Why Joined

I experienced a healing through prayer and asked for baptism not long after. I really did love Jesus and wanted to serve him. In some ways I still am living up to the noblest parts of his teachings.

Where Been

Born in Assembly of God, father was a pastor. 9 years with Mennonites.

Why Left

Abusive, religious childhood experiences were successfully healed by a combination of medication and therapy

Story

I was born into a Pentecostal preacher's family. I was healed at the age of 9 through a healing revival. This led to my baptism. However, in my twenties I began to wrestle with the abusive character of that childhood. I was fighting depression which had begun in my late teens. My father was very abusive and I had deep emotional problems. Christian counselors could only go so far and I did have an incredible healing experience under their care. However, the most dramatic healing was three months on Prozac. No god, no prayer, just a chemical compound. That led me in time to doubt the strict supernatural doctrines and to lean to a liberal, progressive idea of spirituality.

Details