PROVERBS: 29:25 "THE FEAR OF MAN BRINGETH A SNARE: BUT WHOSO PUTTETH HIS TRUST IN THE LORD SHALL BE SAFE."

Professing folks are rigidly bound by a code of restrictions that they are strongly discouraged from thinking, questioning or talking about. The FEARS that bind the people are numerous and especially strong among those raised within the group. Fear is a common emotion to man. However, God has admonished us that we are only to fear Him, not man. Isaiah 51:7 "Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their revilings."

1. Fear of displeasing the workers. The first question in every professing person's mind is "What will the workers think?" The answer to that is, "It doesn't matter what the workers think. What does Jesus think? Who is your God; the workers or Jesus?" It isn't a sin to question the workers' doctrine and history and right of authority. The scripture commands us to do just that.

2. Fear of something terrible happening; ie, that God will hurt them for questioning the group beliefs. Some workers actually infer or teach them that they or their children will die or have a terrible illness or accident if they question the workers or leave the church. Illness is such a big part of many professing peoples' lives that they are very preoccupied with health and health issues. Many of them subconsciously feel that illness is a punishment from God for some doubt or sin they have committed.

3. Fear of any historical or Christian information that doesn't come from the workers. They think that anything that doesn't originate with the workers is from Satan or is false.

4. Fear of being deceived again. The friends are taught to be suspicious of all who claim to be Christians. They are taught to judge whether others are Christian, or not, by the group they meet with.

5. Fear of making a decision. Most personal, doctrinal and recreational decisions are already made for professing people. When they leave the church there is definitely a lack of decision making ability because of lack of experience. Members are led to feel that they are too ignorant to understand doctrinal concepts. Many are afraid to trust their own judgment.

6. Fear of being spoken against. They know how the friends and workers talk about anyone who challenges their belief system. "Oh, he is just a tool of Satan." "Don't listen to that poison." "Oh, he just wants to take his own way." "They have gone back to the world." "They always were WORLDLY." "Satan has taken hold of their lives." Etc.

7. Fear of shunning from other members.

8. Fear of loss of prestige among the members. Those with meeting in their homes, workers in their families, and convention on their property have a great deal of status in the group. If they leave the group, they are afraid they will become nobodies, at the very least. A big possibility exists that they will become the focus of a lot of talk or animosity.

9. Fear of having to start a new career (if one is a worker.) Most workers have little training for the job market and experience a complete loss of security if they must financially support themselves.

10. Fear of the unknown. If one has been raised within the group, they cannot begin to know how to attempt to live outside of the framework of the church. Their whole lives have been lived within restrictions. It is very much like a slave who is set free feeling unable to cope with freedom.

11. Fear of death and "who would *take* my funeral?" This is a real fear from those who haven't established a contact with another Christian group. They know that if they died, their professing families would probably have a worker conduct their funeral who would more than likely infer that they went to hell for leaving the group, no matter how godly and saved they may have been.

12. Fear of rejection by family members. Family members are often warned against close relationships with unprofessing members. In the past some have even been forbidden to talk to a family member who left and became true Christians. Those who do so are sometimes excommunicated. While this isn't so common now, it is still a possibility, depending on who the workers are in the area.

13. Fear of displeasing God by questioning what the workers have said. Members are conditioned to believe that the workers speak for God. To question a worker is to question God.

14. Fear of excommunication. This was a common method of quieting those who challenged the workers. The workers will almost consistently deny that they excommunicate anyone. They will invariably say, "They chose to leave, we didn't excommunicate them." However, if one asks the excommunicated person they will find that this is definitely untrue and that the person is totally shattered by the workers' decision. Many excommunicated people feel eternally lost or at least without anywhere to turn for fellowship.

15. Fear of appearing foolish.

16. Fear of being wrong. FEAR: "What if the workers are right?!"

17. Fear of being accused of starting another religion. This is a common accusation of workers against other workers or friends who have strong scriptural objections to the group.

18. Fear of marital problems or divorce. The disagreement on this issue has destroyed more marriages than one can even imagine. The workers sometimes sabotage marriages if one spouse objects to their authority.

19. ** Fear of hurting one's parents.** [This is a BIG one!] Respect for one's parents keeps the majority of professing people inside the group, even when they are extremely dissatisfied. Parents spend so much time in conditioning their children to behave and believe the workers that if their [adult] children ever reject the church doctrine, the parents feel that their lives were wasted. Parents of unprofessing children are either pitied or less respected by the group. Parents definitely lose "face" and status in the church when their children leave it.

20. Fear of the grape vine. Some professing people are more afraid of expressing their questions to one another than they are to a stranger because they are accustomed to having their confidences betrayed. It is common for the friends to act like they are sympathetic to one another, when in reality they will run to the workers immediately to tell all they know about someone's questions.

21. Fear of losing an inheritance from professing parents or grandparents.

22. Fear of admitting that one has preached a false gospel or supported an unscriptural doctrine that may have led others to a lost eternity. This is a difficult fear for a worker or ex-worker to face.

23. Fear of being without a church. Ex-members may shun churches of any kind. Therefore, when they leave, they may quit believing in God. Fortunately this has changed a lot since information is now available to help the ex-member understand Christian doctrine. Those leaving in recent years are now more able to evaluate a Christian fellowship and a group's doctrine with understanding and confidence.

24. Fear of responsibility. Fear of taking a stand for what one believes. Many cult members like to let others choose for them because they trust the person and don't feel qualified to make spiritual decisions or have opinions about doctrine and scripture. Some of the friends have lived with hidden sin in their lives and have little sense of responsibility for their behavior. They feel that since they are part of the "chosen few," and are faithful in going to meeting, that will somehow make up for their immoral behavior.

25. Fear of lost security.

26. Fear of finding out you have wasted your life. This is a crushing thought to those who have invested their whole lives, and often all their resources to the group.

27. Fear of "eating crow." Nearly every professing person has at one time or another tried to prove to their friends and relatives that this is "the only true church." When one discovers that this is not only untrue but that the church is a pseudo-Christian cult, it is very difficult to admit that one has been hoodwinked.

28. Fear of asking questions. The workers disapprove of questions and condition everyone to consider questioning as a sin.

29. Fear of getting answers. The friends are afraid of finding out something that will conflict with what they have accepted as truth. "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."

30. Fear of reality. The church has always determined "truth" and reality for its members. Those who leave the church realize that now they must attempt to figure out what truth is. Just like Pilate, many say "What is truth?" and then give up on the quest.

31. Fear that people will accuse them of forsaking God or of wanting to be worldly. Most Two by Twos love God with all their hearts. They hate to have ANYONE think that they are turning their backs on God.

32. Fear of the unfamiliar.

33. Fear of financial loss if one is working for a professing employer.

34. Fear of verbal confrontation. Many workers, even the most soft-spoken, are capable of being verbally sharp or hostile when faced with questions they don't want to deal with. Most members are scripturaly ignorant and easily impressed by anyone who can quote a few verses. They are at an extreme disadvantage when faced with two scripture spouting workers. Moreover, they are conditioned to respect the workers for their self denial, therefore, they are usually afraid to confront them with any challenge.

35. Fear of having no friends. Fear of not being able to relate to people outside of the group. The mental isolation of the group makes one extremely shy of anyone "outside."

36. Fear of losing friends. So much trust and confidence is placed in the Friends that one is definitely in a vulnerable place when realizing that one's friends will now emotionally and verbally shun you.

37. Fear of scorn.

38. Fear of taking a stand.

39. Fear of knowledge of the Bible . They believe if they know more about the Bible that God will expect more from them. They misunderstand the verse, "To whom much is given, much is required."

40. Fear of being happy. They feel guilty for being happy. They believe that sorrow and dying to self are attributes of anyone who has the SPIRIT.

41. Fear of trusting one's own judgment and beliefs. Most are conditioned to feel "unworthy." This unworthy feeling undermines confidence in ones' ability to understand scriptural teaching and form strong convictions of his own.

42. Fear of breaking the unspoken rules of etiquette by speaking out. Members raised within the group are much more controlled by the etiquette of silence. Newcomers are much braver about speaking up or speaking out because they didn't learn the etiquette as a child.

43. Fear of challenging the traditions of Irvine's legalism which are referred to as the "standards of the Kingdom."

44. Fear of the anger one feels about the situation. The anger is spawned by the feeling of helplessness, "What can I do?" The emotions one feels in this situation are rather like a roller coaster ride. It is almost impossible to be emotionally calm while visiting with other members or workers.

45. Fear of Christian churches and doctrines. Negative conditioning against all Christian practices and attitudes are extremely hard to overcome. It is better to prepare oneself ahead of time for what one will encounter within other churches.

46. Fear of appearing in the position of "judging one's brothers." Sincere people continue to love the people they once loved and had fellowship with. It is extremely hard to think of old friends as "lost." And it is awful to feel or have them feel that one is judging them.

47. Fear of alienating the friends and relatives with whom one wants to explain the true gospel. The group mindset is so foreign to scriptural doctrines and concepts that it is an enormous task to explain the differences between true Christianity and the distorted beliefs of the group. Since the words and scriptures have different meanings to a professing person, anyone who tries to attempt a brief conversational dialogue will become extremely frustrated because professing people almost universally refuse to listen to a five minute statement of belief. One is usually allowed only one attempt, then the professing person will rarely allow another discussion.

48. Afraid to trust what Jesus did as sufficient for salvation. They can't imagine that Jesus did it all. They have been taught that they must earn their salvation. It is extremely difficult for them to grasp the concept of Salvation by Grace.

49. Fear of alienating friends and relatives if they were to share the churches' history and history cover-up. Most 2x2s totally believe that their Way/Truth is "from the beginning" and they believe they are in the ONLY true church.

50. Fear that someone will find out that one is investigating information regarding the church history and doctrine. Prior to the Internet, when folks could write to Threshing Floor Ministries and other groups who provided information about the sect, the friends had been known to send for information anonymously and to rent a Post Office box, or have info sent to their work address, or a neighbor's address simply to hide the fact that they were searching for answers to their legitimate, honest questions. Some had even left town and stayed in a motel in order to study the material they had sent for. And some kept all their books, names and addresses and historical records under lock and key just to keep their friends and relatives from knowing that they were studying information that exposes the church as a fraud. Now with the Internet similar situations still occur. Many people Email for information using an Email address which cannot be traced; use an alias rather than their real name, etc. But now with the Internet the Friends can access a huge amount of information. Many access the 2x2 related web sites at work or at their public library or university. Many friends now have internet access at home where they can privately search out the information. Still, there is much secrecy. People on Lists and in chat rooms continue to guard their true identity. Many lurk (just listen in) rather than post to the 2x2 Lists/Boards and be 'found out.'

51. Fear that one's questions will get a friend or relative in trouble with the workers. The workers always try to isolate the source of information. If anyone questions the workers' doctrine, they will immediately try to find out the source of the questions. They are usually more concerned with the source of the questions than in answering the questions.

52. Fear of hurting other peoples' feelings by taking a stand and disagreeing with their beliefs.

53. Fear of distressing other people by sharing information. Those who have gone through the pain of examining their beliefs have a paradoxical attitude towards sharing information with their friends and relatives inside the group. They hate to put their loved ones through the same pain they have experienced, yet they have the strong desire to set them free and share with them the true gospel and true history that can give them great joy.

54. Fear of the condescending "Pity" expressed by the friends and workers when they find out one has questions about the doctrine of the "Truth." They treat one as if he has become feeble-minded and contracted leprosy at the same time! They almost act as if one is reduced to the level of a three year old in mentality: "Poor Glen has just become so confused!" "He is getting old, you know." Or "Isn't he having mental problems?" "Well, she just never really had the revelation!"

55. Fear of feeling guilty. Guilt is so programmed into the mindset that it hampers every decision a professing person makes.

56. Fear of those who may be farther long in the withdrawal process. Someone just beginning to examine the doctrine and information about the group is very wary of anyone who has been studying the situation longer than he has. Therefore, it is helpful to have several people from varying perspectives to discuss the issues with, in order to realize that it is possible to come to conclusions of one's own, without being forced to accept someone else's conclusions.

Fear is one of the most common methods of controlling people. Cults control their members with fear. It isn't surprising that anyone leaving a cult will be burdened with fear. It has been said that "Fear and faith cannot walk together - it's like having a piece of gravel in your shoe, to walk with fear. Many professing people are AFRAID to examine the information that is now readily available. But no one needs to fear questioning the workers or any church doctrine or any church preacher. Examining what people say and do is actually obeying the scripture which tells us to try the spirits, to search the scripture and to prove all things

No one knowingly joins a cult, or believes he or she is in one. In a cult you put your questions on a shelf until, in heaviness, the shelf breaks and then you are ready to leave. In cults, desired behavioral changes are accomplished in small incremental steps. Cults use manipulation, deception, exploitive persuasion and control to induce dependency, compliance, rigid obedience, stunted thinking and childlike behavior in their members. The group, or leaders, are presented as always right. Cults convey phobic messages: "You will lose out if you leave. "If you leave this church, you are leaving God." "If you leave you will have no support system." Let time be your ally, but don't expect it alone to heal you. You must actively and of your own initiative face the issues of your cult involvement. A clear intellectual understanding of cults and thought reform is vital to your recovery. Many former cult members selectively deny aspects of their cult experience. Unfortunately feelings of shame and not speaking out may increase the harm done by a cult and can prevent healing. Traumatic effects of cult life must be confronted and explored in order to diminish their impact. Your healing will be swifter if you allow yourself to FEEL the grief. There is no magic wand to make feelings go away quickly. Healing cannot be rushed, but it will take place. Ex-members experience emotions of joy, doubt, relief, ANGER, regret, freedom, FEAR, etc. FEAR, a very powerful weapon, is the backbone of mind control. ANGER is one of the first signs of RECOVERY. Finding someone to listen to your experiences and your feelings is a vital part of healing. Gradually, preoccupation with feelings, thoughts and behaviors associated with the cult will lessen. Recovery is a process-one that never really stops. And every day in every way you will get better and better.