Of Sheep and Wolves

My experience is my experience. You can take it or leave it, but it did happen to me personally. I watched it happen to others before my experience, and I'm watching it happen to good people after, as well.

What am I talking about?

Spiritual abuse.

This issue is usually tied with negative cult groups. Consider the following explanation from wiki:

Spiritual abuse is a serious form of abuse which occurs when a person in a cult-religious authority or a person with a unique spiritual practice misleads and maltreats another person in the name of a deity or church or in the mystery of any spiritual concept. Spiritual abuse often refers to an abuser using spiritual or cult-religious rank in taking advantage of the victim's spirituality (mentality and passion on spiritual matters) by putting the victim in a state of unquestioning obedience to an abusive authority. Spiritual abuse refers to the use of spiritual knowledge to deprive, torture, degrade, isolate, control, or even kill others. It is used by evil minded spiritualists, sometimes, including cult-religious leaders to gain advantage or exercise control over others. Being an 'action of man', in worst case scenarios, spiritual abuse can otherwise be called 'spiritual terrorism'.

Spiritual abuse is the maltreatment of a person in the name of a god, deity, faith, cult-religion, or church, whether habitual or not, and includes any of the following:

Psychological and emotional abuse

Physical abuse that includes physical injury, deprivation of sustenance

Sexual abuse

Any act by deeds or words that demean, humiliate or shame the natural worth and dignity of a person as a human being

Submission to spiritual authority without any right to disagree; intimidation

Unreasonable control of a person's basic right to make a choice on spiritual matters

False accusation and repeated criticism by negatively labeling a person as disobedient, rebellious, lacking faith, demonized, apostate, enemy of the church or a deity

Prevention from practicing faith or Spiritualism

Isolation or separation from family and friends due to cult-religious or Spiritual affiliation

Exclusivity; dismissal of an outsider's criticism and labeling an outsider as an imaginary demon or devil

Withholding information and giving of information only to a selected few

Conformity to a dangerous or unnatural cult-religious view and practice

Hostility that includes shunning, (relational aggression, parental alienation) and persecution

Despite the comparative frequency of spiritual abuse, those types of behaviour and actions which are today classified as spiritual abuse can be seen to be prohibited in the major texts and scriptures of numerous cult-religious traditions. Indeed, in the Christian Bible, spiritually abusive behaviour is condemned as being one of the worst forms of sin due to its capacity to diminish or even to destroy an individual's relationship with a deity or a god.

Pretty serious, isn't it? As I look at this issue, and not only my own experience but those of others, as well, I see spiritual abuse happening in varying degrees. One doesn't have to be in a 'cult' to be abused spiritually. Even in mainline congregations, both large and small, this type of thing happens. I am not talking about folks simply getting their feelings hurt and leaving the congregation. I'm talking about good people submitting themselves under leadership with the best of intentions, attempting to fulfill the Scriptural edicts, and finding themselves in a situation of being taken advantage of, being bullied, having their character maligned and even being cut-off/isolated from worship and fellowship, both within and outside the congregation. Spiritual death.

I have observed in myself and others the result of this abuse. Feelings of betrayal, rejection, hurt, extreme stress and depression can lead to physical manifestations of deep emotional scarring. Depending upon the duration of the situation, effects can be even more damaging and long-term; fear of relationship and commitment, reluctance to participate in social situations, and clinical depression. But I think the worst result of spiritual abuse is a complete and total realization that all religion is simply the traditions of man and an unacceptable representation of the Holy One. It is most unfortunate that the children who witness abusive and manipulative behavior by leadership towards their parents come to that conclusion and reject a relationship with G-d altogether.

In my own experience, I didn't even realize it was happening to me; I simply felt astonishment and disbelief at the behavior of my religious leaders. These leaders, for the most part, were held in high regard for their wisdom, knowledge, and teaching skills. I even considered them my friends...good friends. As it came to pass, I watched person after person being targeted, mocked, and shunned, never thinking it would happen to me. Disagreeing with leadership, on any level, was not allowed. Ever changing definitions of pivotal sins, such as gossip and rebellion, caused confusion and further reliance on leadership for direction in any given situation. Biblical teaching was interlaced with manipulations and personal agendas, as well, targeting individuals (most especially those that had left or had been cut-off) in veiled language inflicting further pain and gently (and sometimes not so gently) encouraging the congregation to do the same. Increasingly legalistic accepted (expected) behavior, excluded even more, as it demanded conformity to the standards set by leadership and/or those regarded as pious in the congregation - all in the name of following Scripture. Amazingly, (in my case), these leaders desired diminishing numbers, weeding out the people they didn't like or don't 'fit' into their elite group. Sounds like junior high, but spiritual abuse goes beyond immaturity when people's lives are turned upside-down, families are torn apart and faith in G-d and 'His church' is shaken severely. That is, most certainly, an abuse of the position of religious leader.

This type of abuse is especially egregious - a deceptive set-up - because anyone choosing to attend a faith-based congregation comes with certain expectations of the leaders and people there, and rightly so. It is not out of the ordinary to expect leaders (especially) and others in the congregation (to a somewhat lesser degree) to be polite, kind, and loving, desiring to live a life devoted to their G-d by the standards set in the Bible. When those expectations aren't met, it leads to a growing distrust of religion and those who attend. People are not perfect, and certainly no one expects perfection. However, the problem of spiritual abuse and hypocrisy is far more (and deeper) than the normal push-and-pull of relationship.

David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen in The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse describe the action: "It's possible to become so determined to defend a spiritual place of authority, a doctrine or a way of doing things that you wound and abuse anyone who questions, or disagrees, or doesn't 'behave' spiritually the way you want them to. When your words and actions tear down another, or attack or weaken a person's standing as a Christian- to gratify you, your position or your beliefs while at the same time weakening or harming another- that is spiritual abuse."

It is often referred to as a 'bad religious experience'. So many have had one - just start asking around and you'll see. I'm not into 'church-bashing', but it is a sad situation when you consider the greatest command for a believer is to love G-d and love your neighbor as yourself. If they are truly living by that command, then there must be a lot of people who want to be judged, have their character assassinated or want to be the subject of gossip.

"I have been abused by the church, been asked to leave a church, and then have listened to Pastors say that there are only 2 reasons people leave a church - 1. To build a church and 2. Because of pride. I've also heard pastors say that to leave a church or to go to another church is "committing spiritual adultery". That too, is so wrong ~ and un-Biblical." ~Janet W., victim

 

Personally, I have often heard it said that those that leave the congregation are in rebellion, most certainly against leadership, and even against G-d Himself. And, if they are in rebellion, the best thing to do is to cut them off completely, so they feel the isolation and grief of being apart from their friends and fellow believers in the community. That line of teaching, along with overt mocking of those that just drift away, will definitely cement in the minds of listeners a desire to never leave the community, that's for sure.

Hand in hand with spiritual abuse goes judgment. Severe judgment, by either leadership or fellow believers, is something that simply shouldn't be acceptable or allowed in faithful congregations or religious communities. Somehow, we move from humble confession and acceptance of salvation, to what we define as righteous living, to looking around to make sure everyone else is doing it right in our eyes. (And, don't even get me started on hypocrisy...) It's no wonder the world-at-large has such a poor opinion of the religious, truly.

So, is there any way one can avoid this type of abuse and harsh judgment and still stand in a congregation of worshiping believers? Unfortunately, I have no answer - I'm kind of cynical about it at this point, honestly. I do know this; if we turn our heads and allow abuse to continue, pretend it never happens, or excuse it because of our own personal needs or wants, we may later find ourselves the victim of such abuse.

So many have been hurt. So many have left religious fellowship never to return. Opting for a very personal relationship with G-d, studying on their own or even just trying to be a righteous person and love their neighbor, is so much safer than opening up to judgment, betrayal, harassment - abuse - in such a public arena.

I can't say I blame them.

 

March 2012

 

The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Experience of Sarah Osborn

Sarah Osborn was born into Calvinist Protestant Puritanism where she was well-trained to understand God as a wrathful authority who knew humans unable to be anything but sinful. However, throughout all Sarah’s hardships and personal struggles, her concept of this all-knowing God adapted to the environment of societal change that was happening around her. Her story is one of evolving Christian understanding from trembling before an inscrutable, unknowable God to one who interacts and embraces humans through personal experiences. As a result of the influence of the Enlightenment and Millennialist movements that fueled the First and Second Great Awakenings, evangelicalism grew from 1720 – 1790, in part, because it offered Christians assurance of salvation and individual authority that was lacking in Calvinist Puritanism.

Calvinist thought that made the journey with the Puritans settling the new world was very clear concerning the human condition. Puritan beliefs were grounded in the understanding of God, the human condition, and predestination; Sarah was taught early that God was an unknowable sovereign who determined who was saved and who was eternally damned, that “Christ’s death had not redeemed all of humanity but only a small group of the ‘elect.’”[1] All humans were corrupted by the original sin of Adam and Eve and that “it was crucial for even the youngest to be exposed to the concepts of original sin, heaven, and hell.”[2] Calvinist Christians were “completely dependent on a transcendent and uncontrollable God,”[3] where no one could save themselves, and further, they could have no assurance of salvation from the inscrutable and unknowable God. She boldly wrote about her contemplated suicide as a young adult, as she was completely convinced she was “monstrous, God-provoking, and hell-deserving.”[4] In the midst of her struggle, she concluded that God had “punished her for disobeying her parents” and that she had been afflicted due to her own behavior.[5] It is clear from her writing that she was experiencing a deep need for assurance of her own salvation, as she could not see how she, a wretched sinner, could possibly be affirmed before the God she knew.

The growth of evangelicalism out of this Calvinist Puritan belief structure cannot be considered without acknowledging the influence of the Enlightenment’s radical “assumption that individuals had the freedom to create a better world.”[6] Enlightened thinkers advocated individual freedom, and freedom from the past, by suggesting that the traditional Christian view of the human condition – and everything else, for that matter – needed to be tested and proved through rationality and empirical evidence. As this new way of thinking pervaded social thinking, Christians took on the new language of experience as a way to prove the existence of God and a justification of their beliefs. For Christians like Sarah who struggled with uncertainty of salvation, it spoke to a need – it addressed doubts of an unknowable God; spiritual experiences were valid and authoritative when couched in the language of the Enlightenment. Rationally proving God was active in the lives of Christians by describing and experiencing emotional reactions to preaching resulting in conversion filled the need to finally know their eternal fate in certainty. It was the Enlightenment’s push for rational, empirical proof through experience that Christianity co-opted in the form of evangelism, as Brekus explains: 

"Earlier Christians had defined conversion in multiple ways – it could mean changing one’s life by going to church regularly, taking communion, studying the Bible, or living according to the Ten Commandments – but for evangelicals it meant an immediate, heartfelt change. True religion, they claimed, was ‘experimental.’ Influenced by the Enlightenment emphasis on personal experience as the foundation of knowledge, evangelicals did not view conversion as an intellectual assent to the truths of the Bible or as a slow, imperceptible turning to God; for them it was a ‘new sense’ that was real as the physical senses of seeing, hearing, or tasting. Because people could actually feel and know whether they had been born again, they could be virtually sure of their salvation."[7]

The push of individualism, freedom of thought, and the need for assurance of salvation spawned revivals across the colonies. Starting with Charles Whitefield and Gilbert Tennent, and then followed by others, revival preachers called sinners to experience the emotional, individual experience of conversion. Not only was this emotional experience proof of God working in the life of an individual, but it provided the authority of a testimony that one could rely upon as rational and empirical. Sarah, and many others, were desirous of assurance of salvation that was previously elusive. She “envied them, and she seems to have embraced the evangelical movement as her own because she longed for their confidence.”[8] 

Sarah began attending revivals and embraced evangelical thought where “she could say – with assurance – that she knew what mattered. She knew that she had been born again.”[9] Even though she continued to hold to the traditional Calvinist views of God, and that suffering and affliction were signs of God showing care, she embraced the assurance of salvation. In her quest for assurance, she wrote to Gilbert Tennent, a revival preacher, looking for his affirmation of her salvation. In this letter to Tennent she describes her “religious experience,”[10] and based upon that, he gave affirmation of God’s grace toward her. She was relieved and even stated that she was “restored as if were from the grave”[11] of doubts.

Evangelicalism focused heavily on an emotional conversion experience, one that made the seeker feel that God indeed was participating in their lives. In addition to this important conversion experience, spreading the gospel gave Christians a purpose - sharing the ‘good news’ of salvation and the assurance they had experienced. The complete authority of the Bible was of utmost importance, however spiritual experience and personal testimony was of such a priority that special training (such as seminary) was not required or needed; anyone with a testimony and a desire to share was qualified. Within this context of evangelicalism arose another movement, Millennialism, which focused on the prophecy of the last book of the Bible (Revelation). Millennialists believed that Christ would make his second appearance in the world any day, and that human history was, indeed, in the last days. This created a sense of urgency and need to convert sinners, as well as purging Christians of sinful behavior, in preparation of the world for the Second-Coming. Sarah was like many others who agreed with the Millennialists; the imminent return of Christ and the reality of the American Revolution resulted in an urgency and purpose which made people feel that they were part of a bigger picture, God’s greater plan. Spreading the gospel to all was foremost, as Sarah wrote, “I know not what is before us […] no not for an Hour, but would fain Hope the Glory of the Latter days is beginning to dawn.”[12]

During the Second Great Awakening, religious authority to share and interpret the Bible according to personal spiritual revelation inspired many religious innovations that challenged traditional views of divine revelation, property ownership, and family structures. Moreover, evangelicalism gave voice to marginalized groups, such as women and African Americans (both slaves and freed), due to the spiritual equality afforded to all according to the Bible. Encouraged by the urgency of the ‘last days,’ and Sarah’s desire to share the gospel, she moved into this new-found religious authority and gained a reputation for her fervor to encourage and pray with those who came to her home. Crowds including African Americans, boys, and women filled her kitchen to listen to her read from the Bible, council, and pray. Like other evangelicals, Sarah made a “determined effort to convert the enslaved” and wrote that she “ha[d] thought it a duty to encourage them”[13] Interestingly, due to Sarah’s history of failing health and hardship, people were “drawn to her because of her steadfast faith in the midst of suffering.”[14] It was only through the spiritual equality encouraged in evangelicalism that enabled a woman to function as an evangelical leader, if only from her home. In this way, she was able to model the embrace of suffering as the will of God, while evangelizing and spreading the gospel to those eager to hear. She utilized her spiritual liberty within evangelicalism to speak with authority and confidence of the assurance she herself had gained.

Evangelicalism had become an important mode of Christianity partly due to Christians, like Sarah, who responded to the need for assurance of salvation from a hidden, inscrutable Puritan God. This enlightened thought was a completely “new way of thinking about human knowledge – that marked a break with Puritan tradition.”[15] The rise of evangelicalism, as traced through the First and Second Great Awakenings, enabled Christians to feel the desired acceptance of God and assurance of salvation, as well as exercise a new sense of liberty and authority gained through spiritual experience. This newfound freedom allowed them to boldly share the message of the gospel as well as engage in a bigger purpose of God’s plan and the imminent return of Christ in the environment of the American Revolution.

 

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[1] Brekus, Catherine A. Sarah Osborn's World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 37

[2] Ibid., 38

[3] Ibid., 37

[4] Brekus, Sarah Osborn’s World., 70

[5] Ibid., 70

[6] Ibid., 7

[7] Brekus, Sarah Osborn’s World, 94

[8] Ibid., 95

[9] Ibid., 95

[10] Ibid., 122

[11] Ibid., 123

[12] Brekus, Sarah Osborn’s World, 251

[13] Brekus, Sarah Osborn’s World, 250- 251

[14] Ibid., 254

[15] Ibid., 97

 

March 2016