by Rachel Frazer

Created on: April 20, 2009

I knew I had made a mistake, perhaps a fatal one, as I sat in the waiting area in Winnipeg. I told myself I could still turn back. I heard God's still, small voice... My spirit crumpled as I knew that I knew that I knew that I was going the wrong way. I took a wrong turn today.

Three years ago I made a decision to follow after Jesus Christ. So what is this?

The above quotation was written by a girl in February of 2008, on her way to Kentucky to meet her boyfriend and "the other Christians." What was it that prompted her to board that plane even as her gut screamed out that she was going the wrong way, and that she would later regret this? What was so attractive that drew her eyes away from her Lord to the point that she would indeed turn her back to Him?

Her parents flew half way across the country just to let her know that she was not alone in the world, and even as they stood before her in the airport and bawled with the realization that they were indeed losing their only daughter to a cult still she boarded that Kentucky-bound plane. If only she had turned back. As the engines revved and the safety procedures began, she already regretted her decision but knew that it was too late. This was a decision that could never be reversed. It would uproot the life that had just begun to blossom in that girl's spirit, and in its place it would produce stubble, lifeless and dry.

This is a classic case of religion as fulfilling the need for belonging and a sense of community. She had just begun her first year at Bible College and, though excited about the opportunity to learn and to grow spiritually, she had trouble cultivating real friendships. It didn't take long before a deep loneliness settled in. Her first instinct was to turn to God, as she had been socialized in such a way that she thought of Him as a friend, even a lover at times. She brought her fears and her loneliness to Him in prayer, He met her as she tickled the ivories and sang Him her heart's song, and then they danced together. She called it "dancing with Daddy." This sufficed for a time until a gaping hole emerged where the social life should have been, and she felt utterly alone and out of place. Seeing no alternative, she resorted to searching the Internet for someone to talk to.

She saw nothing particularly special or intriguing in Scott, but as he gave her his undivided attention each evening, she was hooked. He was, after all, fishing. It wasn't long at all before their regular conversations took a

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