself from the religion. Unfortunately, my older family is still very involved, but my cousins are all starting to pull away as well.
Most of my family has backed away from it, my brothers and I definitely have but my mom is still in and i go with to meetings with her and pretend just to make her feel better
You feel like a curse word would tear you from your family, so you keep doing it? I don't like that lifestyle, i love my family
@@Zigg8833 I know exactly what that’s like and I’m sorry you still have to go through I hope with time and money you can fully get out
thankfully, i was pulled away from that setting after my birth mom died. i knew it was bad, but i found something out several months ago:
my mom had cancer back in 2013, and eventually passed from it. what i didn't know was the fact that my ex step dad forced her to refuse medicine because their practices didn't believe in it, resulting in my mom's death.
keep in mind, this is also the same man who threw a dollhouse at me when i was around six years old (it wasn't only that, i've had several traumatizing experiences in that household), and i am currently in therapy for trauma relief.
these experiences are not only damaging to young lives, but to adults as well. be safe and make rational choices, take care of your family and don't lead them down that path, please.
Ok but “Wow. People have such strong beliefs about things that are so completely wrong! Wait...” is literally how I left Christianity
Fr. Why would we be the ones in the right? What are the odds?
Never knew I'd feel lucky growing up in a fairly "moderate" Catholic family. These stories are nuts!
I was 9 when I had that moment. The churches around my area seemed a little... too strange. The whole aura felt really cultish and that was around I started to stop believing in god and the whole faith. I never really thought of it until i was 12 and realized how messed up it was because we weren't allowed to be creative to an extent, and it was borderline conservative. In a youth group there was an activity were you had to reveal your sins to the leaders. There were too priests and they both were really hardcore on their beliefs one being more friendlier than the other. Last year I told my mom and she allowed me o leave the church as long as I finished all my sacraments. I'm almost done, but still. My mom's hope is that I return in the arms of god. While typing this I remembered another huge red flag. It was in the form of a letter. It was a letter "from god" that I got in a three day retreat for teens. It's low-key creepy.
Are u out of the cult?
@@chicken2844 Fucking not really, I'm almost done literally til March or May and I'm out.
@@bug5244 good^^ hope u get out fast!
If you ever need to get away or need some money or help, reply to this comment, I know you don't know me but I want to try to help you if needed
The one at 7:10 is Jehovah’s witnesses (like the one at 9:40 and 16:27). I was raised as one, finally woke up and left near the start of this year. Extremely glad I did but the way it’s set up is that it is your entire world, all your friends and family are in it because you’re not allowed to associate with those outside of it, so now I am very alone. Still better than being trapped in such a messed up life.
Glad you got out!
Hey, I've been the black sheep in my family for years, I'll be your friend, us outcasts gotta stick together.
What country are you in?
Stay strong. I’m an ex JW of 16 years. The brainwashing takes a lot to get out of your system but you eventually meet great people out in the world that they walled you from. You can finally think for yourself freely and experience what life really has to offer. You don’t need a person to dictate your relationship with the creator. It’s between you and the creator only. Enjoy yourself my friend.
good for you
ME COMING OUT TO MY MOTHER!
My mom a Jehovah’s Witness: “so, you like girls”
me: “yeah...well I like boys too but haha....”
jw: “remember to pray for Jehovah’s forgiveness and to change your lifestyle so that you can see all your dead relatives in the new world”
me: “but I can’t change who I like-“
Mom:well many brothers that are gay have gotten wives and had children with them so you can just get a husband and stay a girl (I told her I was trans as well)”
me: “but then I’ll be even more depressed”
mom: “many people are depressed right now, even I’m depressed *insert random info that makes her depressed* you just have to remember that Jehovah will comfort you”
Me: “well what if I don’t believe that god is real (I just don’t care if he’s real at this point)”
Mom: “so you believe that the earth is being held up by an elephant and a turtle!? (She was being kinda mean to the people that might believe this so...)
Me: “I never said that, I just said I don’t believe in god, any god.”
Mom: *crying a little* “so you don’t want to be a Jehovah’s Witness”
Me, recalling all the useless drama that happened because a teen girl chose to hang out with a boy alone (they were at In & Out and all they did was talk, they weren’t dating she just had a crush on one of the only teen boys that were there ((girl to boy ratio; 8Girls:2Boys)) -_-): “not really...”
Now I can’t get my hair cut or hang out with anyone that in the alphabet mafia without my mom saying that they’ve influenced me by “feeding me false information” so my depression has skyrocketed and I’ve almost ran away and killed myself multiple times last year and this year she won’t even let me buy myself a men’s shirt or socks in “fear” of it making me believe I’m a man she also told my brother to stop giving me his old shirts because of this.
What’s worse is she was so nice to me when I came out telling me that she still loved me and that I shouldn’t be sad about being gay (she thinks I’m a lesbian/bi) but then the next day she started talking shit about me and my “lifestyle” to my (very supportive) older brother, behind my back.
So now I have officially disowned my mother (in my heart) because she just wants to talk shit about me, but who’s going to look like a baddie making out with their partner on your grave bitch? Me. >:)))))))))) (my way, my way or the highway)
-A 15 year old bisexual trans demiboy that can’t wait to be 18.
Hope you can have the strength to love yourself, and that will give you clarity, you be yourself, sending good vibes your way
@@ivettegutierreztorres4272 good vibes received thx and I will also recommend your good vibes😎
I hope you're doing okay
Heavens Gate would allow their follows once in a blue moon to see their families just so they can seem like they could leave whenever they wanted and to also make sure the families wouldn’t go looking for them. Very frightening when you realize how the last remaining members ended up.
My "Oh, shit" moment was when I watched this one show where a couple of cult escapees would go back and rescue other cult members. It was all fun and games until I realized I heavily related to a lot of the escapee's feelings and experiences-
Then it all spiralled when I did more research and talked to people with an outsider pov (which was strictly forbidden).
I was born in Utah and lived there until I was 5. It’s sickening how much the LDS church controls. My family is catholic, and was always excluded from neighborly activities. My mother grew up there, kids in her neighborhood wouldn’t play with her or invite my family to block parties for “not being with the true religion”. I also experienced this treatment when I lived there briefly at 12. I remember playing with a girl, she asked if I was Mormon I said no. She ditched me, then sent missionaries to my house, they persisted until I decided I had to move away to stop it. My family still lives there and I visit, I’m 20 now and still make an extra effort to only bring my most conservative clothes.
But back to the church itself, it invests the money given to it by its goers into the stock market and has a massive amount. The community itself is toxic. And there is very little separation of church and state. Fun fact the LDS church owns/controls the alcohol in Utah. So yes they profit from people buying it AND control when alcohol is allowed to be sold (pretty sure you can’t get any on sundays) plus the alcohol percentage. For example a beer in Colorado would be like 5% alcohol content, but in Utah would be like 3% for the same beer.
People realizing that their hole life was so different from other people, and all the fucked up things that they lived thinking it was normal, is such as interesting theme, I might write a hole book about it
The church that I go to now warns me all the time about these cults and stuff,
it’s surprisingly not a very progressive church, it bases its teachings in lots of researches about the correct translation of the original books of the Bible, so they encourage me a lot to study and question the teachings, science is highly regarded and women are respected (the relationships are very much like old conservative ones, but way better because of the unpicking of the Bible)
there’s still a lot of things to improve, but it’s nice not being in a cult
Jesus hearing the stories be like: "no, this isn't what I wanted."
For me, it was when I found out that I _can_ remove my helmet and still be considered a Mandalorian.
Lmaooo
As a woman, I appprove. Mandalorians need to show their pretty faces more!
When I went to my grandpa’s church, everything was fun and easy-going. When I went to the churches my MOM picked out, it was always “YOU’RE ALL GOING TO HELL UNLESS YOU WALK AN UNREALISTICALLY FINE LINE!” I hated going to church with her because I knew it was a cult. I love going to church now, as long as it’s like the church my grandfather held services in. I spent a long time unlearning all the bullsh*t my mom’s church put in my head.
Hi all, I live in Victoria, Australia. I was introduced into the Mormon (LDS) church when I was 6-8, I left at 19 and stopped going. I could go on, but that's not really what this is comment is for. I just wanted to say that if anyone left a cult and they live in Australia, especially Victoria, feel free to contact me if you want someone to talk to. Whether you're trying to wrap your head around things, need a friend or are just looking for someone to shoot the shit with, let me know. I know what it's like to have nobody so I'm happy to help should you need it. Take care!
"I don't like music..."
Sounds like it's own cult.
Hello there guys love the vids and love you all 😍
I found it funny that the persons sister expected them to pay for a funeral for someone who kicked them out of the familily, and pay for the funeral that they couldn’t even attend
7:05- The life of a Jehovah’s Witness.
I grew up as one and recognized this. What got me to wake up was finding out that the child sex abuse cases were true, and having one of the members of the governing body lie during the Australian Royal Commission. I can go on and on.
Two of the first stories were about Pentecostal cults and as a Pentecostal myself it made me so sad to hear about how there are actual people in this world who will use my faith and even any other faith to hurt others the way the people in this video have. And all in the name of God or of another diety, etc. To anyone who may have been raised in church or in a cult and feels like they’re not preaching the true word of God, but you still love God, there will be a church out there for you. It’s important to remember that not all churches are going to be cults. I hope anyone reading this that fears they may be in a cult is able to break away and find safety. Also, it doesn’t even have to be a cult for it to still be toxic.
I used to go to this other Pentecostal church and while the pastor wasn’t bad actually an amazing sweet man who truly loved the Lord, but a lot of the members were very condemning and judgmental. I would get judged and never encouraged to participate in the kids church activities because they knew I wore pants and I had ear piercings. And those things technically are part of the doctrine, but I was a child. And by about 8th grade I was struggling a lot mental health wise and was having doubts and I didn’t want to because I knew I believed in God and he had used me in miracles for others’ testimonies before. But the church and their lack to work with me was hindering me. Even my abuela who still goes to the church told my mom to leave. I remember her speaking to my mom and being like look your oldest was raised here and she doesn’t follow God anymore and they did nothing to help. Ashley (me) has always had a strong desire to serve the Lord but here they’re never going to see that. You want to help her grow her faith, get her baptized how she wants, find a new church. And we did and I remember immediately how they welcomed my mom and I (btw my mom was a recently divorced mom at the time and this was a Pentecostal church as well) and they still immediately asked for our numbers told us of all their services and events. They still believed in the same doctrine, but they acknowledged those things were by personal conviction and that just scolding someone saying you’re going to hell for wearing or not wearing this isn’t productive and does nothing for preaching God’s word. I remember how I hadn’t even gotten baptized yet and the youth services already asked me within like a month or two of us being there if I could sing a special. I had always wanted to sing at church like my mom said she used to. I don’t think the old church even knew I could sing. This church helped me get baptized, let me lead in song worship, and even appointed me as youth treasurer one year where I was able to lead the fundraising for all our youth to go to a statewide youth church convention. You can be happy and still be truly following God. Don’t let these fake preachers convince you otherwise. Every instance I’ve seen people only feel trapped when the church is not actually a church and is distorting the word for their own self gain and manipulation.
Please for those of you in bad or especially cult like “churches” they are not representative of what God wants. You will find yourself so much happier if you leave and find somewhere where you can actually feel loved and worship without feeling like they’re constantly condemning you. If I’ve learned anything it’s that there are two types of false churches: those that only preach about how God is wrath and those that only preach about how God is love. When you find one that preaches about both in a balanced way then you’ll see what it is when faith is being used to preach the whole truth and not cherry picked to preach a twisted agenda. Serving God should always be a choice cuz that’s how God intended it. Any time they’re forcing you to do stuff or to reveal stuff that’s a red flag. Please stay safe and vigilant. Guard your heart and don’t be afraid to ask for help out of these scary situations. Those cult leaders will pay their price, be it in this life or after, or maybe in both, but what goes around comes around and both those they hurt that got out and those that are still victims will have their day of justice someday.
i wasn't raised in a cult but i have experiences with people who are practically in one. my grandparents are seventh-day adventists (pretty lousy ones, don't follow a lot of their restrictions but like to try and force others around them to do so) and basically disowned my dad for signing me up for a ballet class when i was four. dancing is "an invitation to the devil" or something in their eyes. they kept trying to convince me that my parents don't love me because they signed me up for dance classes that i asked to be signed up for. also, their daughter (kind of a step-aunt to me ig, my grandpa's current wife isn't my dad's mother) wasn't allowed to watch stuff like harry potter because magic is "the work of the devil," she wasn't allowed to dye her hair because that's too suggestive or something insane like that (even though my grandpa's wife dyes her hair), and they also have some pretty extreme views about gay marriage and women's rights.
one of my friends grew up in a really weird religous household where her parents didn't believe in medicine. if she fell very ill then her parents would just let her die because "it's god's will". she's not allowed any kind of medication through the school either. if she goes into anaphylactic shock at school they're not allowed to give her any sort of medication.
Sadly, it's so easy for a normal Christian church to become a cult. Start praying to the virgin Mary? You're now worshiping an idol and not God. The church is focusing more on tithings and donations? You're not worshiping God, you're "buying your salvation" (See Joel Osteen and the Prosperity Gospel). Your pastor/priest is cherry picking verses from the Bible? They're not preaching the true Word of God and have created a false image of God for themselves and for you.
The thing about worshiping God, and the thing that Christians need to accept, is that while God does love us all and wants us all in Heaven; he also hates sin and does not tolerate it. We can repent, but we need to take that step toward God and acknowledge that we've sinned and be truly sorry for it. We can't get into heaven by good deeds or positive thinking alone. Nor can we knowingly sin against Him and expect him to let us into Heaven without repenting. That's the thing about Christianity that most Christians have a hard time accepting. We need to conform to God, not the other way around.
So true buying salvation is a red flag
Best comment here
Sounds like more brain washing to me
Wow that sure sound like a fun and loving god u pray to bud, dont use all the fire and brimstone at once
Please leave and dont let the door hit you on your way back.
Just gonna drop this: if you're in a cult, or are in doubt about your religion and worry it might be cultish then go check out Telltale's channel. If you want to learn about different beliefs, Aliakai's a good choice. If you want to see the religiously coddled fail hard at regurgitating old messed up reasons to believe, AND BE PUT DOWN HARD if fairly, The Atheist Experience has you covered.
I relate to the first girl!! It didn't get as bad but my mother asked me to go to church and I was happy to go, in the middle of it all the pastor announces, the devil has his chains on one of our sisters and we have to pray for her rescue, I remember peeking my eye open trying to see who it was going to be when this man goes and announces my name! Just like the girl I just went with it and they started praying for me, after a good ten minutes they finished and all I could think was to say, thank you.
Lmao yea no last time I went there
I find this so weird, because both my parents were missionaries before they had children. They always asked us to constantly question our beliefs, as my father was raised very much against Christianity, and my mom was raised in more of a church about following the rules then actually caring about your relationship with God. They were always about us finding out what we believe, instead of just whatever they raised us to believe. I’ve always known no matter what I decide to do with my life, they were always support me as long as I wasn’t actually hurting myself.Or as much support as they respect me for who I am and what I believe, but don’t agree. Which just like I wouldn’t want them to change my beliefs, l wouldn’t want them to compromise their beliefs just because it might make me happier.
If they believed that, why were they missionaries? (Literally the opposite of that belief)
I quit the Jehovah’s Witnesses years ago but these videos made me look into the religion and now I can see just how fucked up it was so yeah thanks TH-cam and thanks reddit yiu helped me a lot :)
When my father dictated my hair and clothes still at 19 to 20 and then wouldn't let me leave unless i was married... now its suprise pikachu face i cut contact
Not sure if this really counts as a cult but I consider it cult like. I went to a pentecostal church with a close friend when I was 15 because we always stayed the night with each other. My parents weren't crazy religious but considered themselves Christian, so I wore torn American eagle pants, my friend said she had a dress I could wear, I declined. I was in awe of what I seen there. Not a single female was wearing pants other than me. People started screaming and whooping, a few people on the floor looking like they were having a seizures talking about how the holy spirit was in them. I was minding my business but one of the older ladies sitting across the aisle came and pulled me up by my arm and said I have the devil inside me, the devil made me wear these sinful pants, that the devil made me laugh at them for their beliefs. First of all, I didn't laugh, maybe I left my face unchecked but I know I didn't laugh. Anyways this lady forced me on my knees at the altar and the entire church circled around me praying for me and yelling at me telling the devil to get out of me. Eventually they slowly went back to their seats and I was told to return to my seat. Instead I walked out and called my mother to come pick me up. My friend said that it was an amazing experience and I should have been grateful. We weren't friends anymore after that. I'm 25 now, I haven't been back to any church and have no intention or interest in going back.
That’s a cult.
holy shit... the fact that matthew shepard was brought up shook my world. i live in wyo, and my parents went to school with him... that hit too hard
Used to be a Jehovah’s Witness... then I started smoking weed lol.
Not the devils lettuce!
@@Zigg8833 lmfaooo
An ex Jehova witnesses and Army tooo and your bias is Jin my friendddddd
If you find yourself in a cult, whatever you do, DON'T drink the Kool-Aid.
:p
oH yEaH
@@ZSmith-yy4lv in this case it's OH NO!
Ma good friend
Used to be a Mormon.
Right before quarantine, I was sitting at a table with the young womens' leaders (selected adult women who organized activities and church lessons for the girls aged 12-18). Conversation somehow turned to the LGBTQ+ community.
They all, including my own mother (who was there to decorate the church basketball court for an upcoming event), started talking about what a shame it was that they chose that life. One of them said something like, "The problem with them is that they're rising in popularity, gaining traction."
I stayed silent, but all I could think was, "Why tf are you so upset? They're finally getting to love who they love. What's so bad about that? Besides, it's none of your business who they're attracted to."
Then the gears started turning. I started to remember similar events happening from as far as several years prior.
The one time we were talking about "following the gospel" and giving examples, where one girl said she stopped watching Andi Mack after the MC realized she liked girls, and was praised for it.
The time where I found an article that talked about a court case where a boy came out as gay, and was kicked out of the Boy Scouts for it and was fighting in court so he could stay (he lost the case and was kicked out for being gay).
The time that we stayed home from church sick, and protesters marched into the chapel and started protesting because one of the teens that attended our church turned out to be molesting the kids he babysat, and our church helped cover it up. And to cover up the protesters' shouts, the whole crowd started singing a hymn.
The time where I used to be forced to get up at 4:30am to attend a church class that started at 6am BEFORE SCHOOL, EVERY SCHOOL DAY.
All the times where we get told to "keep the word of wisdom" by never drinking tea nor coffee, never getting tattoos, and never smoking or drinking alcohol, which seemed quite excessive.
Now, everything the kids in my senior sociology class were telling me finally made sense. My "religion" /is/ a cult.
Then, COVID & quarantine started, which was the perfect opportunity to ghost them.
Then I got a call a few months ago asking when I'd come back. Told them I never would and explained why. The guy on the other end of the phone said and I quote, "Well, I don't think we're homophobic."
I had had enough, and told him to never contact me again, and hung on him, only to get yelled at by my born-in-the-church Karen mother and my converted-to-the-church stepfather. There is no "we", dude.
Since we last spoke, buddy, I've discovered that I'm aro ace, my older and younger sisters came out as bi (and still go to that church).
I still believe in God and Jesus, but not to that extent. But I have never stepped foot in a church since that realization. And I probably never will.
I murdered the cult and the cult ringleader.
In Terraria
I beat the lunatic cultist boss.
Man, these really make me happy I was raised in a home that wasn’t religious. No church, no god(s), only thing close to spiritual was the astrology but it wasn’t something my parents said was real or used in real life. My mom had a book and liked doing the little charts, it was like doing crosswords or knitting for her. We had some First Nations stuff, cause my bio dad is Métis and wanted to know more about his roots
It's honestly so sad that so many of these people abandon religion all together because of their experience. I understand, but it's still upsetting.
There is a "church" in my town that is very cultish. Like, girls have to wear skirts because bifurcated pants of any kind show off their bodies in a sinful way and could tempt the men. Any sort of slight deviation from what they deem normal and right is instantly an unforgivable sin. They have old, decommissioned school buses that drive all over the county and neighboring counties to pick up kids and bring them to town every Sunday. I worked with a girl whose parents forced her to go to that "church". She noped out the second she turned 18 and about a year later married the man she had been secretly dating for 2 years. My mom actually told me she'd had a run in with that family shortly after we moved to the town I grew up in. This would have been about 23 years ago. She had been in the grocery store, and the girl's mother and little brother were just ahead of her in the aisle. Apparently the little boy got wiggly and uncomfortable, as kids do, and stood up in the cart. She just started beating the shit out of this kid in the middle of the store and my mom layyyyed into her and said something along the lines of, "I never want to see you do this to this poor baby, EVER." I guess the crazy b**** responded with something about my mom needing to mind her own business. Um, hello? You're beating your kid in the middle of a publicly open grocery store. You've made it everybody's business. Now STOP.
I helped my mom get away from religion. I never preached, I simply mentioned things every now and then. She did the work, doubting and questioning. I'm so happy she's no longer in that bat shit crazy bullshit
The moment I heard "blood transfusion" I knew it was Jehovah's Witnesses.
That guy was definitely in the Jehovah's Witnesses. Fits the description perfectly.
The first story is such a common awakening for anyone who has family in a cult or fundamentalist religious sect. It's heartbreaking.
I haven't really had an 'oh shit' moment but slowly picked apart this cult I was born into. i live right in the heart of mormonism and it's really the only thing I've ever experienced religion-wise until I was 13. luckily, my parents are pretty softcore mormons and haven't taken me to church often or taught me much about the religion in general. to the point where I thought I was christian until someone literally stated we are mormon. this was the main catalyst for my shift to atheism. i saw it as lying to myself. if I've been feeding myself this lie the entire time, what have I been believing? so I thought about it for a while, exploring my doubts and such. during this time I came across theramintrees, who really helped me a lot with his videos on abuse and cults. he gave me that final push to become agnostic, then later atheist. eventually I came out about it to my parents and they were surprisingly chill. looking back at it all now it's quite sad. I've been fed such bullshit my entire life and believed all of it. I'm just hoping my other family members can get out of it too, specifically my little sister. I don't want her to be fed these same lies, but I fear she's too far in. I'd also like to get my cousin (and only real friend) out, but I don't think that's possible, he's already fully indoctrinated. it's scary to think about.
I guess I grew in a cult adjacent family and see which if my mom's siblings made it out and which didn't.
I had no idea blood transfusions were considered "Satanic." I've heard some pretty weird restrictions from my religiously above average acquaintances, but that one is new for me.
Its very common (my mom works at a hospital so I would know)
thats exclussivly jehovis witness
Ex JW here. I think I was 11 at the time and at an assembly where I ran into the circuit overseer who was a "funny guy". He asked me for a favor and bc i'm a "funny gal" i said "no...jk yeah sure". When I got back to the hotel room and told my sister about it, she lost her sht and said "omg no!! you never tell them no!"
What she said hit wrong and a few years later when I heard they encourage you not to study psychology bc it makes you "stray from the truth" it started to sink in, tho I could never explain that gut feeling smthn wasnt right until years later when I shook off the indoctrination and finally saw the pieces fit.
It was like feeling a pea under your bed for years but everyone tells you it's fine. Then, when you finally get the nerve to look, you find a fckn farmers market, and the profits dont go to you, they go to the people who kept you from dreaming.
My whole family left this cult... but when the seniors warn us for talking to a guy who made a major impact in my family, because he left the church to get married.
During youth worship when the kids didn’t come and worships with us, after the main pastor left.
When my mom and I found a website that was anti the church we went to.
When my mom’s nursing friend warned her against this church.