Good resource for ex-pentecostals

I have been in touch with J. P. Istre, author of Letters from an Ex-Pentecostal. The book makes very interesting reading and has sections devoted on how to recover from spiritual abuse.This is a good resource for spiritual abuse victims. Istre has also said that there’s absolutely no copyright on his book, so anyone wanting a copy of the book can mail me for a PDF format.

And for Christians, who belong to the Pentecostal fold, there is no need to get angry over this. If you are happy with a Pentecostal church, then we are happy for you, but there are others out here, who are hurting; whose lives have changed for the worse, because of legalistic, strict doctrine. This is for them!

You can also directly contact the author, who is a regular commenter at the Ex-pentecostals forum and a Lutheran, at derkrash@earthlink.net

The book shows how some charismatic Christian churches break social and family bonds, in their zeal for new converts, even within the Christian fold. Their holier-than-thou attitude, their lack of understanding, their legalistic approach to all things and even how they market the “glossalia” phenomenon – everything is dealt with at length in this book.

When I was a kid, and I heard people speaking in tongues I used to feel scared. When I saw people engaged in frenzied worship in church, the loud music, the drum beats pounding your chest, I wished I could run; For a six-year-old that was real scary stuff. I have even seen people have something close to fits, during these hyper-active prayer session. Later, when I grew older, there was immense pressure on me. Because I didn’t get the gift of tongues, the church people felt I wasn’t holy enough. I used to want it so badly and wondered what was it about my friends that they received the “gift,” but I didn’t; they weren’t any holier or any worse than me – normal teenagers all of us. And yet, why didn’t I alone not have it?

Later, after my disillusionment with the church and turning atheist, this phenomenon was still at the back of my mind. I couldn’t explain it away. Now I find out that it is a scientifically recorded phenomenon and even non-Christians experience it. It was such an eye-opener!

For those wanting to get out of the pentecostal church (I’m an ex-pentecostal myself), do read this book!

P.S. Do check Ex-Pentecostal Thoughts.