The Personal Website of Michael Foord

 IICSA Inquiry - Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings  The Truth Project for Victims of Religious Abuse The exclusively male authority of the Jesus Army, delegated from the cruel and unusual senior pastor Noel Stanton, was full of darkness and deceit and nothing of God. It was a personality cult with Noel as an absolute ruler who delighted in crushing people.  Those in the cult who took on a sacred duty to care, and swore a covenant to it, have to answer for the shameful way they treated so many. The leaders who were in charge; it happened on their watch, they let it happen and made it happen. Oath breakers and traitors. To betray love is its own reward. There is a price to be paid in the heart. Deuteronomy 1:35  None of this evil generation will see the good land I promised your ancestors. The JA called itself the "Joshua generation", the J Generation. They didn't read the story right. Only two from that generation believed God and entered the promise

  A little piece on Christian guilt. What "It is finished" means, the dying words of the Christ on the cross. Or so it is written.  I was thinking on Christian guilt and shame, and how the religion that proclaims an end to sin leaves people feeling so bad. Here's what I think "It is finished!"  means in practise. How you can live in the reality of it. You'll spot original sin and repentance in here too if you know how to look. Of course you don't need to believe in the cross for this to work. What you think you believe is irrelevant. The point is to do it, to live free from guilt. All your actions, all your behaviour and what others might call sin, is completely explained by your genetics and environment and personal history. The accident of your birth and the circumstances in which you found yourself, through no fault of your own. All your choices were governed by internal forces you barely understand yourself and that can only possibly be judged unfair

You can read more of my story in: My Autohagiography: Fragments of a Once Broken Mind I remember coming home to my parents high as a kite on e. They had no clue and thought I was drunk at worst. They never sussed it. The dilated pupils are the dead give away, but they didn't know that. Nobody ever had mandy back in the day. It was all e, but they were good. One you were high, half for the smaller girls. Two and you were fucked. Three and you might die. It was the summer of 1992 and Ebeneezer Goode by The Shamen had just been released and I knew all the words. A great philosopher once wrote Naughty, naughty, very naughty Ha ha ha ha ha There's a guy in the place who's got a bittersweet face And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode His friends call him 'Ezeer and he is the main geezer And he'll vibe up the place like no other man could He's refined, sublime, he makes you feel fine Though very much maligned and misunderstood But if you know 'Ezeer he's