Happy Holidays

I just realized that I did not post a "Happy Holidays" articles.

I hope everyone had and still has a happy Holiday season, whatever you like to celebrate. New Year's is still on the way!

Spiritual Abuse Resources

If anything I write here is inaccurate, let me know.

Spiritual abuse is psychological trauma (which may include physical abuse) caused by the involvement in a religious group, cult, or with a so-called spiritual "teacher." This is a rather loose definition that was deduced from reading several websites on the matter. Many leaders of religious and spiritual groups manipulate and/or terrorize their flocks into following them for their own purposes, but the leaders in question may be duped by the system itself, believing that they are doing "the Lord's work" or "bringing spiritual evolution." It is used to describe abuse coming from fundamentalist Christian groups, such as those who adhere to Hellfire Fundamentalism (radical sect of Christians whose focus is on the doctrine of eternal torment, which may be coupled with focus on the End Times). The United Pentacostal Church has also been accused of harboring spiritual abuse. However, spiritual abuse can come from any radical form of any faith. Spiritual abuse may cause someone to question their relationship with God or even the existence of God. Many people are so badly abused that symbols associated with the abusive group may "trigger" bad memories or feelings. Here is a Wikipedia article on spiritual abuse. Even if you don't trust Wikipedia as a source, there are links to resources for spiritual abuse at the bottom of that page.

Resources (the views on these pages do not necessarily refelct my own views):
Church Abuse.com
Spiritual Abuse Recovery Resources
Spiritual Abuse: With a Secondary Focus on the United Pentacostal Church
SOSA: Survivors of Spiritual Abuse
Ex Church of Christ Support Group
Article on Spiritual Abuse by The Watchmen Expositor
The Awareness Center: Jewish Survivors of Spiritual Abuse (Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assualt)
Spiritual Abuse - An Unsafe Safe Place (Spring 2005)
Safe in Church

Update

I started this blog two years ago. Since then, my OCD was partially alleviated. I’m not completely cured as I still have to take medications and use mental tools to control the obsessions and compulsions, but I am much better. I don’t have overt compulsions as they usually involve some sort of prayer. My obsessions were and still are to an extent related to the fear of losing my salvation, but I am not wrought with the fear I had two years ago. It only spikes during stressful times and/or when I have little social support.

I still call myself a Christian as I still have the core beliefs (Jesus is the son of God and shed His blood for the sins of the world). I sometimes have trouble saying that I am a Christian because people tend to pidgeonhole me into the same category as Christians one sees in mainstream society. I don’t believe that unbelievers go to eternal hellfire, though. I have been studying the idea that everyone will eventually be saved after being purified/corrected (so no one really gets away with anything, and the process of correction isn’t a picnic to say the least). However, I still see the cessation of existence for the unsaved to be the most logical outcome for now; still, universal reconciliation is still inviting.

You may have seen some references to esoteric, “New Agey” and Eastern spirituality stuff on this blog, and I understand if this confuses some people. When I was referring to these things, I was taking a class called “Consciousness and Spirituality” at University. As I studied the material, the perspectives I learned helped me to personally understand passages in the Bible better. Since I was learning about spiritual matters outside the context of fear and threat of punishment, they were easier to mentally digest. Since taking that class, I think I have a better personal understanding of some of the passages from the Bible and from what [I hope] God tells me. As for the stuff about self-remembrance, I think self-examination is fine for seeing what needs to be changed. If you have ever tried it, it’s not a blissful experience. Sometimes it’s boring, and at other times, it can be frightening—at least that is how I experienced it.

In other news, I watched a special on CNN last night called “God’s Warriors.” They featured a pastor named Greg Boyd. From the interview, he seemed like an interested pastor. He does not believe in forcing the beliefs of Christianity on the rest of the nation. Here is his website. I have not read everything on that site, so be careful to make your own decision about what he says. I know from experience that it is easier to simply listen to someone else as opposed to actually thinking about it. I’ve gotten into trouble for doing the former.

I hope everyone has a blessed holiday season and a happy new year.