Why Left

forced out of the church by slanderous accusations and innuendo [lingering doubt] that i was unable to defend myself against, also saw the blantant hypocrisy

Story

Ok. I joined gateway baptist church in november 1994, i felt accepted at first but, but soon i got the impression that people didn't want to know me, didn't want to hang around me, i'm a recovering alcoholic but i'm extremely intelligent and come from a middle class family. it was obvious that the majority of these loving caring christians didn't want me in their little society, the first cell group i went to the people at this group subtly tried to force me out of their group so i stopped going to the cell group during that time a girl i had absolutely no physical attraction for accused me of harassing her to go out with me, when i tried to tell people i had no interest in this woman apart from her giving me lifts home from cell, no one listened to me which i found rather distressing.

throughout 1995 and 1996 i continued to attend gateway baptist church with my late freind rodney, rodney was a real ocker australian football player type he was a great guy and the greatest freind ive ever had, he passed way in october 1996 the sunday before he passed away he went for coffee at a trendy cafe where most of these people attended after church not one person talked to him that evening, he phoned me the next day calling these people "cunts" and hypocrites, this was his last impression of the loving nature of christians he died the following friday of a heatattack. i continued to attend gateway[ as i had a small handle of freinds]while getting interupted while having conversations with freinds, getting looked at as if i was going attack them by females, and basically giving the brush off by these loving caring christian people in the church.

in feb 1997 i started seeing this woman i had liked for sometime [ i was nearly 2 years sober by this time] the relation ship turned co-dependant and i abused, shoved, pushed, but never hit kicked or bashed, but i abused neverless. [i might add that even before the abuse started one of freinds was attempting to break up the relationship because i didn't fit into their little group.

any way in july 1997 my girlfreind did what i would have done in her situation - she left me - i was completely devasted, so i started drinking again, i went to the family/relationships pastor for help and he basically called me a loser, my ex girlfreind accused me of raping her but never pressed criminal charges[ lingering doubt ... if i was able to defend myself i would have cleared my name] the pastor in question later during a phone call tried to trick me into admitting i raped her ...

it didn't work [like hell i was gonna admit to rape when she always consented to having sex with me] in april a good freind of mine distanced herself from me for reasons unknown [lingering doubt] and in june 1998 i had started a program where we took streetkids from a teen challenge youth hostel out to dinner at macdonalds after church [i might also admit that only a small minority of the christians who came along lowered themselves to talk to the streetkids on one of these nights an altercation happenbed between me and a female yout worker [which i admitted my wrongdoing to the pastor, the head of teen challenge and a freind who worked a teen challenge] this woman took it on herself to accuse me of stalking but not press charges [lingering doubt] which is weird because i only ever rang her at work about the programs ... it was then i decided to leave the church when the head pastor of gateway refused to assist me, and the head of teen challenge took the side of the youth worker who had told a blantant lie

now i'm engaged in long terkm relationship [with a non christian] and i no longer abuse and i feel better about myself now, i'm collecting information about abuses and corruption and lies in the church..to make a website if asnyone has any info please contact me at irishpride60@hotmail.com

my case is not a lone case ... it has happened at the christian outreach centre and garden city christian church. Both are almost neigbouring churches of gateway baptist.

THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH THE SHIT THEY PULL ON PEOPLE ANYMORE!!!!

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