Anyone feel like they've joined a cult - Christian perspective please

[Sweetladyjane]

This might be a rambly so I apologise in advance for this.

I recently left the evangelical church where I became a Christian after falling out with the pastors after they told me I needed to rely on God more than the Dr's for my bipolar. It wasn't a friendly leaving and I still have a lot of resentment about feeling pushed out.

I joined a CofE church where it seems the teaching is very authority driven and although they talk a lot about building a relationship with Jesus they are also very anti women leaders and take a strong line on LGBTQ+ which doesn't align with my beliefs.

This coupled with having a non-Christian boyfriend (he's an atheist) I'm feeling pushed out again. I work for a Christian charity and one of my colleagues is a fundamentalist and uses every opportunity we're alone in the office to preach at me. He even went so far as to send me scripture quotes just before I went away with my boyfriend for the weekend so he could meet my parents.

I'm feeling very confused about where I fit in at church - or even if I do and a little like I've been brain washed.

It's further complicated by the fact that I work for a Christian charity and am also a Street Pastor and volunteer in the college chaplaincy so I would have to stop the street pastors and chaplaincy work if I wasn't a member of a church and I love both of these activities and feeling a calling to help people and I'm not sure if I could find other voluntary work in the secular world.

I guess I'm looking for direction on where to go with these feelings and how to make a decision on if I leave church and go it alone.

Thank you for reading and any advice gratefully received!

What a weird connection?! 😆

Yes well, you're the one who made it.

I'd look for a different c of e church. I've worked for several and none are authoritarian and all are very accepting of lgbtq et al. We have a trans member and several gay members at my current church, at my previous church we were around 1/3 lgbtq+ and hosted the annual pride service, flying the flag on pride day for the city etc.

My current rector is a divorced woman!!!

It's a very broad church

There's an inclusive churches website, that's a good starting point but if your local church isn't on it it doesn't mean they aren't, it just means they haven't filled in the paperwork!

I'm not usually one for sharing links, but this came across my feed this last week.

now i am pagan, but from a christian background.. i began to feel uncomfortable in my faith in my late teens/early 20s and began the path of discovery to find what faith aligned with my personal feelings on stuff.. i ended up Eclectic Pagan.. that being i dont ascribe to any religion, i follow mine.

Much of it is kinda christian, love, kindness, acceptance, do no harm, help others...etc, but without the hellfire and judgement.

Just.. give it a watch, and a ponder.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJwh231b/

These Bible believers always give me a laugh; I'm ethnically Jewish (pagan now) and they pick and choose what parts of the OT and NT suit. They aren't kosher, don't keep the Sabbath on Saturday , don't practice polygamy, or grow beards, but according to the NT slavery is ok, but divorce is out.
They pick on homosexuality (I'm a lesbian) because it's so easy to be virtuous! If you're already not same sex attracted, you don't have to sacrifice anything.

There's an inclusive churches website, that's a good starting point but if your local church isn't on it it doesn't mean they aren't, it just means they haven't filled in the paperwork!

You conflated the two, not I. However, if it's games we're playing, I am rubber, you are glue, bounces off me and sticks to you. 😘

I'm glad you find homophobic tropes funny, I'm assuming you've never been on the receiving end of them.

Love your take on this.

Just to say good luck on your quest to find a suitable church. ‘In my father’s house are many mansions,’ as the Bible says. Personally I prefer biblically based churches, you know exactly where you stand .

Edwardandtubbs - yes! We are the same. I go to our village church and do the coffees afterwards because it’s a nice thing to do and the (mainly elderly) congregation are all so kind and everyone has a good chat afterwards)never about God). I can’t believe in God but I enjoy church and find it very reflective and a space for contemplation on what’s important etc. sitting in a place where people have sat for 1000 years doing the same thing is wonderful.

Aren't all churches Bible based?

Not really Ganandoof.

Some emphasise personal experience of the Holy Spirit.
The Trinity isn’t particularly well evidenced in the Bible, it’s more from early theologians logically working it out, yet it’s a fundamental doctrine.

It's not really evidenced at all, and the 'logic' seems to be one of trying to reconcile incompatible statements.

Well yes. I was being polite!

I’ve been reading ‘Knowing God ‘ by J.I.Packer which is quite helpful in explaining things. Not a quick read but a lot of food for thought .

@Babochan88 @Thegreatestoftheseislove what isn't biblical about taking medications for bipolar disorder? A church that tells her not to take her meds is not acting biblically, they're adding to the Bible.

I agree apologies if it seemed otherwise. But absolutely use medication for bipolar. God heals in many ways - medication is one of them.

So OPs are right about the homophobia, wrong about the medication. How convenient.

I’m unsure about the point you’re trying to make?

Just that it's funny you think telling someone not to take their medicine is not "biblical", but the homophobia and sexism totally is.

My instinct is to suggest a Unitarian gathering x

I would just add that the Methodist Church is entirely inclusive and justice seeking ((heck, most of its senior leadership are gay), though I can’t promise individual local churches are so liberal. But the overall ethos is that all are welcome, whoever they are, with a strong emphasis on justice for those who have been hurt by Church attitudes in the past.

Or the URC perhaps, they've had women ministers for over a century and were first, alongside the Quakers, to perform gay marriages I think.