I realize this isn’t a space created for me, and I hope I’m not intruding. I’ve spent the past 3 days reading this forum. My husband doesn’t understand why I’m so fascinated. He thinks it has something to do with the fact that we live in Utah. It doesn’t, really, though I found this forum because I was curious. The major reason I’ve been reading your discussions (in all of my free time for the past 3 days) is because I was born into “The Truth” as well. Though they call themselves Christadelphians. The similarities with Mormon doctrine are vanishingly small. Christadelphians are a tiny group, who will never have a candidate for president. I think Christadelphians might be more overtly sexist, but I don’t know. But there are similarities: The insidious ways people police each other’s behavior. The fact that you have to be prepared to give up all of your friends (and sometimes family) if you leave. The difficulty in convincing your friends that you have left (my home address was just listed in the publication sent to all North American Christadelphians; I have no idea how they found me). The anger and grief you feel, even as you also find a greater happiness and freedom.

I guess I just want to thank you all. I’ve never been able to articulate how much Christadelphianism informed who I am today (both the original belief and the rejection of it). I’ve been fairly successful in my life, post-Christadelphia. I don’t think my husband can understand my continued fascination with scriptural interpretation, my easily provoked anger at “small” trespasses into my privacy by current Christadelphians, etc. I left over a decade ago, before I met my husband. It’s still a daily issue in my life – mainly because my parents are still “Brethren in Christ.” Reading the posts here has allowed me to undergo a catharsis that I was unable to complete in my isolation. You are a pretty wonderful group. So thank you. For the amount of humor I have found on here. The fact that you don’t shy away from anger. For strategies on how to deal with Christadelphians when they inevitably invade my boundaries. It's been really healthy for me.

Thank you for speaking. It has helped.

And feel free to speak your mind!

Indeed, you are not alone!

Timothy

Thanks, Timothy. I really appreciate it.

I'm sure you have a lot you can add here on this board. Welcome and please join in. I can imagine it must have been very isolating to break out of a group few people have ever heard of. You can be our token Ex-Christadelphian. :)

Thanks, Cristina

Wow, I just googled them too, for the first time in a while. What they don't tell you: women must wear head coverings to meeting (ecclesia), I met women who walked 6 paces behind their husband in public, you will be disfellowshipped for voting or serving on a jury, there is a major split in the church based on whether you will already be immortal at the raising-of-the-dead or you become immortal after Christ judges you, and people refuse to take communion with each other based on it.

If I were a cultural anthrpologist, I'd probably find it very interesting. But my major issues have been with learning how to live, post Christadelphian. You guys have already helped me so, so much.

Thank you

There are few enough resources anywhere for cult survivors... Welcome!

Thanks. Finding you guys has been very liberating.

Just goes to show. A cult is a cult is a cult. The out come is so similar for those who either leave or are ran out.
I sometimes read the JW's recovery site. It has a familiar ring to it. I'm reminded that we have all been manipulated and affected. It doesn't really matter what the name of the group is.

And the trauma is usually identical.

I hate to tell you this, but your cult might be even smaller then you suspect. I was reading about it just now on Wikipedia, and they claim a few thousand members in Africa and Asia. As we have learned in Mormonism, it is easy for cults to use gimmick tricks in those places, to drum up a lot of baptisms and temporary conversions in order to inflate their numbers. While this looks like it was only done with a couple thousand people, out of a religion that has only 60,000 members, it is scandalous.

Yeah, that's something I'm very aware of. One of the other things they have in common with Mormons is the whole "Mark of Cain" and "Mark of Hamm" history of racism. I actually left "The Faith" because they sent a group of missionaries to Jamaica. And they appointed a guy who had gotten a 14 year old girl pregnant. "But he did that in Mexico, several years ago." Seriously? I grew up in a faith where they thought a 14 year old might have not been raped because she was Mexican. I had a conversation with my father (who was on the board that appointed this guy). I asked him why a woman had been disfellowshipped for a second marriage, but they're putting a known child molester in charge of young girls, outside of the country no less. He said, "Well, he's repented. You can't repent of divorce, because it's a constant state of being." That was when I left.

So, long story short, I'm sure they lie about membership. The weird thing about Christadelphians, though, is that they like having smaller membership. I don't really know why. It makes them feel more persecuted?

Well, now you have two token ex-Christadelphians.

Funny, how these cults are always the gift that keeps on giving. Just got an email from a Christadelphian (CD) in-law, asking to see me. They never go away completely, unless you change your name and Social Security Number and gender and move to another continent.

I have decided to respond by not responding. Over time, we learn coping skills.

They utterly destroyed my life.

Our CD group degenerated into violence and mayhem and disaster -- odd, since the CD religion is supposed to be focused on pacifism and brotherly love. Supposedly.

Nice you could join us. It is good to learn we are not alone. It sometimes feels that way to me even tho I know we are not. They are a lot of cults out there and it is good to compare notes. I do understand where you are coming from.

Welcome aboard! This can be you recovery from Christadelphianism site. A cult is a cult is a cult. Are there practicing Christadelphians in Utah? I grew up there and have never heard of it until today with your post.

I studied with and associated a little with Christadelphians here in the UK for a few years before the Mormon thing.

They think only they understand the bible properly (sound familiar?) and are the only true Brothers In Christ.

Doctrine is based on John Thomas the founder's interpretation of the bible who survived a potential sinking ship/heavy storm and prayed to be spared and vowed to find truth if God saves him from what must have been a scary situation at the time for him.(From what I can recall).

I found them to be very academic in nature and it was a pleasant experience looking in from the outside but could see the subtle pressure to conform for members. There are fragmentations amongst the Christadelphians (no suprises there), over what the bible exactly teaches(prophetic wise at least)

They believe we are in the Last Days and only the faithfull among them will be saved! (again no suprises there). Israel has regathered 1948 etc, a major and fundamental event for Christadelphians, though also for Evangelicals.

I read Elpis Israel and was it Robert Roberts's the next leader's book also.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2012 12:24PM by zeezrom.

Thank you for reaching out. I have observed that people who survive cults, Scientology, LDS, etc, tend to stay away from other organized religions, even the least cult-like.

Have you had any interest in joining another faith community?
Many ex-cult members are atheist, understandably.

It's always good to hear from people from the smaller sects; I've never heard of the Christadelphians, though I have heard of small groups like them. I think that the smaller cults are worse than the larger ones because everybody knows everybody and there is nowhere to hide (I experienced that in Fundamentalist Christian school.) I would say that the Christadelphians like being small because that means more space for them when they are resurrected.

Glad to hear you escaped, Amellifera.

I am a refugee from Christadelphianism also. What's left of my life, anyway.

I have rebuilt, but my life still looks like Berlin in 1946.

And these goofy little cult groups are everywhere. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them.

Thanks for being here. What a brain stumph it is to be in some cult group, and then to have to reinvent your reality.

And like some Freddie Kruger movie, the monster keeps reappearing in one form or another.

There is life and a kind of peace after escaping. You do, however, have to work at it, expending energy and time that shouldn't be wasted on such nonsense.

Interesting. This is a very old thread, so it may not stay around long. Feel free to start new threads if anything interests you. Thanks for sharing about Christadelphianism. There are several Jesus type cults that we hear about here. Tactics for religious cults (and other types of cults) are things many of us recognize all too well.

Welcome. The “church” might be different, but it sounds like what we have and gone through. Jump in!

Pat, welcome to the board. You are more than welcome to keep reading and posting here. There are a good number of us who have never been Mormon, but who take an interest in Mormonism for various reasons, and more broadly cults and religion as well. It sounds like your ex-religion is a distant cousin of Mormonism, being a part of "The Great Awakening."

The biggest prison any of these nutty groups create for us -- Christadelphianism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. -- is the terrible prison of the mind.

Once they got control of your cranium, you're in deep Kimchi.

There is a Zoom Group in the U.S. for individuals recovering from cults and other "high control" groups. It meets monthly, and has members who are Mormons, Christadelphians, Scientologists, Unification Church members, etc. The meetings last two hours and usually meet on a Sunday.

There are also Zoom groups in Canada and Britain and Australia, but I don't know much about those recovery groups. The group in the U.S. is run by a therapist who specializes in cult recovery.

If anyone wants this contact information, please tell me where I can best post it. Thanks.

patbestwick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is a Zoom Group in the U.S. for individuals
> recovering from cults and other "high control"
> groups. It meets monthly, and has members who are
> Mormons, Christadelphians, Scientologists,
> Unification Church members, etc. The meetings
> last two hours and usually meet on a Sunday.
>
> There are also Zoom groups in Canada and Britain
> and Australia, but I don't know much about those
> recovery groups. The group in the U.S. is run by
> a therapist who specializes in cult recovery.
>
> If anyone wants this contact information, please
> tell me where I can best post it. Thanks.

How does Zoom make its money? It never has any ads when I use it and most people I know don't pay for it.

Google is your friend.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Google is your friend.

I wouldn't trust Google to tell me the truth about its own finances or data harvesting, never mind anyone else's.

So how does Zoom make money from other people's video calls? Most of the users don't pay subs.

Big Tech is no one's friend, no matter what it pretends. It manipulates the Media and politics, etc.

I have no idea how Zoom works. It's there, and we use it.

Does it collect data? Possibly. We don't care if it does so -- we're speaking our Truth.

Look it up, Wasatch Now. Get off your substantial backside and google how Zoom makes it's money.

Nothing stands in your way but your famous indolence.