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In Reply to: Re: First Impressions of book "Jesus Freaks" posted by Critic on October 14, 2007 at 13:15:47:
The comment really had to do with my own perception of credibility in the public eye.
In my opinion, a book by a professional journalist that is the product of intense research is more credible than an autobiography.
The general public usually isn't as familiar with all of the background, and the story is so INcredible, that I think it gets somewhat discounted as something so bad, it couldn't really have happened. Of course it doesn't help that the Family PR machine immediately casts former members who speak out as bitter apostates with an ax to grind.
And, guess what? They are bitter apostates and they do have an ax to grind. Of course they do. Terrible things happened in The Family. Such terrible things that it is hard for people who have never been around this thing to believe.
On page 192 of "Jesus Freaks", Don Lattin writes:
"What happens inside a religious cult often lies somewhere between the horror stories of apostates and the happy tales of current devotees."
I've been around long enough, and seen enough evidence that I personally believe the horror stories. But, taking a step back from it all, I think that it can only help to have a current book from a complete outsider who had done his homework and simply reports the facts.
