Spiritual abuse

Just this last week I've encountered examples of what I can only
describe as spiritual abuse. It saddens one, because what is meant to be
life-giving, is turned in to death-like clouds of oppression, and that,
by the very people who should know better.

Vulnerability to this abuse is widespread and the causes are many, but I
think one of the biggest issues is the obsession with the Bible being a
book of rules defining specific behaviour as pleasing, or not pleasing
to God. The mindset this creates is that the "average" person, or
"layperson" has very little or no real capacity to discern scripture for
themselves. They have to be told what is true and untrue and the
highest virtue they can practice in the faith community they serve, is
that of obedience. They are not encouraged to think for themselves and
for them to question anything is always seen as threat.

Now, put people who are not encouraged to think and question and who
have no confidence in their own discerning abilities, together with
strong leaders who believe exactly how to "interpret" these rules and
impose them, and you have the ultimate recipe for abuse, especially
where leaders are locked in to their own performance and achievement.
People then simply become pawns on the egocentric chess boards of these
leaders.

What makes this worse is that people become part of a church and a god
created in the image of the leadership, serving the ego needs of that
leadership, with faith having nothing to do with gaining a deeper
understanding and experience of God and Church. In fact, such a deepened
understanding may just expose the abusive system for what it is,
causing it all to come crumbling down. Sometimes that's precisely what
is needed to enable the birth of a Divine infusion of authentic work and
service.

One such community I know has now met this fate. The human pain left in
its wake is hard to describe and  will have to be dealt with, with all
the compassion it so richly deserves.

Are our churches places of life-giving exploration where people are free
and are encouraged to inquire and question, or are they communities
solidified with attitudes of threat, cemented dogmatism and dictatorial
leadership?

Originally posted at Seeing More Clearly.