Part 2 - The Cave

If you were born as a prisoner in a cave, and never left, you would never know better. Something would have to happen for you to realize that your life is not normal, that you are not free, that you remain in a prison. Even once you did realize it, what would you do? Life on the outside looks scary and unknown. You would have no way of coping with normality. And what about your fellow prisoners? What if they didn't want normality either? What if they saw the outside and said everyone out there felt lost and was headed for doom?

After having my husband proofread this, he informed me this illustration is not new. Apparently Plato came up with it first. I responded, "I'm terribly disappointed that my illustration is already well-used, but...I'm Plato!" Then I high-fived him. 

This is what it is like to be raised in a sociological cult. My fundamentalist baptist church was no ordinary spiritual community. It was exclusive, it was fear-driven, and it was isolated. Those who questioned or doubted were scolded as faithless, those who sinned in certain ways were shunned, and those who disagreed with the church leadership's interpretation of the Bible were said to be in rebellion against God. Not only that, but those who went against the norm, the unspoken rules, were looked down upon. I remember one hot Sunday a man wore shorts to church, and the ladies got in their share of gossip about him for such an inappropriate choice.

I only recently was able to admit to myself that it even was a cult. How could a cult be filled with such nice people? They truly are wonderful, beautiful people that still I care about very deeply. I feel for them, having been there myself. I know the fear of questioning. My communication with them these days is largely through social media, since I moved away. The discussions I get into with them over the most basic truths are very sad. Once, as I was going through my journey and figuring out who I was and what I believed, I wrote this status: "It's ok to doubt." I got into a very long discussion with a dear friend of mine who did not believe that doubting was "where the blood of Christ has brought us." Doubting is a healthy and normal brain function. When we hear something that doesn't sit well with us (or even something that does sit well with us), we should question it from every angle. Our brains are a gift and using logic is a way that we reflect who God is. I had to move 1,000 miles away from their system before I had the freedom and safety to doubt it. I'm sad for those who are still in it, and I don't judge them at all. I know the fear and the level of turning off your brain that you are forced into. The majority of them do not have bad intentions, and are truly desiring to know God, but they're systematically groomed to live in their cave.

Note: I am unaware if the church I grew up in is still a cult. I do know that it feels strange to walk into it--the extreme clothing is still worn by many of the members, and this could be a symptom of continued isolation. However, they seem to be doing a better job of integrating with other local churches of a similar mindset. The younger generations, especially, may be breaking out of the mold. I am too far away to do a sufficient analysis.