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In Reply to: The elderly posted by Michael W on February 25, 2003 at 09:24:43:
After decades of slave labor, forsaking and re-forsaking all, saving for flee funds only to have them ripped away for a new move to the cities, a move to the farms, a move to another continent, going mobile, moving to smaller homes, moving to bigger units, gathering and then disbanding, a micro revolution, (micro tapes were expensive in those days), and so on, what do the elderly members have to show for their retirement plan? Nothing, really.
They're at an age where they get health problems, and still have to deal with the guilt trip about not getting medical attention because it means they don't have enough faith to get healed by faith, or they are doing something wrong and getting punished for being outside God's will.
MG recently wrote about their retirement plan, which pretty much adds up to: Maria (or someone else?) had a vision that selling subscriptions of the Activated magazine would finance their retirement funds and they'd end up being this major world financial power, a real global monetary force to be reckoned with. As far as I know, it's not happening. But it's real convenient, 'cos Maria will be able to lay it all back on the poor rank and file members and say it's becuase they didn't obey and push hard enough to sell them or whatever.
A couple with a severely handicapped child was asked to abandon their child somewhere in Florida to some nice (true) Christian lady because he would not survive being on the field.
They got someone they wanted to dump out of the F. to take care of another member who had developed full-blown AIDS. They wanted the whole thing hushed up, out of sight, out of mind of the rest of the F.
there are more examples of utter neglect than there are of genuine sacrifical long term caring for anyone. The F. is basically a leech on society, a cushy let's pretend we're missionaries life-style, and members are taught to justify selfishness with the word and the all catching "we're serving God's highest and best" line.
Knowing I was once part of that illusion makes me wanna puke!
