Im so shocked reading this today Daisy69 Wrote:
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> Why not report it to the police? If anyone
> believes a crime has been committed, it should be
> reported to the police.

But as I said this morning I won't be silence

I CAN ASSURE SMC know who I am.And they know how to get in contact with myself.
As I have said time and time again I'm willing to talk to anyone about this.I have nothing to hide .My pm are open and they also know who I am I'm not in hiding.

Totally support you.

I am upset and shaken reading your story. I am sorry for what you went through. Thank you for being brave enough to share. Sadly your case is not the only one, a similar situation happened many years ago with (I assume) another church member from a different branch. This individual was also covered for and (I believe) still attends struthers memorial church. Leaders did not listen, church members listened and were aware but were too scared to speak up or offer support (possibly bribed or threatened). Please understand that when I use the word ‘threatened’; to a devout struthers church member, being advised that no one will speak to you again, you will go to hell, you may need to leave, or that God will see that you are punished appropriately - that is a threat.

It is wonderful to see many coming forward and sharing their truths. Is Struthers memorial church a cult? Interestingly, I no longer care for the answer to that as I can see from all of these testimonies, and my own experience, that Struthers is a place of evil, abuse and destruction. I do not believe they will apologise, I do not believe they will right their wrongs. They may come onto this forum and offer their defence and thoughts under anonymous usernames (most likely church members in the inner group) and leaders will intertwine their thoughts and responses into sermons and blogs/weekly thoughts on the churches websites. Assuming that as they watch us, we will be watching them. They will choose individual scriptures and take them out of context to convince church members that they are right.

It’s a very sad, real, but also frightening situation. I do not know this for a fact - but I suspect there will have been individuals that have taken their own lives or been tempted to, due to the brainwashing, abuse and torment that they were caused by Struthers Memorial Churches, leaders and members.

Struthers will claim that any individuals that have done this would have been demon possessed.

I do not believe this or agree with it. Struthers has caused severe mental health issues for people (past and current church members), ranging from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive over thinking….the list is endless. This is not demons. When an abusive husband or wife destroys their partner with physical or mental abuse, the victim does not go into fear and depression due to demons. It is the individual that did this to them that caused it. Sadly I can see that struthers would appear to be guilty of carrying out and hiding physical, sexual, mental and spiritual abuse.

I do hope and pray that not only do we have our own testimonies and experience to share but there is hardcore evidence so that it can be stopped and no other lives destroyed. I am personally looking at this to see what I may have or could provide.

Sending a big hug to you and falkirkbairn. Don’t know what so say. I’m so sorry.

Thank you thisisme I feel you were writing my words and thoughts this evening.
Everyone who's txt / called today thanks but sorry got other personal things going on .I will get back to you all in time.I am doing this for the children and others folk who can't answer for themselves no one will silence me or stop me if this is the last thing I do I have helped someone

God bless you all and thanks

blackwatch:

I don't think that how the Bible teaches Christians to resolve conflict is "applying theology" and therefore irrelevant. It is rules and guidelines for the Christian given by God Himself. So, I am only addressing Christians. As for broader society, I refer you to Acts 4:19.

TheGreek:

I did not say people should stay silent. If you have lost faith in any rapprochement, I can understand that. But I would like to know where you (and others) are hoping this will end up.

A church movement humiliated by an expose documentary?
Or a class action litigation bankrupting the movement?
Or the destruction of an entire Christian movement?

Hi Basilisk
If you can’t offer support to these people, none of whom have even mentioned money, say nothing at all.
Your comment on trans, and worrying about humiliation and bankruptcy, are actually making this a whole lot worse.
Why would anyone want to go near a movement, with those sort of views.

basilisk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> blackwatch:
>
> I don't think that how the Bible teaches
> Christians to resolve conflict is "applying
> theology" and therefore irrelevant. It is rules
> and guidelines for the Christian given by God
> Himself. So, I am only addressing Christians. As
> for broader society, I refer you to Acts 4:19.

Understanding the 'rules and guidelines' is entirely a theological matter by very definition. If it was as black and white or as simplistic as you state we wouldn't have the plethora of divisions that we see in christendom. Put plainly, christians can't agree on what the bible says on even the most basic, seemingly straightforward of issues so trying to do that here is going to be largely ineffective.

> TheGreek:
>
But I would like to know where
> you (and others) are hoping this will end up.
>
> A church movement humiliated by an expose
> documentary?
> Or a class action litigation bankrupting the
> movement?
> Or the destruction of an entire Christian
> movement?

These are certainly not the only outcomes and very, very interesting that they are the ones you choose to list. In any case, no-one needs to answer that and the way you frame it smells a little bit of victim-shaming.

It's not a movement. It's not a church. It's a cult.

Blackwatch, I am pretty sure this more than smells of victim-shaming: it is a text book example of victim shaming. People have been hurt and damaged and, instead of trying to help, Basilisk is trying to make them feel guilty about reporting it.

Basilisk, you should actually be ashamed of how you are responding here. You are suggesting that, if a BBC documentary goes ahead, it will affect the reputation of the evangelical church, and the contributors here should feel guilty about that. Presumably by your reckoning they should as a result feel embarrassed to attend an evangelical church or would have to hide their background if they do. Since you want us to consider outcomes, is that the outcome you want?

You claim to be wanting to base actions on scripture, but what verses are you using to support your own actions? Where does it say, “if you see people hurt by the church, warn them that speaking out my damage the reputation of the church, but do not confront the perpetrators”? That is what you are doing – how do you justify that from scripture?

As far as I can see, you have only quoted one verse of scripture, which is about resolving things within the church. All your advice is however then directed to those already damaged by the poor behaviour of this organisation. That is not an attempt to apply this scripture. If you were trying to apply this scripture, you would at the very least contact both side about what they might do to resolve things.

Why do you address your comments to the contributors here - who are simply seeking to obey

Quote
1 Tim 5v20
But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning

using the only avenue that has been left open to them?

On that matter I should also add that your rhetorical questions about who could or should contact whom simply demonstrate that you have not read this forum. Struthers leaders (again, the ones you fail to address directly, preferring to try to get those seeking justice to back down) could easily contact people using private messages or could add a public post saying, “please contact us about any concerns and we will do what we can to understands and resolve them”. This they do not do. If you actually read the forum you will see that many people have taken the initiative to contact the leadership and had no response.

If you really want to stop these matters being openly broadcast, the simple answer is to address your comments about applying Biblical principles to the leadership of Struthers, either by writing to them directly or even by posting your comments to them here.

What you are doing is also wrong in another very important way, as perfect love casts out fear. What you are doing is strengthening the culture of fear that many victims have had to live with for decades.

Which brings me on to another matter. A very common approach to conflict is to look at it in terms of goodies and baddies. This happens in politics all the time - conservatives proclaim that everything then do is right, and everything labour does is wrong. Labour of course does exactly the same, only they proclaim that everything they do is right, and everything the Conservatives do is wrong.

It also happens in religion – people become part of a group that claim Christians are right and Muslims are totally wrong or Catholics are right and Protestants wrong etc. That is not what we see in scripture though – the message of Christianity is that all have sinned. As a preacher I know use to say, “the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart”.

Look at what happened to Peter. Jesus said to him that he was “the rock on which he would build his church” and just a few verses later said, said “get thee behind me Satan” to him. So Peter could be right at times and wrong at times, and we need to judge individual actions not lump people in a box and think all they do is wrong.

That is just submitting to a non-scriptural “identity culture” model (look at Jesus eating with sinners if you need evidence of that) and spreading fear of outsiders. Which is all a long-winded way of saying that I do not agree with your transphobic comment and have no reason to doubt the integrity and honesty of the reporters. What group they belong to is irrelevant.

I am however less clear about your position, as it seems to fly in the face of much of the scriptures you reference, which say things like:

Quote
Proverbs 21:15
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

If pursuing this justice is bringing terror to you and joy to those you disparage, you need to have a long hard look at yourself.