Hello. First time caller...poster...blogger here. I'm not going reveal who I do know, who I don't know because I want people to hear what I have to say, not filter it through who I am, was, or held as friends. Suffice it to say that I was a student at Fanda for a number of years. You can believe it or not. I don't really care.
Let me settle one thing up front. I believe that there were many abuses at Fanda. I believe that I would personally like to punish (and if you knew me, you would know that I am trained and capable of inflicting severe punishment) those who inflicted some of the abuse that took place. Sexual abuse of ANY kind and of ANY nature is abhorrent and deserving of strict, severe punishment. Personlly, I experienced no sexual abuse. I experienced a little physical, and severe emotional abuse.
Let me bring in a bit of a reality check. I know many of you who have posted. I was there when some of you were abused. I do not question the validity of your claims nor your recollection of what happened. Some of you need to be more honest with yourselves about just how "innocent" you were. I mean, if we are going to "get it all out in the open" let's be honest.
Abuse carries with it a potential lifelong effect. I can hardly fathom the terror and emotional trauma that young children must have experienced through some of the abuses perpetrated on them. I'm not real good at praying, but I try...and I pray for us all.
I have read through the Fanda posts. I hear one recurring theme: revenge/vengeance. If that is the primary, unspoken goal, you will never get what you're looking for. Sorry, I'm just calling it like I see it. Everyone wants to "stick it to" NTM. I feel like it to, but I know that is wrong. The perpetrators MUST be punished. There are NTM leaders who need censured. Dragging NTM through the mud is not the answer. Trying to force them to pay extraordinary expenses for a "repentance retreat" is ludicrous. From what I read, no one wants repentance, they want to humiliate and exact revenge. Discussing where to make the NTM leaders sit so that they are put in a position to make them feel "humble"?
Most of you know in your hearts too that God did not allow any of this. This wasn't His plan. He doesn't condone this. Sin is what caused it. People playing god in their own lives, people who did just like the Pharisees and added to what the truth was in order to allow them to manage things their way. Not God. Not Him.
You have to stop at some point and remember what it is you want. If you are after healing, dealing in anger and bitterness is going to do it. I'm an expert on bitterness, still in the thick of it, and know that applying it to a wound isn't going to result in healing. Focus on the goal and don't fall in the same trap that caused the situation.
I should say that my own faith in God was tested and tried over the years. I even rejected God for years. I struggle now, but in my heart I know what the truth is.
OK. I'll stop now and sit back and wait for the blows.
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