My father and family go to Asembly of God but some things concern me

Strong belief in Hellfire punishment even after inital salvation if a person "sin" after they are "saved" atonment is made up by asking for forgiveness for EVERY wrong doing liitle or big.

people "falling out in the spirit" behavor similar to a hypnotic trance induced by pastor "laying on of hands"

some degree of forced love for thy brother

an aggressive view of God

members are very much lovey to those who share thier views and hurtful and degrading to those who dont....they say they are that way to "concivt them so they will see God's way"

I hate bringing up the issue of religion with my dad because when I dont see eye to eye with him ..he says .."well I guess your just going to go to hell then" and my stepmother often says "I dont know how you can be a Christian and watch that" refering to Country music television!

I tried thier way for a while and I always felt dread of getting God mad, and that he was unforgiving and that I could not be good enough to please him.

I couldn't take it so I left, but my family thinks that I am going to to hell.

I have been driven away from Christianity because of this church's views
they seem to focus more on what is wrong than what is right

I was in a church similar to it. Not all AOG churches are the same. Pastors have guidelines, but run them with their own ways.
I was in a church threatening me with hell all the time.
Do not be discouraged - God is forgiving and salvation is through Jesus, not works.

Thank tou dor replying..it has been a while since I wrote that....anyway

I have not been in all AoG's but I been in 2 or three and they are similar
in the hell thing .....right now I dont believe in Hell or heaven but in reincarnation....makes more sence to me....I dont believe in Jesus as God anymore....but just there is a univeral energy ..that people call God

But This energy like our energy is alive......and that is all I know to be true
anything else is trival to me right now.

See I used to attend AOG with my dad...but I think it opened the door wide open to the cult that recruted me back in my home state...My dad lves in Oklahoma..I libe in Ga......I cult I got into in Savannah was a real bad one.....Now that I left....I decided that I dont know what I believe
but I know that I believe in a universal energy and reincarnation....both just make sense to me...what little senxe I have.

Anyway...thank you for the reply...I apriecate it

Jojo

To whom it may concern:

Please let's remember the rules regarding preaching and proselytizing.

"The purpose of this forum is not to promote a specific religious viewpoint and/or to proselytize."

Also--

"So-called 'flames,' vitriolic posts that personally attack people, will not be tolerated and are grounds for banning the author from this message board."

I have deleted some posts from this thread that violated the rules.

I went to a church in Huntington Beach, CA. I didn't even know it was AOG until later, it was Pacific Coast Community Church. They never did a laying on of hands (but I do believe in that). They were evangelical but not "lively" like some pentecostals (i.e., speaking in tongue, which I also believe in but do not have the gift of). They were very inviting, our small church had lots of ex-Catholics (which I am now a Catholic), ex-everyone else! It seemed that a lot of people just wanted a regular, welcoming church without having to be one thing or the other.
Nothing weird or cultish.
I grew up in the Nazarene church where, even though Mormon people were very nice famiy people, they were definitely a cult! And the Proctor & Gamble people were supporting the Church of Satan!
Any other urban legends and myths??? :roll:

Hi Vee....I noticed in your post you said that you grew up Nazarene...but then you mention something about Mormons. I am just looking for some clarification and wanted to make sure you were not stating that Nazarenes are cultish...i grew up nazarene also and now consider myself non-demoniational because of a few bad experiences but I just wanted to clarify!

I grew up Nazarene, but they were the ones saying that the Mormon's were a cult, and that Proctor & Gamble gave $ to the church of Satan. They passed videos around church about the Mormons, who I have found to be nothing but great people!
About the AOG church I attended, they NEVER mentioned hell! Isn't that funny? I think it was assumed! LOL They talked about the righteous receiving heaven and stuff like that, but never hell! :)

I attended an AG church for 5 years that had some of the characteristics of a cult. They were heavily into authority, which they justified using John Bevere's book, "Under Cover." It's nothing more than a rehash of the Shepherding Movement. Stories were told about terrible things happening to people who didn't tithe, which is a common fear tactic. We were told from the pulpit that if we didn't like anything that went on, to find another church. There were quite a few defections. They were also into the Church Growth Movement, and the goal of the church was to become the next Brownsville (actually I have been in more than one church that had this goal). The pastor had a habit of making all those who are "for" his vision to stand. I was really surprised when there were quite of few people who refused to stand! Anyway, I have left the church and I would not be surprised if the whole thing goes bust somewhere down the road. People can only take so much of that before they get tired and leave.

Two years ago my daughter became seriously involved with a young man. Our family is Catholic, though my daughter and I are non-practicing. She is familiar with many other religions, and is blessed with friends from a variety of faiths who have always included her in their religious activities. Her young man said he was Christian, and was educated in private schools, yet he seemed very ignorant of religion and Jesus in particular. I was told that his mother was "crazy" and belonged to a church that was like a cult. Both my daughter and the young man agreed on this, and told me how the people in the church worshipped the pastor more than God. I asked him if he shared his mother's views, and he strongly denied any involvement at all.

However, now that they are married and have a baby, he lets his mother dictate everything. She was very upset that my daughter breastfed her baby, and did not have him circumcised. My s-i-l had a criminal history he hid from my daughter. He and other family members drink, take drugs, and abuse their wives and children. When my daughter fought with her husband over this the mother sent her to counciling with the AoG pastor, who told her God is working through the men to punish the women for their sins. He was far more interested in my daughter's lack of faith in their religion than in her husband's infidelity, unemployment, drinking, and abuse. When the baby was born my daughter moved back in with me, because she did not want the child subjected to the activities in the father's home. However she still held out hope that her husband would move out of his parent's house and away from their influence, and they could have a life together.

After many months of waiting, my daughter had enough and told her husband she was filing for divorce. The father picked the baby up from our home and refused to let my daughter see him again. He and his mother say that my daughter is the devil, and so are all of her relatives. When I first heard that I laughed and said I had called her far worse at times... but I soon found out they are SERIOUS. They believe the Devil has taken hold of my daughter and they need to protect her baby from her and the rest of our family (because we are catholic we are under control of the devil already). Unfortunately their ability to care for the child is so negligent it borders on abuse. They had little interest in him prior to this, so they do not know his likes or dislikes, or really, anything about him at all. They changed his diet from breastmilk (saying they made the change so he would not need his mother any more) and appropriate pureed and soft baby foods, to tap water and adult table food. They do not notice when he is ill, and they change or refuse to continue his medication.

We had to hire an attorney and now there is a custody battle. I understand the courts do not favor one religion over another, but it is our hope that they recognize that bringing a child up in a religion that causes it to believe its mother and her entire family are under the control of demons really is not in that child's best interest.

Two women appeared on Judge Judy over a dispute over a wedding dress. They were sisters, and one had loaned the other a wedding dress for her wedding. Instead of returning the wedding dress, the woman took a pair of scissors, cut it into pieces and returned the pieces to her sister in a box. When Judge Judy asked the woman why she did this, the woman explained that she was in deliverance ministry and that the dress had witchcraft on it. Judge Judy said the court doesn't recognize witchcraft and ordered the Pentecostal woman to pay her sister 300 dollars for the dress.