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Author Topic: Recommended reading  (Read 24170 times)
nateswinton
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« on: March 17, 2007, 12:44:44 pm »

I’d personally start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes
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nateswinton
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« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2007, 12:44:56 pm »

you can delete that if you want Cheesy
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Angry
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« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2007, 12:45:06 pm »

Fellow de-commissioners,

Here is a short article that might have greatly helped Jim McC & Co in the early years:

http://www.thedoormagazine.com/archives/purpose_driven_cult.html

…okay, now to the serious stuff…

Angry
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puff of purple smoke
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« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2007, 12:45:26 pm »

Fellow de-commissioners,

Here is a short article that might have greatly helped Jim McC & Co in the early years:

http://www.thedoormagazine.com/archives/purpose_driven_cult.html

…okay, now to the serious stuff…

Angry


Classic
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Genevieve
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« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2007, 12:45:48 pm »

Hilarious!
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nateswinton
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« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2007, 12:45:59 pm »

yep, that link angry just posted was golden.
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AgathaL'Orange
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« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2007, 12:46:25 pm »

Okay, am I the only one that actually saw some relationships between our situation and the funny article???
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Glad to be free.
exshep
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WWW
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2007, 12:46:47 pm »

Too bad Trinity Foundation has been recently discredited. I will let other do the reserch. I do not want to get too far off topic.

I will say I needed the comic relief. I have one friend who has a collections of Ex-GCI and rattle them off with vaudeville finesse. I think they are wild, but modesty prevents.

I will share one from another quarter. My girlfriend, at the time, and I were riding the bus. We were just carrying on a conversation when she commits this memorable Freudian slip, “So how are things these days in Great Permission?”
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Had friend in Columbus church 80's and 90s. Member left in 1993  Involved GC in Texas  2005-2007.  Empathy to both  with  positive and negative aspects.
Kirsten
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« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2007, 12:47:00 pm »

I just posted this on as a comment on another blog, but I will post it here too. I know men’s/women’s roles issues have come up a few times on this blog. One book I consider most influential in my thinking on the subject is “Man and Woman in Christ” by Stephen B. Clark. It’s out of print but the full text is available on line at www.cbmw.org (under “Web resources” and then “books online.”) Reasonably priced copies are also often available online.

Clark is a Catholic scholar who approaches the issues from not just a scriptural but also a historical and sociological viewpoint. He does hold the traditional or complimentarian view on roles. I think though whether you are coming from a complimentarian or an egalitarian point of view, his work is worth reading because of his novel approach. Nearly all of it is just as applicable to protestants as to Catholics, as he spends very little time on solely Catholic issues.
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Kirsten
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« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2007, 12:47:11 pm »

Oh, I should have said “so I will post it here too” since it was a completely different blog (not another post on this site) and it was just posting it there that made me think of suggesting it here.
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MamaD
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« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2007, 12:47:23 pm »

I stumbled upon this article a few weeks ago.

It was eye opening for me and it put into words the essence of why we had to leave our church.

We don’t believe the shepherding movement is Biblical and we realized that GCM bought into a lot of the shepherding movement.

The chart in section 7 was especially helpful.

http://www.reveal.org/library/theology/byczko.html
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mamie
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« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2007, 12:47:37 pm »

Since book recommendations really should be under the title “Book Recommendations” (I know, these moments of brilliance astound me, too…), I’ll also list here two books that I recommended elsewhere.

For those who would really like to do an indepth study of scriptural interpretations of the Bible that are used to support various gender-based practices in the church, in addition to the two that Kirsten mentioned above, you should read:

1) Men and Women in the Church, by Sumner - very well written; nice balance of personal touch and scholarly hermeneutics

2) Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis, by Webb. Yeah, I know, he really needs some work on the title. But he’s looking at how to understand the influence of cultural context on the interpretation of Biblical treatment of those three groups of people. It can get a little dry but that’s because he’s extremely thorough - very, very careful scholarship.
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mamie
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« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2007, 12:47:55 pm »

And for those of you whose experiences in GC or any other church have caused you to question the concept of church or even your relationship with God, I would strongly recommend reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. It will renew your faith in God and maybe even in the concept of church….enough to think it’s at least possible to do it right.
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Orthodox
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« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2007, 12:48:46 pm »

Thirsting For God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin (a little idealistic but really said how I was feeling)



Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith
by Peter E. Gillquist (former Campus Crusade leader who found Orthodoxy while trying to recreate the early Christian church in a home group)



The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware (he’s a professor of theology at Oxford and a bishop. This book shows the mystical side of Orthodoxy and was when I fell in love with it.)



The Orthodox Church by Kallistos Ware (outlines the history and practices. I didn’t actually finish this one; couldn’t get through the history.)



Online Frederica Mathewes-Green is a well-respected author and speaker who converted to Orthodoxy. Her website is http://www.frederica.com/.



I also listened to a radio program called “Come Receive the Light” that was really helpful (http://www.receive.org). You can hear program archives by clicking on “Program Archives” on the left and registering with your email address. Each program is about a half an hour.
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sistanchrist
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« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2007, 12:48:56 pm »

I’ll through Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLarin up as a suggestion, though I don’t agree with all of it, it is an interesting concept, especially in the light of the elitism that many found in GCM.
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Dipping my toes in....
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« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2007, 12:49:08 pm »

Ok, I have some recommended books. But I have to explain first! The books I’m recommending are children’s books and I’m recommending them as books to use as springboards to discuss mind control with your children. They’re recommended for ages 9-12. Ever since my experience with GCM, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to start teaching my future kids (don’t have any yet!) of the dangers of manipulation and mind control, and just familiarize them with what that might look like. The series is called the “Guardians of Ga’Hoole” by Kathryn Lasky. All of the characters are all owls or other animals.



It’s been awhile since I read them, but they popped into my mind recently. I remembered being impressed when I first read them because they were good stories AND a lot of important topics (in my opinion) came up in the series - brainwashing, mind control, subtle twisting of words to make bad deeds seem good, attempts to break others spirits and make everyone alike(a.k.a. “mindless zombies” Wink ), attempts to get characters to deny their convictions and beliefs, etc.



So for those of you with children or wanting to have children, I’d check them out! GC* didn’t invent subtle mind control and manipulation and they certainly don’t hold the market on un-healthiness in churches. There’s a lot of dangerous stuff out there and I think teaching my future children to make their own decisions and stand on their own beliefs and convictions is one of the most important things I can teach them.
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nateswinton
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« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2007, 12:49:39 pm »

Dipping,

Thanks for the head’s up. I made a joke about me and my wife having a “GC* baby” in 7 months a while ago, but in all seriousness, I want my kids main influences to be God, and my wife and I. Probably in that order. They’d grow up alot more normal with more influence from my wife than me Smiley

I’ll look around for those books. Thanks for the head’s up.
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Dipping my toes in....
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« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2007, 12:50:23 pm »

“The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen.



If I could, I would deem this as a “Required Reading” for anyone, GC or ex-GC, that visits this site. Smiley This book is full of grace and truth. If you are ex-GC, this is a good book for too many reasons for me to list. If you are currently in GC, chances are if you’re visiting here, you’ve seen something that bothers you or nags at you. This book, more than anything you could read here, is a good tool for evaluating whether your situation is abusive or not.
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Dipping my toes in....
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« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2007, 12:50:35 pm »

Oh, and many thanks go to Liz and Ex-shep for mentioning it on older discussions! I really appreciate the recommendation.
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MidnightRider
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« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2007, 12:50:45 pm »

Dipping,

Have you also read _Churches That Abuse_ by Enroth? If so, how do they compare?
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