Introduction

Introduction

to

Veterans of Truth ~ Past and Present

(We reserve the right to choose what we will print.)
 
From "BONDAGE"

.....to the "TURNING POINT" of enlightenment.....

and into God-Given "FREEDOM!"

When God's Word changes the direction of your life, that change is the

Turning Point

to an extraordinary new beginning!

~~David Jeremiah

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"We at "VOT" are dedicated to exposure of the TRUTH about "the truth." In that regard we consider the words spoken and/or written by professing 2x2s to be primary evidence. And at "VOT" we have in the past received foul-language attacks from evidently professing 2x2s in email messages -- these are also considered "primary evidence" of the very things we have stated elsewhere on "VOT" (as of June 16, 2008), and will be posted (with any foul language converted to typically common comic characters) on "VOT" under the title "Hit-And-Run" We believe that all people have a right to express their opinions in any manner they choose and we believe that the opinions of the professing 2x2s that are shared by email are important for all to see. In a nut shell, we don't care what you have to say to us, and will publish whatever you have to say to us.

So,

- -Ample Warning- -

if you want a good public report of your opinion, write to us accordingly."

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VOT Statement of Faith

What is the Purpose of This Website?

to Veterans of Truth!!!

"We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way."

~ ~St. Francis

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It is an understatement to say that we are thrilled you have chosen to spend time here and have come inside our informative "Veterans Of Truth - Past and Present" website that has been converged with the original website that was started back in 1996. Tireless efforts created copious amounts of helpful information that brought people together from all over the world to read and share their "hurts and woundedness from religious abuse,".......  this info is now merged with new material here. No doubt you will relate to many of these people.

This same need for plumbing the depths of our pain and the subsequent expression of our emotions as the rug gets pulled out from under us, still exists today in 2010 and beyond. The purpose of these "converged" "Veterans Of Truth" is to give all of us a comfortable sense of sharing our "feelings" together, embracing each other in love, exploring the "REAL" truth together, enriching our lives, encouraging our hearts and healing together.........after all, we are all inextricably connected to each other.

I want to offer my view looking through the window that has altered so many lives. I understand that my view will sound harsh to the indoctrinated ear........however, I lived 'it,' breathed 'it,' walked 'it,' talked 'it' and finally, couldn't take 'it' so I left 'it.' I believe that  'all' of us, if honest, can relate. There is no doubt that not everyone was victimized in the same way or had the same experiences but the very legalistic structure of the 2x2's and how they are set up turns the world of "common sense" upside down and wrong side out for "EVERYONE"............they just don't realize it because when this is all they have ever known, they have nothing else to compare it with. The abnormal becomes normal.

Many of us have suffered very real damage in spite of finally learning to cope and make the best of our circumstances. We have survived the indoctrination, but we do carry lots of scar tissue. From lost childhoods, blind obedience and fear of never "measuring up," we cautiously began our first halting step! As we raised our heads up and out of 'group-think,' it was plain that this would be a journey that would expose calculated, man-made deceit,...............open a flood gate of denied "feelings,"...........shine a glaring spotlight on the destructive, abusive nature of the confines of the "box" called "the way" that we were born and raised into,.............discover that God "DOES" exist outside of 'meetings'.......that "HE" does love us.......that "HE" gave us a brain to use and we could stop the pattern of having others do our thinking for us.

Lastly, the further we walked away from the "box," we saw even more gaping holes of nonsense that had held us bondage back in our "box." How many times we heard the workers preach about those who "lost out" and how they would have to "come crawling back" to the only way to heaven if they didn't want to go to hell. One thing we knew for sure, for each and every step we took forward from the "box" and toward freedom, it would be excruciating pain to 'ever' consider making a U-turn and crawl back into the "box."

Yes, finally, we could begin the process to end the broken record of insidious 2x2 imprinting.

Here are a few things many of us have learned and discovered and can now articulate about our existence in the "box."

We have come to learn that "the way" is "NOT" the same the world over..........there are different flavors of 2x2ism, depending on what part of the world you live in.

We were shocked that we were denied various activities that others could do with abandon!

We learned "the way," ironically dubbed "the truth," is fraudulent and how the workers cleverly deceived us by manipulating the scriptures!

We learned the importance of 'unity' and 'fitting in'......our talk, our dress, our testimonies, our prayers........we "REALLY" learned our lesson well of "fitting in!"

We learned our "place"..........asking questions brought anger........we "DEFINITELY" learned to "keep our place!" This preserved the 'unity!'

We were taught to stand apart from "the world,".............but then, years of "standing apart" made us feel we were social misfits........a square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

We were manipulated, exploited and abused!

We were exploited by the workers when they made "us" the villian, and "themselves", the victim.

We tried to be perfect........to measure up. Since we couldn't be perfect and failed at "measuring up"............we felt the deep misery of guilt, shame and fear.

We learned that we could avoid the disapproval and wrath from "workers" if we maintained an appearance of "joy", submitted and adhered methodically to the outward "form," attended copious and various meetings, kept our "place," and suffered in silence!

We were frightened into submission! We knew our opinions, feelings and thoughts would be devalued and our character attacked if we dared to "honestly" express them.

We were laden with lugging around copious bags of worthlessness, guilt, fear of never being "good enough", and shame became embedded in our DNA.

We learned that we were to "die daily" to ourselves........this kept us "suffering" and focused on our "wrongness." Disowning and suppressing legitimate thoughts and feelings manifested themselves in physical and emotional problems.

We, as malleable "GROUP THINKERS," adhered to and absorbed "unwritten rules!"

Hypocrisy felt like an old friend!

We internalized through worker "subtlety" that the "way" equaled God and the "workers" equaled "apostles!

We searched long and hard for answers to our aching hearts and murdered souls.

We were grasping for the wind.

Finally, honest, exhaustive research by dedicated people with integrity and discernment opened before us............."at long last, the "REAL TRUTH"...............we read the experiences of others, the irrefutable facts of the man-made history that had been stuffed way back in a deep closet for a century, the testimonies of others and realized they also had similar experiences............we didn't feel quite so alone.......we "finally" had empathy and shared understanding of our combined emotional baggage from people just like us that had endured the same pain and left the "box"............... now.........at long last, we had others to share this pain and help us grow beyond it.
 
Imagine our shock!! We had no idea! We literally poured over the words of others............their words were a gift that touched our hearts.......people that had walked the walk and talked the talk and they related to our soul devastation........we couldn't get enough! Finally, our "lifetimes" of unspoken thoughts and feelings flowed, we could now talk freely and talk we did!
 
Through new eyes, we discovered the reality of what the 2x2 sect is..........a man-made religion with hypocritcal, self-appointed representatives of God that glossed over the "REAL" truth, controlled by fear, guilt, shame and manipulation and ostracized and isolated those who dared to leave their "way"............stunted and wrecked many, many lives.......stagnated our spiritual understanding.........and promoted divisiveness in our families.

At last, we could remove the mask of denied emotions............but who were we............"REALLY?"

We felt relieved.......... but hollow............all that 'was', now 'wasn't'........we now knew "the way" was a web of deception and was most certainly something we were looking at from our rear view mirrors! With our newly informed adult consciences, we knew it was going to be incredibly painful to deal with our "woundedness!" We took a very deep breath and slowly, we headed out onto an unknown path of developing our "true" self and a new wholeness, "BUT" the path wasn't easy.........it was bumpy, crooked and rocky...............we were a broken, betrayed and tramatized people..........we were emotionally bankrupt..........and our recovery encompassed every known emotion!!

We shared, we got angry, we cried, we hated, we struggled! Again and again! And over and over!!

We were branded emotionally.........and imprinted with a "damaged psyche !!"

Slowly, over time, with copious amounts of reading, studying, sharing with others and educating ourselves in God's True Word, our polarized "us" versus "them" ingrained mentality begin to ebb........we began the process to banish worker instilled religious dogma, our fears and doubts.......and even though we lost all those years, at long last and with thanksgiving filling our grateful hearts......... we finally had a new measuring stick of freedom!

We were like little kids in a huge candy store. The "world" lay before us. So much to learn, so little time............and so we began to use our new measuring stick of freedom.............often!

We learned that salvation is God's job!
 
We learned that "sugar-coated" lies and "white-washed" history robbed our childhoods!

We learned the workers took advantage of who we "thought" they were!

We learned that God loves us!
 
We learned that if we made a "bad choice", it didn't mean that we were a "bad person!"
 
We learned obedience to God instead of "measuring up" to the workers!

We learned we have choices!

We learned that we don't have to be what someone else says we "should" be!

We learned that Jesus is God! (John 1:1 - Jesus is "THE WORD" so it might be helpful to read the verse like this: "In the beginning, Jesus already existed; Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.")

We learned that our outward appearance was not a gauge to our relationship with God!

We learned that God looks "in" our heart.......not "on" our outer form!
 
We learned that "worldly" churches weren't all false and their people going straight to hell!
 
We learned we were "black and white" thinkers who were slowly learning "gray" areas!
 
We learned that we are a "work in progress!"
 
We learned that there is no such thing as a "performance based salvation."

We learned our new "measuring stick of "free thinking" represented our new beginning!

Wobbly........unsure...........setbacks??? Oh Sure!!......no doubt about it,.....many setbacks when repressed anger reared its ugly head.......ever so slowly though, we learned to diminish the power of the old, negative, internalized messages and programming........with God's help..........and our new measuring stick of freedom, we learned that each of us were getting closer and finally, at long last, breaking free from "BONDAGE".........we had the "TURNING POINT"...............we learned
 
we are "not" helpless,
 
we are "not" worthless,
 
we are "not" hopeless,
 
We have scar tissue, perhaps some of us have scars upon scars, and as time marches on, thankfully, our scars are not as visible, but they do flare up and rehabilitate the pain. You are most certainly not alone in your journey.

Certainly, we are an imperfect people that are a work in progress, but, with heartfelt thankfulness and joy in our hearts, we don't have to "WORK" our way to heaven in a "man-made way" that spoke evil for the purpose of injuring without regard for the "REAL TRUTH".........

............."We have "FREEDOM" in Christ!!"
Cheryle Winberg
Site Administrator

to

VOT

When authority is well placed, it respects the individuals over whom it has authority. When it is not well placed, it is our responsibility to expose the abuse and be part of the solution. Christ challenged the religious authorities who turned away from God and toward rules developed by men. Christ stood up to those people and told them they were wrong...We must have the courage to follow Christ's example and overturn the system...if that system is wrong. Silent submission in the face of violence, dishonesty, and abuse will only allow that abuse to be passed to new generations.

-Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton, Toxic Faith-

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There are religious leaders that turn God's word into a heavy load, demanding that their followers scrupulously follow rules they have imposed. These leaders act out of honest motives, longing to save people from themselves by their actions....a salvation that includes human achievement, hard work, personal effort, even religious deeds distorts the good news because man gets the glory, not God...Paul's twice-repeated reaction to the one who introduced the doctrinal heresy is, "Let him be accursed!" This is Paul's way of saying the person is doomed! The original word is anathema! It is the strongest single Greek term for condemnation.

-Charles Swindoll, The Grace Awakening

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Do NOT allow yourself to be deceived by doctrines and false teachings. The Apostle Paul warns of these in Romans 16:17, saying "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them." Jesus told us in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you."

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present!
 
Live and savor every
moment... This is not a dress rehearsal!

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VERY SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT goes to my son, Scott, for being the brains behind this website. I could 'NOT" have done it without him. We worked as a team and it was so much fun working with him. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, son!!

VERY SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT goes to "Gray," our FORUM Administrator. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing your EXCELLENT services. We are HONORED to have you and your INCREDIBLE talent on the VOT Team.

VERY SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT goes to "Eilidh," our FORUM Administrator. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing your EXCELLENT services. We are HONORED to have you and your INCREDIBLE talent on the VOT Team.

VERY SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT goes to "Cricket," our FORUM Moderator. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing your EXCELLENT services. We are HONORED to have you and your INCREDIBLE talent on the VOT Team.

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"Hope Lies in Learning the Real Truth!"
 
"Know What You Believe!"
 
"The Most Deadly Trick of Satan is Not to Rob Us of Our Answers:

It "IS" to STEAL OUR QUESTIONS!"

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To any current members of the 2x2 "way" who are popping in to read and hopefully share, I pray that you will educate yourself about your belief system, to reflect on contradictions and discrepancies between what the workers preach and what you read in the Bible, and then weigh any concerns and suppressed doubts with the "REAL" truth of God's Word, coupled with the information you read here, and do that with what you "really" feel deep in your soul.

The quote below by Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks to my hope that you will find this website healing, informative and filled with love:

".............our role is not just to bandage the victims pulled out from under the wheel, but to put a spike in the wheel itself."

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You are "ALL" honored guests!

Pull up a chair and let's share together! It's warm and cozy in here..........grab a steaming cup of hot coffee and start roaming around. It is our heartfelt desire that this website will be restorative, a positive experience and the interaction between all of us can promote healing, education and knowledge. We are eager to hear from you and to serve you as best we can.

We want you to know that the damage that has been done is not irreversible and we hope the resources here on VOT will be helpful to you.  It is possible to feel safe again. It is possible to be well in your soul. Salvation is not based on your performance, but rather on God’s performance, which is Jesus, signed, sealed, finished, available in gift-form only.

• We want to encourage you to discover your own strengths, to be able to admit your own feelings and to be able to think for yourselves. It's imperative to learn to challenge and re-interpret the "special language" of the 2x2 group so you can examine the Christian faith for yourselves without fear. We know that for many of you, God has been so skewed and marginalized, the Bible devalued, as well as the nature of God and the Person of Christ, plus denial of the Trinity, with God presented as angry and hateful, that sadly, some of you have chosen to believe in no God at all. There are others who haven't given up on God, but have tremendous difficulty trusting people, particularly those calling themselves "Christian." After learning to think, know, feel and question for yourself, we pray that you come to understand and experience God's Wondrous Grace......and that will give you an entirely new perspective on what it means to be a Christ-follower.

• Our purpose is to offer information, support and recovery for those of you who have been directly affected by your personal involvement in the Two-by-Two's.

• If you feel displaced, lost without a compass, we encourage you to read the bountiful amounts of information that is here on VOT. All of us, especially those of us born and raised, go through, at different levels, the devastation of belonging and leaving the only thing we've ever known. It is usually accompanied by a great deal of fear, shame and guilt. We were dependent on the workers and family members who made all life's important decisions. Some of us even had difficulty "thinking" or making daily decisions that normal people considered routine. Many of us went through the stage of anger at having been deceived, along with all of the lost years given to the Two-by-Two's.

We at VOT are a LARGE support group of former members who really understand and are here to offer support. 

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I have copious amounts of new material that I will be adding frequently...........you can sign up for and receive RSS feeds right to your desktop as new material is added. RSS, which means Rich Site Summary or Resource Site Summary, provides a way for you to subscribe to the content of a webpage in a similar way that you subscribe to an email newsletter.

You can help support VOT by purchasing books that are featured here. As an affiliate of Amazon.com, we get a percentage of every book we sell on their behalf.

• VOT has links to other websites which are owned and operated by third parties that are not connected with VOT. We provide this solely as a convenience to you. We are not responsible for any of these sites or the contents you may find there and we do not necessarily endorse or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of content found on these sites. Please let us know when you find links that are broken, and they will be removed.

After you open the main topic in the navigation bar on your left or the menu on the top, either clicking on Read More or the TITLE will open each particular page. Please note that there are multiple pages at the bottom.

There are lots of website links, blog links, and videos in the Cork Board on the right of your screen as well as, throughout VOT.

• Again, any of the links that you find on VOT, do not necessarily constitute a blanket endorsement or complete agreement with resources or information offered at or through these sites.They are provided for your convenience only.

Check often for NEW MATERIAL!!

You can comment on any article on VOT if you are registered. The comment box is at the bottom of each article. I urge you to share........it not only helps you but it also helps others as well.

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You will see the "sharing" forum on the right of your screen....... We invite you to check it out and share your "feelings."

Post new threads or post in current threads.........whatever issues you may want to deal with or topics that you would like to discuss. The FORUM is a place to share your pain and grief with others who know that your experience is not unique, that you need not bear the burden of guilt, shame and fear all alone.

If you could see each of us sitting in front of our computers, reading your experiences, you would be amazed to see our nodding heads and knowing looks as you describe your experience. The names, places and dates all differ from person to person, yet we each recognize and relate to your experience within our own experience. There is tremendous joy as we each realize, "I'm not crazy after all."

It is important that all members feel free to express their feelings toward others in an atmosphere of safety and you are free to participate at whatever level you feel comfortable with. The Forum Administrators, Gray, Eilidh, and Cricket do a fine job of assuring that all posters stay on track.

• If you have a book, movie, or video review, there is a category for that.

• If you want to share your story, please e-mail me and we will publish it on "VOT."

• If you possess any old worker letters or pictures,..........I appreciate them in advance and will place them in the "Gallery!" 

Thank you so very much!

What a blessing when we can disclose ourselves to another person and be accepted and responded to with kindness and love. This is PRICELESS! Let us come together in our common interest, with respect, compassion, care and concern for each other.

Come back again and again!!

Prayer for a Friend

"Some have talked a lot about the "love" that holds the 2x2 church together.
When one gains an objective outlook of what really goes on in the church,
that love becomes very conditional.

It is conditioned upon absolute conformity.
It is conditioned upon remaining in a state of ignorance regarding the issues.
It is conditioned upon a requirement to be dishonest with yourself."
  ~~Quote by Les VanDenBerg --- July 10th, 2001

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 Watch for new material added frequently.
 

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

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Revelation 3:8

- "See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

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 Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather, it is the difference between right and almost right.
~~Charles Spurgeon

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 "No legitimate group needs to lie or mislead you about what they practice or believe."

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 "The most dangerous lie is that which most closely resembles the truth."

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 "Relationship," "NOT" Rules lead to the presence of God

residing in the heart of the believer through the Holy Spirit."

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