Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nobel laureate in literature, died August 3. After I left the Community in 1983 I read several of his novels. I found them helpful in that time of my life especially, because they deal with the loss of meaning, and its recovery. Solzhenitsyn was serving in the Red Army during World War II when he was arrested for remarks about Stalin in a private letter. S. spent years
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Incarnate Soul: I meant that I believed the history of St. John's and Christ Lutheran churches in the 1960s as told by an older woman who had been part of it.
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Deciding to Leave the Community If, hypothetically, I had the opportunity to learn the truth and to have confidence in the veracity of what I learned, would I be interested? Yeah, sure. In 1973, at age 13, I joined a youth Bible study of 1 Corinthians, held in Patchogue, and connected with the Fellowship. The church addressed by the apostle Paul was spirit –filled, charismatic, but had ma
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The bishop of the Eastern District of the American Lutheran Church requested a consultation team from the Division for Theological Education, the Division for Life and Mission in the Congregation, and the Office of Support to Ministries (I'm summarizing from the visitation report and recommendation, 1977, with page numbers from the report). The team was asked to focus on the theological sha
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I'm pleased that someone who shot hoops (played basketball) with me has advanced to writing poetry. How Shall Jewish and Gentile Believers Worship Together? Although I write below about something positive in the Community, I left the Community in 1983, I do not have any information about the Community after I left, and I agree that many people including myself were hurt. I have previo
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I agree that there was good and bad, it was part of what made me what I am, and that we all have to learn to deal with it. In The Gulag Archipelago part 4 (about the Soviet Labor Camps and Prisons), Solzhenitsyn wrote about "The Soul and Barbed Wire." The first chapter in that section was called "The Ascent," and the next chapter was called "Or Corruption?" The se
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Shabbetai Zvi Compared to Jack Hickman Life of Shabbetai Zvi (various spellings) Shabbetai Zvi was born in Smyrna in 1626, he showed early promise as a Talmudic scholar, and even more as a student and devotee of Kabbalah. More pronounced than his scholarship were his strange mystical speculations and religious ecstasies. He traveled to various cities, his strong personality and his alternate
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Thanks for your memories and analysis, Sally. I'd appreciate what you or others have to contribute further. My memory was not that the most/least judments in my Jesus book class had any reference to Jack Hickman. Perhaps different time periods or different implementation by the class teacher?
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Four Memorable Youth Activities 30 years later. I was voluntarily involved in youth activities (my parents were not involved in the Fellowship). I remember these activities as well designed and directed and thought provoking. During 1973-75, I recall the following Patchogue youth activities: During one Jesus Book class, when the group was in its second year of meeting, each of us was to c
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I only was with Jack Hickman when he was preaching to a large group in 1973-83. I was not close to people who were close to Hickman. I did not keep in touch with people after I left. I do not have training in psychiatry. These are substantial limitations to my ability to understand him, and I do not have a satisfactory theological understanding of his impact. I'm not trying to condone,
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Hi Gerry. Peace to you. I'll continue here with issues related to the Fellowship/Community in 1973-83. Books Widely Used in the Community The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a reference text for Jesus Book class (c. 1974-75). I thought highly of the book when I first read it. I returned to the book years later, after the scandal, and could not stand its pietist se
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I was most attracted to this website because of the possibility of contacting old friends or learning what had happened to them. In this hope I am bound to be disappointed to a greater or lesser degree. I did not know most of the people who came into contact with the Fellowship/Community or who read or write to this website (leaving aside the matter of anonymity). It has also happened that whe
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During the years I participated, 1973-83, the Fellowship and Community changed enormously. A model was Abraham leaving the land of his birth for an unnamed place that God would show him. In the years since leaving, I have carried this legacy of the Community by continuing to change. Yet, sometimes when preachers call for decisions, I feel that God respects my objections to being troubled again. A
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No, Sallie, I left in 1983.
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The first posting appears also in the Jack Hickman-Shoresh topic.
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During the years I participated, 1973-83, the Fellowship and Community changed enormously. A model was Abraham leaving the land of his birth for an unnamed place that God would show him. In the years since leaving, I have carried this legacy of the Community by continuing to change. Yet, sometimes when preachers call for decisions, I feel that God respects my objections to being troubled again. A
Forum: Abusive and Controlling Relationships