Cult is a pejorative term, but I think most secular and mainstream religious people would say that you've been sucked into one.
The fact that they use the Bible to support their teachings doesn't mean that they have discovered some unique Truth. All it indicates is that the Bible has so much ambiguous rubbish in it that you can find a verse to support just about any whacko belief.
Once you get pulled into any group, particularly a "new religious movement" (the polite term for a cult), it's very easy to succumb to the social pressure to conform and lose all objectivity. I don't know how this outfit works, but you mention how you have to try to sell the cult to others. That's a classic cult move, since by making you parrot the religion's particular line of BS and attempting to persuade strangers to buy their brand of KoolAide, you're also brainwashing yourself, and you're increasing your emotional investment in the movement. The more people you persuade to join the group, the harder it becomes for you to step back and say, "Wait a minute! This is all total crap!"
Frankly, it sounds like you are prime cult material, since you say you've been to numerous churches in your search for some transcendent understanding of God. The people who pay a fortune to Scientology and hand over total control of their lives to the organisation, the people who were with Jim Jones in Guyana, the members of Heaven's Gate who committed suicide as the Hale-Bopp comet approached and the members of Aum Shinrikyo who released nerve gas in Tokyo's subway system weren't all idiotic nutjobs. They were inquisitive, (generally) intelligent people who were searching for some cosmic Truth to believe in just as you are. Each of them bumped into a cult whose teachings resonated with them for some reason, and they got sucked in deeper and deeper until they were in a very dark place.
I don't know if the group you're with has the potential to turn into a violent or suicidal cult, but I do know that you're not going to find what you're looking for from any group. All religious groups are made up of people, and any time you get a group of people together, the psychopaths and manipulators end up running the show sooner or later. It's never for the benefit of the ordinary members or in the pure pursuit of some holy, spiritual goal.
I'm sure it's a fool's errand, but if you want to experience and know God (and a particularly Christian brand of God at that), then I suggest you look into individual Christian mysticism. Christian churches tend to look on this with as much disdain as cults, but that's really about how those pursuing an individual relationship with God aren't part of their club and aren't putting money in their collection plate.
However, if you feel a desperate need to belong to some sort of group which is in possession of some Great, Cosmic, Universal and Timeless Truth, then I'm afraid you're doomed - to disappointment at least, and possibly to something much worse.
Well said and spot on! You have an admirable intellect and insightful worldview. My appreciation of well-spoken voices of reason cannot be overstated. Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom.
Should I be worried about being part of this Church?
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Cult is a pejorative term, but I think most secular and mainstream religious people would say that you've been sucked into one.
The fact that they use the Bible to support their teachings doesn't mean that they have discovered some unique Truth. All it indicates is that the Bible has so much ambiguous rubbish in it that you can find a verse to support just about any whacko belief.
Once you get pulled into any group, particularly a "new religious movement" (the polite term for a cult), it's very easy to succumb to the social pressure to conform and lose all objectivity. I don't know how this outfit works, but you mention how you have to try to sell the cult to others. That's a classic cult move, since by making you parrot the religion's particular line of BS and attempting to persuade strangers to buy their brand of KoolAide, you're also brainwashing yourself, and you're increasing your emotional investment in the movement. The more people you persuade to join the group, the harder it becomes for you to step back and say, "Wait a minute! This is all total crap!"
Frankly, it sounds like you are prime cult material, since you say you've been to numerous churches in your search for some transcendent understanding of God. The people who pay a fortune to Scientology and hand over total control of their lives to the organisation, the people who were with Jim Jones in Guyana, the members of Heaven's Gate who committed suicide as the Hale-Bopp comet approached and the members of Aum Shinrikyo who released nerve gas in Tokyo's subway system weren't all idiotic nutjobs. They were inquisitive, (generally) intelligent people who were searching for some cosmic Truth to believe in just as you are. Each of them bumped into a cult whose teachings resonated with them for some reason, and they got sucked in deeper and deeper until they were in a very dark place.
I don't know if the group you're with has the potential to turn into a violent or suicidal cult, but I do know that you're not going to find what you're looking for from any group. All religious groups are made up of people, and any time you get a group of people together, the psychopaths and manipulators end up running the show sooner or later. It's never for the benefit of the ordinary members or in the pure pursuit of some holy, spiritual goal.
I'm sure it's a fool's errand, but if you want to experience and know God (and a particularly Christian brand of God at that), then I suggest you look into individual Christian mysticism. Christian churches tend to look on this with as much disdain as cults, but that's really about how those pursuing an individual relationship with God aren't part of their club and aren't putting money in their collection plate.
However, if you feel a desperate need to belong to some sort of group which is in possession of some Great, Cosmic, Universal and Timeless Truth, then I'm afraid you're doomed - to disappointment at least, and possibly to something much worse.
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Well said and spot on! You have an admirable intellect and insightful worldview. My appreciation of well-spoken voices of reason cannot be overstated. Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom.