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by DaVe on Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:32 pm
Excerpts from "Twisted Scriptures" by Mary Chrnalogar
Additional thoughts on free will
The black-and-white mentality is more solidly impressed in your mind by implanting the idea that God will leave you no option if you are serving His will. Typical examples are found in the book, Experiencing God. They imply God isn’t big enough to allow you two or more equally good choices in His will. God has only one thing for you to do each moment and you better be listening and doing or you are out of His will.
Actually things aren't so black and white. God may allow you four choices and you can do any one of them while trusting Jesus, being in His presence, and acting in conformance with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The activity we are doing is less important than doing it with love and asking Jesus to guide our thoughts, words, and actions (I Cor. 13:1-3).
p. 117
God may give us insights if He chooses. Christians can read a lesson without receiving an insight or distinct thought from God. If they don’t hear God’s voice, it doesn’t mean that they will never hear from God or that they are not listening. God does not have to meet the book’s schedule so that you will immediately have a response.
p. 119
When you have a question, they subtly lead you to accept as the answer whatever Bible verse comes to mind. You mind, however, has a limited capacity to memorize verses from among the thousands in Scripture. Therefore, you will not always have memorized the proper verse for whatever path God wants you to follow.
Another form of Bible roulette depends on the Bible to solve all of our daily problems. Whatever passage we happen upon is the one the Lord must be using to tell us how to answer our problem for that day. Some disciples become overconfident, believing God is personally leading them in this manner.
We can learn much from the Bible, but it is self-deception to expect to find the answer in such a random manner. Yes, sometimes we can be directed by Scripture. But sometimes we will act inappropriately if we if we blindly follow a randomly selected Scripture. God wants us to grow in His wisdom by learning all of His Word, and surely He will make good use of the mistakes we make along the way.
p. 130
I confronted “Mark” about his discipleship [group]. While reading the Bible, he came across the word “factious” and instantly thought of me. He reasoned that the Lord was showing him that I was factious and telling him to avoid me. Instead of reasoning with me and thinking things out with the good mind God gave him, Mark cut me off because of his misapplication of Scripture. He refused to consider my side of the matter because he read “factious” somewhere in Scripture. He even told me that, as he read this passage, he said to God, “Lord, are you trying to tell me that Mary Alice is factious?” Much later, one of his elders would tell him my information was accurate and he eventually began to see I was credible.
So how do we know for sure that we are following the desire that God puts in our heart or our own selfish desire?
If the subject is criticism of our discipleship group, as it was when I spoke to Mark, we must be willing to research the matter. Speak to those who question your group. Be willing to read the comments of former members. Don’t be foolishly arrogant and say, “I already know because the Bible and my group give me every answer to life and, therefore, I don’t need to look at anything else.” Such closed thinking is why some people spend their entire lives in destructive groups – they believe it would be sinful if they read derogatory information about their group. That’s exactly what such groups want you to think. If your group has the truth, challenges can hold no fear for you – or for them.
Truth will set you free, but only if you are allowed to hear it and only if you don’t prejudge the information.
pp. 132-133
Additional thoughts on information control
When you have truth in its fullness, you won’t mind being put to the test. When you have the whole truth, you will enjoy probing this truth because it will stand to any challenge. If you fear shining a light into all the practices and beliefs of your group, then you don’t have the truth. When you have the truth, you can question things without the presence or permission of your leaders.
p. 177
If you consistently denigrate outsiders, labelling them as not committed, demonic, or worldly, you can probably prevent the [members] from accepting most information offered by those outsiders. If the information can be prevented from being seen as credible, the subjects will refuse to be informed about the errors you are trying to teach them.
I haven’t written much about the tactic of putting down other groups in order to make your group look better, but it works rather well, and it can be the “final touch” to cement a disciple into your group.
Here is how it is done: Teach your disciples to think that no other Christian church is living a committed Christian life and that no other church is so directly led by God. Under this influence, disciples won’t want to leave even if many teachings and activities are questionable (members of Jim Jones’ cult said that even though things were bizarre, there was no other Christian church that was living the full Gospel). So the idea is to pump up your group as the greatest and demean others.
p. 140
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PH
and my Husband NEVER treated me like that, or even wanted that kind of wife....but my pastor thought of women, VERY much like that..it was a constant source of conflict between my Husband and him. 
