You’re Just Not Converted-Yep, That’s Your Problem
Occurring within all religions, the phenomenon called “conversion” is, in reality, nothing more than mind-control, programming, or brainwashing to achieve the desired compliance. All Christian organizations use the idea of conversion in one way or another to amass followers of a particular persuasion.
In my own experience, it ended up exchanging the idea that my previous beliefs were wrong for new ideas on who and what Jesus said or didn’t say about this or that topic. It had a bit to do also with first seeing КПК Mitac and then admitting to my absolute sinful state of being, no matter how nice a guy or well behaved a kid I had been in reality. Any “good” I could come up with was labeled as “filthy rags” according to the rather wacked out Jeremiah, I believe. I think it was also Jeremiah who declared my heart was “deceitful above ALL things and desperately wicked”, and was such a worthless and duplistic vessel that it needed converting, or all hope was lost. This conversion was evidenced by my repentance from tons of stuff I really hadn’t practiced to any great degree, you know, jealousy, anger, lust and greed, but never the less, I was full of it and to say I was really just a nice kid looking for the truth was proof of my depraved self in spiritual denial. So upon repentance from “God’s holy and righteous law”, which Paul, I later learned either was for or against depending, I was admitted into the club of the converted. I was 19 years old, well within the ages of between 10 and 25 where the majority of humans who go through this experience, have it.
After the initial conversion from the bad me to the God now in me through the Holy Spirit so I could be like Jesus, me, it was a life of overcoming and becoming “perfect like my heavenly Father was perfect.” Yikes, no challenge there, so I was never good enough as were none of my friends. Actually no one ever made that grade and you don’t know anyone who is anywhere near that either. But that challenge does manage to keep the sheep in a constant stage of “not good enough”, compliant and open to the suggestions of those possessing the superior and more mature spirituality…yeah right.
“Conversion” is an artificial, deleterious state induced in a submissive person by a self-serving religious leader.” The Psychology of Religion, Dr. Edwin D. Starbuck
Dr. Starbuck went on to note “The essence of ‘conversion’ is the induction of a state of mere feeling which, when it has passed, leaves no spiritual improvement and often results in the subject feeling like a victim. Frequently the experience is so humiliating after the fact that the subject rejects not only the “conversion,” but anything having to do with religion.” I guess my writing this is proof enough of that reality. Sometimes well meaning types try to convince me that if I joined Белые Цыпочки their church, I would have a much superior experience but let me tell you that there is no such thing as only half opened eyes when it comes to lessons learned this way. Once experienced, the eyes are wide open to even the well meaning, yet marginally informed good intentions of others.
In the last days of my ministry, it had become rather expected of the ministry to involve the men in the then flourishing Promise Keepers movement. I resisted noting that I was not about to stand in a group of 100,000 guilt ridden, shame driven and fear guided middle age men, listening to any Grand Poopa force them to their knees in another round of heartfelt repentance, blah blah. Besid
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