Page 2 - Failed Experiment

A Failed Experiment

If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very
much worse. Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst.

C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

On a winter day in the early Seventies, an extraordinary and
unexpected personal transformation was inaugurated in my life. I
stepped onto the Ambassador College (AC), Big Sandy campus to
begin alternative service in lieu of being inducted into some branch of
the U.S. military during the Viet Nam War. The Worldwide Church of
God (WCG) proscribed participation in the military for its members
and most men drafted were granted conscientious objectors status and
classified 1-W.
AC sponsored a work program for men classified as 1-W by the Draft
Board.
From the first interaction I had with an AC official, something began
to happen that I did not expect: I began to change. I discovered that I
had a far different place in the scheme of things than I thought. It was
a transformation I could never have predicted. It was not sought after,
but came perforce. Some surreal process gripped my life and I began
to lose my status as a member and participant and became, gradually
and surely, an outsider.

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