Losing my religion

Life after spiritual abuse and cult abuse is unpredictable in many aspects. But one thing that has remained constant over the years since I left the ICOC cult back in 2006 (a very long time ago, folks) is the feedback I get from people who identify as Christian or who identify as "spiritual". This includes fellow cult survivors.  It never fails. Especially the assumptions I am about to discuss that these people have of me. They see my content, be it on You Tube, Facebook, or on this blog and assume the following: Assumption #1: I am damaged goods.  They assume that I am broken, defeated, and a wounded little Bambi trapped in a well needing rescuing. They feel sorry for me. They reach out to me to virtually hug me or hold my hand before ever-so-subtly telling me to "get over it" in their nicety nice christian, "love & light" language. They are "concerned" about me. Their heart "bleeds" over this abuse I've suffered. They say thin...

  I was a member of the International Church of Christ [ICOC] for almost 12 years. It was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs: verbal abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, manipulation, mental breakdowns, narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, pressure, rejection, and VERY conditional love and acceptance.  All of the above-mentioned abuses have at least one thing in common: they were inflicted using the bible.  The ICOC doesn't use the word "bible". They say the "Word of God" or "God's Word".  As we will see, this word choice is significant in the abuse. One thing being in a cult like the ICOC is the power of language. Language or vocabulary used in cults are loaded weapons.... The bible is the ICOC's ultimate weapon of choice.  The ICOC is a Christian fundamentalist church cult. Christian fundamentalists use the bible literally . The bible is a historical book to fundamentalists. The bible is magic to them. It is, according to them, literally writ...