"There was a day when we came back, and one of the kids was acting strangely, clearly seeking attention. Of course, the leaders said he must be possessed. He heard that and immediately started acting out some Exorcist-type things, crawling around and thrashing on the ground. The leaders freaked out, told us kids to hold hands and form a circle around him, and pray as hard as we could, but keep our eyes closed."
"On the other hand, since I had the audacity to look around, I was approached by those same leaders to repent, and they told my mom to watch out for demon activity in me. It didn't help that I was also very young and out as bisexual, which ended up with my mom attempting to send me to a conversion camp, which wasn't illegal at the time."
A church staged a dramatic possession scene during a mission trip to validate belief and reward attention-seeking behavior. Leaders interpreted or encouraged performative displays as evidence of demons and demanded closed-eye prayer circles while singling out doubters for alleged possession. An openly bisexual child faced threats of conversion therapy and familial monitoring for supposed demon activity. Families practiced rapture drills and preparedness. A woman was later ostracized and blamed for her husband's infidelity. Realization of abuse and control began in preadolescence when a parent held church authority and used physical force, delaying departure from the group.
Read at BuzzFeed
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