By a concerned friend

The Children in the world of the Church in Indianapolis are the most to be pitied.

Trapped inside the world, they have little hope.

The warped view of sin and fear and accountability has trickled down to the weakest of all the citizens – the children. Every childish behavior is tagged with a sin. If a child runs, he is called wild. If she cries after having her coat removed, she is called selfish. If he admires another toy, he is called idolatrous.

They are raised to fear the outside world. Much like the film, “The Village”, their solitary existence is the only one they know of. “The churches” on the outside are instruments of the enemy. There is no such thing as believers or fellowship outside the walls of this community.

Children are criticized and questioned at every turn. The constant "rebuking" and "admonishing” that happens to adults is administered in greater doses to the children. Eventually, they hang their heads in quiet submission. Discipline is swift and often harsh. The marks of anger still sting on the skin of these little lambs. The discipline is not always done in the home – it is often administered throughout the community. Very often it is done publicly. The twisted doctrine of a “100 mothers, fathers etc.” is applied in full force here. Anyone can spank another’s child so “They should be made to see their own sinful natures." The spankings are regular and expected so no parent will suffer the shame of “an obstinate and rebellious child."

There is no family time, no place for resting in the comfort of a mommy or daddy. There are no family vacations. Everything is sacrificed for the church and the community. The savior, the false god of the CII is nothing more than a demanding, harsh, and critical man who demands obedience and enjoys public humiliation. The Jesus of the Bible commands “Let the children come to me.”

In contrast, the boy in CII are trained to be meek followers. Their boyness has been stripped, whipped, and broken. So they shuffle from duty to duty, pleasing the scores of scorners. They plod through their studies. Their games are never competitive and simply repetitive. Their future could include college or a trade, but they will never lead, as their will is gone. Their fathers are no examples, because they too are beaten and broken. The daily public confession of sin they experience doesn’t build up, but destroys. And these young men are shattered, broken vessels on the altar of twisted doctrine.

The girls are especially trapped. They are never allowed to work or to do anything outside the compound. They cannot study at a college or work in store. They cannot go to the park alone for fear of being attacked. They cannot go to the store alone for fear that their passions will embrace them.

Their future is one of bleakness. As they finish their schooling years, they are expected to raise the other children, clean houses, cook in the kitchens, and help around the community. They gaze in anguish out their windows, watching other old maids play kickball in the streets. They realize that unless a boy is found within the church community, they will never marry. And since time alone with a member of the opposite sex is forbidden, the chances of courtship, dating, and marriage are nil. The sexual fear permeates the culture, as even brothers and sisters cannot swim together for fear of ‘inflaming their passions.’

Mike Peters calls children his lambs, as he reaches out his hand to beckon them. To these children, his words are true. His ways are just. He is the father their own dads will never be. His grip is pervasive and deceptive. But when he looks at children – there is no real love, but he seeks to condemn, piercing their soul, to convict. His teachings do not build up future adults, but rather serve as destructive tools to destroy the human spirit that God placed in all of us.