HC,
I am really sorry for what you went through growing up. I can totally relate to what you’re talking about. My dad too is a minister of the message of the hour, and I also left the message – when I was 21 years of age. Now it’s totally hard to fully socialize with people outside the message – in many levels they do not understand your line of thinking; and when you talk about your days growing up, it all sounds very weird to them. As I write this, most of my friends are still in the message. Yet to me the kind of person I would yearn to have by my side as a best friend is someone who has been there with me – the ex message believer – an extremely rare kind of person to come across. But I am extremely happy for you that you’re married to an ex message believer. As this group grows larger and larger, we will indeed create a community of people who were unfortunate enough to grow up in this isolationist, secretive, discriminatory cult, where we can at last feel the warmth of being around people who are a hundred per cent like us.

Sis Sharon,
I am also from Kenya, Africa. I used to attend the Bible Believers Tabernacle in Nairobi where Brother Kamwatti is Pastor. I also know a sister named Sharon from the same church who perfectly fits your description and it looks like – well – I might know you. I would like to address your idea that in Christianity, we swallow things without applying any thinking, no matter how ridiculous they are. Like you put it – ‘we just believe – no matter how insane it is.’ Now if this is the case, does this mean, for instance, that Jehovah’s Witnesses are right – no matter how twisted their interpretations of the Bible are – just because they believe? They do believe in their doctrines for sure - no matter how insane they are – but they are still wrong. Do you realize that this assertion of ‘just believing, no matter what’ can be used to protect EACH AND EVERY false doctrine on this planet?

Secondly, when you claim to have a single watertight belief, then all aspects of that belief should be congruent to each other. Branhamites claim to believe in both the Bible and Branham, even though Branham contradicts the Bible in countless instances (See John Kennah’s website for further explanations.) The assertion of believing fully in both Branham and the Bible moves towards a logical fallacy. Sharon, our parents were lied to and they unfortunately swallowed the lies, since they were born in an age when information was hard to access, making it difficult to cross check everything they were told. As for us, we’re simply victims of lifelong mental conditioning. But we’re now powerfully armed with information and technology. Please, my dear sister, launch your research today. Cross check and verify what we’ve been told about Branham: The seven church messengers, the sunset cloud, the halos of light, the prophecies, the healings – all there is, and then CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE. It’s not gonna be easy doing this, but I did it, and so should you.

As for me:
When I became of age, I decided to do some further reading to confirm my belief in the Message, but ended up finding out that Branham was not a true prophet. The following are some of the major reasons for this conclusion. It’ll then fall on you to do the research and confirm them:
1. The Sunset cloud story was a huge lie
2. Sections of the book ‘an exposition of the seven church ages’ by Branham were stolen from Clarence Larkin’s ‘book of revelations’.
3. The ‘messengers’ Martin and Columba were Bishops of the ‘Harlot’ Church of Rome, unto their death.
4. The idea of seven ages and messengers is not original; it was invented by Charles Russell, founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in 1876, who also designated himself as the Laodicean messenger.
5. The Serpent seed doctrine is not original either.
6. Branham made a lot of failed prophecies.
7. Alfred Pohl testified that almost all critically ill people that Branham prayed for during a crusade at Saskatoon, Canada (Pohl being Branham’s assistant during the crusade), died days after the crusade.
8. The Message is extremely misogynistic.

These were just the major deal breakers, there are many more.

With regards,

Tom Omondi.