Hi AngelArrow,
I understand how receiving conflicting responses would be a bit confusing. I was with Sun's group for 8 years and most of that time, I was as convinced as the other poster (tabithabonner) that I was content and happy. It's hard to actually see what's going on in a group when every member of the group is practicing self-deception. If they cannot see the truth for themselves, they're not going to show you the truth either.
Some people join a church group and hold their beliefs regardless of what the pastor and leaders say, while others accept everything the pastor and leaders say as absolute truth. The latter are the type of people who were convinced to move to Texas with Sun. They are convinced that God wants them there and that they are prospering, regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Sun is prospering. Her home is worth between $650,000 and $850,000, while her leaders/deacons are mostly living in apartments. They don't seen to have a problem with that, though. While they don't have church-like services every day, they do have prayer meetings every day. I believe they happen in the morning these days. They used to take place at night, and every member and leader is expected to be at the prayer meeting.
As for the funding for the movies... I'm not as sure how this happens. When Sun was in Colorado, she would hold "Bible Studies" with wealthy christian people in the area where she would convince them to fund her movies. She would tell them that God told her to make movies and that her son, Josiah, was going to be a star in the movies. She said that God is going to use them to reach the lost souls. They were either convinced or wanted the tax write-off from the donation.
The bankruptcy helped her group because they no longer had to pay outstanding debts, but still paid Sun's salary, thus enabling the relocation.
The worst thing about the group is the self-deception they all revel in. It's destructive to many people's lives. For every person still in the group, there are probably 10 that have left because of the intimidation, control, and self-deception.
I understand how receiving conflicting responses would be a bit confusing. I was with Sun's group for 8 years and most of that time, I was as convinced as the other poster (tabithabonner) that I was content and happy. It's hard to actually see what's going on in a group when every member of the group is practicing self-deception. If they cannot see the truth for themselves, they're not going to show you the truth either.
Some people join a church group and hold their beliefs regardless of what the pastor and leaders say, while others accept everything the pastor and leaders say as absolute truth. The latter are the type of people who were convinced to move to Texas with Sun. They are convinced that God wants them there and that they are prospering, regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Sun is prospering. Her home is worth between $650,000 and $850,000, while her leaders/deacons are mostly living in apartments. They don't seen to have a problem with that, though. While they don't have church-like services every day, they do have prayer meetings every day. I believe they happen in the morning these days. They used to take place at night, and every member and leader is expected to be at the prayer meeting.
As for the funding for the movies... I'm not as sure how this happens. When Sun was in Colorado, she would hold "Bible Studies" with wealthy christian people in the area where she would convince them to fund her movies. She would tell them that God told her to make movies and that her son, Josiah, was going to be a star in the movies. She said that God is going to use them to reach the lost souls. They were either convinced or wanted the tax write-off from the donation.
The bankruptcy helped her group because they no longer had to pay outstanding debts, but still paid Sun's salary, thus enabling the relocation.
The worst thing about the group is the self-deception they all revel in. It's destructive to many people's lives. For every person still in the group, there are probably 10 that have left because of the intimidation, control, and self-deception.