Doesn't this seem all too familiar???
What I think is that they are so easily influenced, that they can so easily think up excuses for the plainly inexcusable, and that they are so adept at maneuvers and manipulation that many would be able to think their way around whatever is said to them.For example, if I told them (as I could of my old church organization), "Your church is based upon the biblical understandings of uneducated persons," they would answer, "Thank God, He can use the base things, the rejected persons, the unwise to do His work, while the educated shake their heads in wonder, having no personal knowledge or understanding."If I told them (as I could of my old church organization), "Many in your church have abused others in the name of God," they would answer, "Yes, the church is full of humans, and humans make mistakes."If I told them (as I could of my old church organization), "Two pastors I had in your church touched me inappropriately," they would answer, "That is not believeable, because if it had happened, you would have said something when it happened, but you didn't."If I told them (as I could of my old church organization), "I was told in your church that if I left your church, I and my family would fail spiritually, personally, and financially, but in fact, we are better off now than we were while in your church," they would answer, "It's not over yet. God is not mocked. Whatsoever you sow, that will you reap."If I told them (as I could of my old church organization), "I had a pastor who stood in the pulpit and bragged about his dirty business dealings, and we lost 95% of the youth grooup because of that and because of his treatment of the youth pastor, who tried to explain," they would answer, "Touch not mine annointed. Even if he did, he was placed in that position by God, and you should have submitted to him."Seriously, I think that many (but certainly not all!) in these organizations have
*completely calloused consciences
*absolute narcissism
*complete lack of empathy which they have learned to fake in order to manage socially
---A poster from ex-Pentecostal Forums discussing the mechanics of spiritual abuse in certain charismatic-Pentecostal groups
Forget "Spiritual Abuse": The term is ambiguous.
Think instead of just "Abuse", consisting loosely of neglect and assault.
With most of the Pentecostals, the Ten Commandments have been thrown out in order "to have a good time". Think Jim Jones. Particularly, "Thou Shalt Not Kill", "Thou Shalt Not Steal" and "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness". Dispensing with the Commandments because Jesus kept them for us is all so very convenient to go forth and trivialize the victims of abuse: There are no standards, so how could we break them?
The fatherless and the widow continue to be neglected in their afflictions. The stranger and the poor are taken for all they are worth. There is no justice or judgment, let alone mercy in the land. Best of all, the people believe lies which are verifiably heresies. Religion is truly the Church Corporate with no conscience and no empathy.
Who is at fault?
The victims.
If they didn't pay for the privilege of being abused, the venue wouldn't exist.
Posted by
Douglas Becker |
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Hey Felix,
As with the COG's, Pentecostals are a mixed bag. There's good and bad. The bad ones are every bit as poison as the worst the COG's have to offer - in fact some of them may even be worse.
But there are some good ones. My sister and her family are members of a small "pentecostal" type group. I've met a number of them - including their pastor. They're decent folks. They do encourage individual involvement in church, but they don't impose themselves or try to make church the entire focus of everyone's life.
They do encourage obeying the commandments of God and living a Godly lifestyle. But they don't watch over or try to control people's lives.
I had a long talk with the pastor, and while I can't agree with him on a number of things, I can't fault his dedication or humility or his selflessness. Such qualities were rare in WCG.
He even tolerates non conformity - something unheard of in WCG. For example, being pentecostal they of course tend to be a bit vocal. Yet my sister and her family do not do this at all - in fact they don't accept the whole idea of "speaking in tongues". Yet this pastor and the small church have no problem with this. They take a "to each his own" attitude.
BTW, in a completely non related subject, have you ever tried looking at your blog page using a browser other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer? I use Mozilla Firefox, and the links/recent posts section is a jumbled mess. It looks fine in Internet Explorer though. I haven't tried it with any other browser.
Posted by
FYI Again |
Tuesday, February 20, 2007