Quotecbarb There is a distinct lack of proper Biblical teaching in SMC and too much of the 'touch not the Lord's anointed' rubbish. Talking of the "Lords anointed" - Diana Rutherford - she recently posted this on a church blog: "We prayed very simply for nice weather. The church prayed. The children prayed. And we were blessed with glorious sunshine and lo
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Guys, Its fascinating to read the recent posts from y'all. Seems to be loads of memories flooding back and being recalled and confirmed here. ThePetitor - you wrote recently "As Mister Black often used to quote, “All that is required for evil to abound is for good men to do nothing.” which I had been thinking of posting here just before reading your quote. It did and does m
Forum: Destructive Churches

I'm sorry to go off topic but this BBC documentary on child witch abuse in Congo and other parts of Africa simply reinforces my revulsion with pentecostals emphasis on exorcism and witch hunting. And thew SMC has been on the forefront of this. Pentecostals who support western mega-tent revivalist preachers who target Africa are culpable here. For decades they have been
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteE.Ray While i have no love for the struthers organisation I have always slightly disagreed with it being named as a "cult" before (probably because I got out very easily and maintained friendships - I seem to be in the minority there) but alarm bells are starting to ring. I almost feel like the mafia are going to come after me! Welcome here E.Ray The information you've
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteChesterk55It strikes me again Clive you have not been paying attention. You claim your Facebook page idea (which many rejected the last time you proposed it) "is a step inti the light that they will find harder to ignore". Many of us have said very clearly on this forum that we have sat face to face in front of the leadership of Struthers and put these points to them fac
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteArchbishop Laud People are increasingly being arrested in the streets of Britain for preaching the Bible. Hmm - doing a quick Google - it seems just to be multiple stories about one incident with a preacher named Dale McAlpine. It this WAS to become more common, we'd be hearing a lot more oabout it from the Telegraph and Daily Mail who never miss an opportunity to report o
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteCovLass Finally, I would like to state for the record to anyone who is reading this, that I am willing to stand up and be counted and to give testimony in public of my experiences and f the things I have witnessed in my short time at Struthers Memorial Church. I would be willing to give testimony n a court of law if need be, about how I saw the young girl who was grabbed by her arm and phy
Forum: Destructive Churches

Ifellaway - No you're not off base. Sharing your testimony here is important and I appreciate you doing. This talk of whistle blowing sounds serious too. Particularly as - yet again - it relates to how SMC leaders are dealing with the youth. I'm also glad that you're now able to get proper medical and psychiatric help.
Forum: Destructive Churches

[ In fact I would say that even Clive (who has suspiciously gone quiet since I asked if he had a vested interest in the I-pad issue) as a self-proclaimed atheist, is probably more holy than the leaders of SMC!! ] Definitely not, if "Holy" means the SMC style avoiding things "of the world" !. I check in from time to time just to see if new posters have joined with someth
Forum: Destructive Churches

Here is a sanity challenge: Is anyone else here going to admit that maybe not ALL SMC decisions are bad ? ThePetitor asks: "if they are so great, why they are not using them in the church side of their business" There is no logic behind this question. One does not entail the other. Are the needs of educating children in classes in any way the same as those a pastor faces leadin
Forum: Destructive Churches

Rensil, you are wrong. It has been very clearly established over the years that laptops are NOT an ideal book replacement. Certainly not for any sustained reading, and certainly not until high resolution screen laptops start becoming commonplace. App software for iPads is also far far less expensive to purchase than software on PCs or laptops. Laptops are far far more unreliable
Forum: Destructive Churches

No. A desktop PC simply doesn't and cant be used for reading books. A PC simply doesnt compare as an educational tool compred to ipads. And now Microsoft - with Windows 8 is merely copying Apple. Apple has huge resources for Authors to make special textbooks. As to upgrading. I recall them getting the original ipad some time ago. t would have been either the original, or the iPad
Forum: Destructive Churches

To be fair, regarding the expense of iPads, it could actually be a wise move in the long term, since all the textbooks can if desired be put on them. I believe some education authorities in California are already doing or considering this. Licensing and distributing the digital form of these can naturally be much cheaper. It means for example that textbooks can be cheaply and quickly kept up
Forum: Destructive Churches

I can thoroughly endorse the burning of any record or CD of Richard Claydermans music. Same goes for Kenny G for that matter ! Such music truly IS an abomination. But not in the eyes of god, but n the eyes of anyone who loves art, creativity, originality, music with a heart instead of banal, mediocre, populist. middle of the road, "accessible", "easy listening" pre-diges
Forum: Destructive Churches

Given all the mentions of youth groups, schools and the like in SMC heres something to lighten weekend. How many of the following "33-ways-you-know-you-were-a-youth-group-kid" resonate with any of posters here that were youths in SMC ? The list is american, but I know for a fact that at least one ( Nr 14 ) applies over here. :)
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi MagicCarrot. Out of interest, are you an ex-member of SMC, or do you have relatives, friends etc who attend/once attended SMC ?.
Forum: Destructive Churches

Quotecbarb Also, from a recent PM from Kelvin, I get the notion that SMCers are more worried about the label 'cult' and that may be stopping some people from posting. Was meaning to defer posting any further, but seeing this just had to make a wee point. cbarb - If someone PM's you - it is because that person wants to send you a PERSONAL message. The whole point of PMs is it
Forum: Destructive Churches

I think you summarise things very well indeed cbarb. And on a lighter note - now I know you are an author - it kind of explains the size of your voluminous posts ;) . I rather like the look of my writing too ! But back to the matter at hand. Speaking to someone I know from within the SMC, and showing that person in detail some of the testimonies here, PLUS illustrating how this person
Forum: Destructive Churches

Chester If rrmoderator is going to take Kelvin to task for what he/she perceives as personal attacks it might be helpful if he did so evenly. My perception has been that which I have already posted. You can take issue with how I word those perceptions. But if those are perceptions I have, one shouldn't be surprised if others have them too. As to "Finally please could you exp
Forum: Destructive Churches

I still get the impression that some here are tending to get carried away with critiquing Kelvin personally - questioning his motives etc. EVEN if - at times - it seemed he was questioning ours. We may be putting off people who want to discuss the church but want to post stuff in defence of SMC - or maybe some of it. Maybe to providing what they honestly see as balance. Rightly or wrongly
Forum: Destructive Churches

Kelvin - "People still have to engage their brains and know what they are getting in to - do you agree? " If you spend any time looking into research on human psychology you will quickly come to realise that our ability to self-monitor our selves, rationally assess what is REALLY going on in a social or group situation is very limited. The old chestnut about surely "X could
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hmm... SMC goes back a lot further than the 80's isnt it in fact more like 80 years old ? But it does seem that a lot of the problems start arising in the 80s for sure. But even then we are talking of a "young" cult - or "cult-like" sect here. The Mormons, Moonies, Scientology, Christian Science, all the so-called "heretical" sects - Christadelphi
Forum: Destructive Churches

Can I just add some perceptions as "the only atheist in the village" that I am seeing the same kind of emotional over-reactions here to Kelvin - who, although daring to come on here and question OUR stances - and indeed may have chosen his words slightly less than optimally, does seem sincere in getting at the truth. As is so common with online ( and in particular anonymous ) conve
Forum: Destructive Churches

Saw an interesting article today in a sociology journal. Heres a snippet: "Megachurches, or churches with 2,000 or more congregants, have grown in number, size, and popularity in recent years, coming to virtually dominate the American religious landscape. More than half of all American churchgoers now attend the largest 10 percent of churches. Megachurch services feature a come-as-
Forum: Destructive Churches

Quotecbarb I personally believe that God is not a person but the ultimate energy of light and love and it is this spiritual energy which is inside each one of us and connects us all to the ulitmate energy which created the universe. We are each a tiny little fragment of that complete energy of existence. To my mind this answers the questions regarding why God doesn't intervene in wars an
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteRensilClive, you've said before that you're not a christian believer, whereas most of us on here, who have been members of SMC, are christians. I believe that we can genuinely feel the presence of God and that it can't be explained away simply by psychological techniques or the power of suggestion. The presence of God can be felt anywhere. I can feel it in the church I now go
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteThePetitor I am not sure whether Darren Brown claims to stand for anything but I am not aware of any driving moral purpose behind his shows. I certainly wouldn’t want to follow him and accept any particular philosophy of life just because of the impressive ability to do what appears impossible. I don’t want to go off the theme of this thread or to try to convince anyone to follow a p
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuotesquareoneDerren Brown's shows can be very interesting and have a lot of truth in them. Ironically though, I believe he was a bit upset that there were some who suggested that his Apocalypse show was a fraud and the main person in it an actor. Suppose you just have to choose what you're going to believe.....Hanging on to faith by a thread Yes, the Apocalypse show was a bit of a du
Forum: Destructive Churches

to BlackWatch and others - With all the talk on this thread about "powerful presence of God" experiences, it might be worth taking a look at Derren Browns most recent show, in which he shows just how powerful experiences claimed to be of this type, can be induced, merely by psychology and the power of suggestion. With Struthers leaders and congregation constantly injecting &q
Forum: Destructive Churches

I see a lot of parallels to SMC in the movie "Chocolat". Methinks the SMC lot could benefit greatly from taking a few lessons from its themes. They need to focus less on "Fasting For Lent" and a little more on welcoming "River Rats" and "them from outside" wafted in on the wind. Maybe Rensil, cbarb, and any others who live in Greenock and are ex-S
Forum: Destructive Churches