Before Anything Else Read This
“Spiritual abuse victims share the same symptoms as victims of incest. The common denominator between the two is that the parent and the spiritual leader are both the most intimate caregivers, and the boundaries they cross are the most intimate. Therefore the damage is far greater, it strikes at the very soul of a person. The victims then withdraw from the source of their injury whether it is the opposite sex or the spiritual leader. They fear letting themselves be ‘touched’ again. In the case of spiritual abuse the church represents trauma not refuge. This is why so many abuse victims leave church and don’t come back for years or never.
And those who would presume to advise victims of spiritual abuse MUST know that the victim is telling the truth. This is not something ‘whiners’ can imitate. I have dealt with this subject for many years and ‘whiners’ don’t sound anything like abuse victims. I do see past injuries being opened up leading to raw emotions experienced all over again.
One of the reasons spiritual abuse reaches deep into a persons soul is that church is a refuge from the world. We expect to be able to let our guard down among our best friends, fellow Christians. We expect our spiritual leaders to wisely lead us. When the shepherds beat God’s sheep (Ezekiel 34), it is so completely unexpected that we don’t know how to process it.
Finally, anyone advising spiritual abuse victims must never say ‘Get over it’ or ‘Just put it behind you.’ This is not simple, it is like losing a limb. You can adjust, compensate, or make do eventually, but you can’t just get over it. Tell a paraplegic to just get over it! It is like a huge part of our soul has been ripped out leaving a vacuum. We will never be the same again. Gone is the innocent trust of spiritual leaders. We doubt first and trust later, maybe.” (By David Henke)
Characteristics of Spiritual Abuse
- Shaming
- Focus on performance
- Manipulation
- Idolatry
- Preoccupation with fault and blame
- Obscured reality
- Unbalanced
Who Joins Spiritually Abusive Groups?
If you have not experienced spiritual abuse personally thank God for it. You probably wonder how people get caught in something so obviously bad for them.
Role-Playing in High Control Groups
“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” G.K.Chesterton
Jennifer’s Story
My name is Jennifer and the Lord set my mother and I free on October 7, 2007. My mother and I were in a cult for 10 years. This is my story…
Beware of Love Bombing
Love-bombing is characteristic of most cults. Prospects, recruits and members are drowned in a sea of love and caring. Recently in an evangelical church I heard the pastor describe his visit to two cultic groups in which he praised their love-bombing and urged that his church adopt the same loving attitude towards visitors and members.
A Book Review – “Wisdom Hunter”
For Christian missionary work among people caught in the bondage of cultic legalism, this book is a necessity.
Robert J. Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Mind Control
These eight criteria were developed by Dr. Lifton after studying the methods used by the Communists to brainwash our POWs during the Korean War.
My Story
I was born into a Catholic family, the son of a mother from the Caribbean island of Trinidad who was raised Catholic, and a father who was brought up Methodist and converted to Catholicism when he married my mother.
The Battle for the Mind
Do the Bible and modern psychology agree or disagree about the source of behavioral changes?
What Is Biblical Discernment?
There is a Christian song that says, “Every promise in the Book is mine.” Is that true?
The Use of Mind Control in Religious Cults, Part 2
Lifton’s Criteria Milieu Control - the control of the environment including information, associations, time, and energy work to exclude any opportunity for opposition while also promoting the ‘party line’. Mystical Manipulation - this is the ‘higher calling’ for the...
The Use of Mind Control in Religious Cults
Any emotionally traumatic experience can create a vulnerability to deception.
Watchman Nee and “Spiritual Authority”
Many who have grown up with a Christian background will know the name Watchman Nee.
Spiritual Abuse: Hope and Healing
Spiritual abuse is the injury of another person’s spiritual health.
Religious Dysfunction & Christian Responsibility
How should we as Christians respond to those who differ with us?
Characteristics of a Spiritually Abusive Group
(Note: This article is a summary of the latest issue of The News & Views, our monthly Watchman Fellowship newsletter. It will be sent free to any who request it. Click the email link to the left.) In a high control group the most important control factor is the flow...
A Spiritual Abuse Testimony
A couple months ago I published the testimony of “Jennifer” in the News & Views. I had heard from Jennifer months before about her struggle to find peace with her past experience of spiritual abuse. I sent her five copies of my Spiritual Abuse Recovery workbook and...