Religion has always been a tricky subject. Arguments over religion have gone on for almost centuries. What to believe, who to believe in, or how to believe.
An "organized" religion church ruined religion for me in so many ways. Baptist churches have, since the dawn of time, been pretty strict when it comes to a Baptist living his/her life. You're not allowed to wear anything too revealing, obviously, you can't cuss, you can't drink or smoke, can't have tattoos. You have to wear a dress or a suit to church and anything else you wore, you would be secretly judged.
SEE ALSO: Growing Up In A Strict, Silent World Made Me A Human Being
The church I attended was like this. But it was a school, college, and church combined into one. The intent of establishment was good but they got too power hungry and cocky that when I left, it was a borderline cult.
My family joined the church in 2007.
Before we joined, it was great. Everyone was so nice, I was given candy and made friends so fast. I loved it there. I was excited to start school there. So I can't say that I hated it from the start or "I knew something was fishy" because I was 10 and it was life. My parents were excited, thus I was excited.
Their Christian school had a total of 40 kids when I joined. From pre-K all the way to senior year of high school. It wasn't big but it was a private school for the deaf. I wasn't the only hearing kid in the school. I had my siblings, 4 of them, and two other families that had hearing kids as well. The environment in this school, let's say, was not as polite to kids that could hear.
If you muttered one word out of your mouth that didn't follow a sign to demonstrate what you said, you were paddled and scolded.
And let me tell you, these deaf kids loved to tell on us.
So I've set the scene a bit on this place. It was on a big plot of land, in the middle of Ringgold, Georgia. I think about it now and realize how creepy the place was, but as a 10-year-old, I didn't care. My parents became members of the church, that consisted of about 200 in the population of church members. We were all excited.
My parents decided to make the move down to Georgia when my mother heard about this place. So we moved. That's all it took really. My dad still had his job in Oregon so he stayed there for a few months before moving down with us. During that time, we became members and the church leaders really moved in on my mom. Not in a sexual way, but in a manipulative way.
They made her test her faith, like many churches do, to make sure she really believed in Christ.
They would stay at our little mobile home until past midnight sometimes and just push her and push her until she broke. They did this several times until they had her wrapped around their little finger. I believe that they made her believe that she was lost without them. She didn't have my dad to help her out so she bent to their will and from then is when the hell started.
They set up rules for us. They made the kids in school along with the parents sign an agreement saying that they had full rights to home business, where they had a right to punish the child as they saw fit, and the parents had to agree. Keep in mind, this was for church members only. So kids who attended the school but were not official members of the church didn't have to do it.
I was pulled aside in school once a week and told how ugly I was and how terrible of a child I was. I wasn't a bad kid.
I had a mouth on me so I used it when I wanted to. They didn't like that. I had a crush on a boy and they pulled me aside and belittled me in front of him. Made me look so small and worthless. I'm not sure why they did it. I think it was to make me bend like my mom, or it was because I could hear. I feel like it's half and half.
I let them treat me like nothing. Because what else could I do? I should've drawn the line but I didn't. Most would've drawn the line when they were all for child abuse and my family is an example of it.
Next, I'm going to write in depth and detail of how terribly they treated us, in the name of Jesus. Especially how they became advocates of child abuse.
