ThePetitor

The question was directed at happy survivor and you have distorted it. There are no "rules" that I am aware of. If you are going to accuse people of being "insane" and "sheep like" you should have some evidence. It would be easy to get a recording of a specific sermon (it's not about going to "leaders"), and then go to the preacher and ask for clarification. or ask for a rule book which sets out membership requirements. You know there is no such thing, so stop the nonsense.

Cbarb, to be honest, I've never read such an inaccurate representation of life in this church. There is no rule book and loads of members go on holiday and play sports, even as far back as the 80s. In fact Hugh black was very encouraging of it. Do you believe this stuff you write?

Chesterk55. I'm not very interested in what you claim are the rules, but what they actually are. What insane rules did Mrs Gault hand down, when and how did she do it. Times, dates, people that can be verified. If that can't be done, where does that leave you?

Oh dear, Bingowings you are suitably hostile and showing your immersion in the insanity that is SMC.

I was brought up in the church - from the early sixties - and attended 6 days a week (three times on a Sunday) every day of my life until I was 18 and decided to leave. In that time ALL that I knew was SMC and the level of hypocrisy I found made me gag!! I should know - my Dad was once one of the SMC leaders himself but thankfully God took him out and put him a much more wholesome and active church - where he continues to serve God humbly and with love, grace and joy.

You should know that NONE of the leaders of this church are in any way anointed in fact quite the opposite. They are no closer to God than satan himself and this is provable:

1. They lie about people publically - this is ANTI-Biblical ("thou shalt NOT lie")
2. They use intimidating tactics to CONTROL the masses; such fear tactics as "Do you want me to reveal all your sins to the whole church?" - this is ANTI-Biblical
3. They twist scriptures to suit themselves - this is ANTI-Biblical (False prophets!)
4. They PERCEIVE sins in people where no such sins exist - This is just insane
5. They are less than honest about the churches accounts - This is ANTI-Biblical and Illegal
6. They are self-glorifying and constantly stand in the way of God doing his work in peoples' lives - Very ANTI-Biblical
7. They show nothing of the grace, joy and love of the Lord Jesus Christ - TOTALLY ANTI-Biblical and extremely damaging to the spiritual wellbeing of normal healthy Christians
8. They ostracise those who stand up for the truth of the Word of God if it is against what they themselves are teaching (quite wrongly)
9. They have NO formal theological qualifications or even social welfare qualifications and are therefore not in a position to be giving advice in spiritual or life matters
10. They are claiming the benefits of Charitable status but are completely UN-Charitable in their ways and dealings with normal folks.
11. They hide behind a veil of being unaccountable for anything they do or say - Read the Bible regarding the duties and accountabilities of a pastor to their flock and to God.
12. They have been making prophesies since the sixties - NONE of which have EVER come true - and then blame the congregation saying that their lack of faith stops the prophesies coming true. How convenient that the leaders themselves are not accountable for any of this!
13. They nepotistically hand out paid jobs to their own - this is quite Illegal especially so for a Charity

I could go on and on but I think I've made the most salient points although I'm sure others would add more to this.

Since we live in an age of freedom of speech - if you post a question to someone on this forum you are opening the floor to anyone who wishes to comment on the question including the intended questionee. If you wish to question someone privately then you should PM them.

As I stated in my post, the rules were never written but verbally handed down by Miss Taylor - one of the original founders of the church (who was still alive when I attended). The rules may have changed since I attended but I wrote what was in force between 1963 and 1981/1982.

Before you go trying to antagonise those of us who have been severely damaged by the teachings of SMC you should go and check your own facts. For every ONE of us there are at least 10 to 20 others who have been equally damaged but are too afraid to post here or are just trying to forget they ever had any dealings with the church.

The biggest testament to the truth of what we are saying here are the severely depleted numbers of members now in attendance in the church. Back in the days when I and my counterparts attended, the church had close to a THOUSAND members from all over the UK. How many are there now? About 300 or so - that says it ALL in my book.

I feel quite sorry for you that you have been so hoodwinked by this organisation and I'll pray for your release and that God will lift the blinkers from your eyes and let you see clearly that what you are being taught is not in the least bit Biblical. Just go and read your Bible for yourself and with an open heart and God will tell you the truth - He NEVER lies but some HUMAN leaders do. The leaders of SMC are no different from politicians, they say what they like, when they like and disregard anything which doesn't fit with their agenda - and that includes the parts in the Bible which don't suit them.

In particular, I would suggest you start by reading the verses 'Susie' posted some time ago:

Quote

No true prophecy will contradict the word of God. Isaiah 8:20

Deutronomy 18:21-22 A prophet is recognized as true when the word he has spoken comes to pass. If it doesn't it is not the word of the Lord.

The source of ministry cannot be determined merely by signs of the miraculous see- Deuteronomy 13:1-15 Satan can perform lying signs and wonders. Exodus 7:11

1 John 4:1 SAYS " Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone into the world." The way we test the spirits is by comparing everything with the word of God.
[unquote]

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Biiiiig love and huge hugggggs to you Bingowings, I hope you finally HEAR the truth of the Word of God.
God Bless you richly xxx

Happy Survivor

I'm not really surprised at the reaction you got to your questioning your friend. It's the norm in SMC to stay blinkered to the truth and CONTROL the congregation by telling them NOT to read these websites. However, to have a go at you for reading the OSCR website is more than insane - it beggars belief.

SMC are a Charity and receive huge benefits because of this status - these benefits are provided by the tax-payers (that is you and I and everyone else in the land who pay taxes). We therefore have every RIGHT to be asking what they are doing with our tax dollars and don't let anyone intimidate you into thinking anything else.

SMC have put themselves in the public domain in order to reap the benefits of public funds and lower taxes they are therefore SERVANTS to the tax-payers.

This is a beautiful illustration of just how absurd and insane the leaders and indeed some members of SMC are. You can't take public money and benefits and then try to block people from seeing what you're doing with it - how ANTI Chirstian and ANTI Biblical is that?

The church is in the public domain and they can't stick their heads in the sand and pretend otherwise. If they wish to be elitist and private then they should give up their charitable status and function like any other private organisation - and stop creaming public benefits for private use.

We're all behind you 1,000%, Happy Survivor and we salute your courage!

Biiiiiiiigest love and hugest huggggggggggs to you
God Bless you and keep up the good work xxxxxxx

If anyone receives any strange or unpleasant private messages (PMs),please do not laugh it off.

Send a copy of the specimen to the moderator.

Rick Ross can be reached here.

[forum.culteducation.com]

To report this to him is not weakness or 'lacking a sense of humour' and it is not whinging.

The privacy of the PM setting makes it the equivalent of a dark alley. Bullies can lurk there unless exposed to the light of day.

Mr Ross cares about the welfare of all who use this message board and wants to know if anyone is being hassled behind the scenes.

Hi Corboy

Thanks for this and I would hope that no one on this thread is receiving such messages. We all treat each other with love and respect even if we don't always agree with each other.

If anyone on this thread is receiving such messages, especially from someone who is currently in SMC, this only goes to show just how ANTI-Christian these people are. God would never allow such nasty tactics from His people and to use such tactics against posters on this thread will show them up for the UN-Christian people we have always said they are - in other words, it only lends more credence to what we have been saying here for years now.

If I receive any such messages I will have no hesitation in posting the message publically on the forum, for all to see. Naming and shaming. In addition I would take Corboy's advice and send such a message to the moderator, who I expect would have the person banned from the forum since this goes against the rules to which we all signed up when we began posting here.

"Love one another as I have loved you!" is what God commands and we, on this thread believe that and do our best to be respectful and loving even to those who use the thread to try a bit of mud-slinging.

Nasty bullies have no place in God's house or on this forum thread and anyone who does receive such a message should be strong and know that such messages show the weakness (and Un-Godliness) of the person who sends the message for the purpose of intimidation.

No one can shut us up so easily - we will go on posting to make sure that ALL are aware of the questionable goings-on in SMC. Furthermore, we will continue to support each other and hopefully give help and support to those who have been spiritually, emotionally and mentally damaged by this unscrupulous organisation.

As always,
Biiiiiiiig love and huge hugggggggs to all
God Bless xxx

I was appalled to read that anyone on this thread might be sending unpleasant PMs to other contributors.

As is patently obvious from my posts I believe that honesty is the best policy to deal effectively with SMC. Maybe if Corboy has evidence of such unpleasantness it might be worth considering naming and shaming the sender of these PMs.

I would be very interested to know where his quotation "lacking a sense of humour" is taken from. Could you possibly elaborate further Corboy?

Just for the record...I personally have never sent or received any PMs since joining this forum.

Friends, I am not aware that any unpleasant PMs have been sent to anyone involved with this discussion.

Occasionally this has happened on other thread discussions.

I included the phrase, 'lacking a sense of humour' because very often, bullies will claim they were only joking when called to account.

And quite often if someone targeted by a bully tries to defend themselves, the bully will accuse the victim of 'lacking a sense of humour'.

This isnt about humour or lack of it.

Its about oppression.

So...any unpleasant PMs on this or any other thread discussion--just pick the PM up in a pair of tongs, put it in a specimen jar and send it to Mr Ross.

Welcome Bingo wings and thank you C Barb for your continual clarity and confirmation of Struthers goings on.

Yesterday I read an article in The Daily Record (probably banned by Struthers) about the serious damage that members of an American religious cult have been causing in a South Lanarkshire Primary school. All the "grooming" of young vulnerable pupils is now under intense investigation and the individuals concerned have been ousted from the school. The parents are furious and rightly so.
It makes me wonder about the Cedars school. Staffed mostly by Struthers members and indeed, family members related to each other through Struthers, I find it hard to believe that they can separate their "beliefs" from the teaching of also vulnerable pupils. Pupils who are not,of Struthers, coming from "rich fee paying " families who have never probably experienced the reality of Struthers teaching. How can the parents be certain that their children are not being "ear marked"/groomed for Struthers? Would the vulnerable Cedars pupils recognise what was happening to them? I think not. This unacceptable situation continues to bring money into SMC. and into the families who make up the staff. Should it not set off alarm bells ? Maybe these questions are never asked. Certainly, Bingo wings, feel free to ask them and answer them if you can. Please also have a read at the posts which Clive has saved on our behalf and see the many many questions that have NEVER been answered by your esteemed leaders, about the damage and great hurts that have been caused down through many years of psychological harm. I have never received unpleasant private messages. If I did , I would post them.