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The Terror of “Normal”: Religious Brainwashing and the Boston Bombers
Perhaps you, like I, feel relief after the death of one Marathon bombing suspect and the capture of the second. But perhaps you also feel something else. Something besides relief, anger, or pain....
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Friendly Riots and Sweet Baby Jesus: The Dangers of Antinomianism
I’ve seen only one riot first-hand. But it was a friendly riot. A Christian riot. So it was okay, right? It wasn’t the naked young men streaking through campus who most disappointed me. It wasn’t the...
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Is it a Sin to Seek Medical Help?
A Pennsylvania couple was jailed after another of their children died from lack of medical treatment. Herbert and Catherine Schaible were jailed after their 8-month-old son, Brandon, died from diarrhea...
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Unspeakable Hurt: Dysfunctional Families and Recovering from Abuse
Rarely do I write a post which consists primarily of a link. This is such a post. My wife and I listened today to a talk by Lorie Kaufman-Rees. She is the Support and Recovery Pastor at Vineyard...
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Ten Major Symptoms of Spiritual Abuse
What is spiritual abuse? I once linked to an excellent article by Mary DeMuth which talks about 10 Signs of Spiritual Abuse. But I have received enough emails and questions to warrant another, separate...
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Personality Disorders in the Church: Obsessive-Compulsive Personality...
This is the third in a five-part series on personality disorders in the church. 1.) A Sensitive Topic: Personality Disorders in the Church (Part 1 of 5) 2.) Personality Disorders in the Church:...
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6 Reasons Why Christian Leaders Respond Inappropriately to Tragedy
I have watched with interest the response of several well-known evangelical figures to the recent tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Some have responded with great compassion to the suffering of the people....
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Why Do Some Christian Leaders Ignore Abuse?
The following is a link to an excellent article by Carolyn Custis James: http://www.whitbyforum.com/2013/06/this-can-of-worms-must-be-opened.html In her post, “This Can of Worms Must Be Opened,” James...
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Theology-Speak and the Response of Jesus
Shortest post ever. But I think this tale by Pastor W.A. Criswell illustrates 1 Corinthians 1:19 where God says: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will...
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Stones of Help and Remembrance
An “Ebenezer” is a stone of remembrance–literal or figurative–which someone sets up in order to remind themselves of God’s faithfulness. The concept comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, where Samuel set up a...
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Why Do People Get Involved in Unhealthy Churches or Cults?
Cults are bad even when they lead you to Jesus. I came to know God in a church which turned out to be a Bible cult. I was raised in this church and I stayed until I was thirty years old. Early on, I...
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Why We Tolerate Psychotic Pastors
Put down your pitchforks. This blog is not about bashing pastors—please hear me. There are many fine Christian leaders who have a pastoral gifting and who live out their lives in sacrificial service to...
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When Abusers Act Like Victims, Victims Get Abused
Abusers of all types act like gods in their houses of horror. But when they get dragged blinking into the light, they often act like victims. I recently read an article about Ariel Castro and his...
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Whelp, there it is: 15 Signs of False Humility
The leader of a Texas sect once wrote a letter to me in which he said that he wished he could open a vein for me in order to save my soul. That sounded quite nice, though I already follow Jesus—a point...
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Fixing a Frankenstein Faith: Ten Distortions of Scripture and How to Correct...
In yellow lamplight I stayed up late the other night talking with my wife, burdened about another church gone to seed in Texas. The sect looks so much like my former church in Maine, a Bible cult which...
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Seven Obnoxious Jesus Jukes (Re-Post from “Mercy not Sacrifice”)
[This was written by Morgan Guyton on August 21, 2013 and originally posted on his blog, "Mercy not Sacrifice" There is something beautiful about re-posting a well-written piece. It's like, "Wow,...
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Frankenstein Faith: Love Thy Neighbor but Hate Thy Parent (Part 1 of 10)
In this series, we’re talking about ten distortions of scripture which lead to spiritual abuse and/or mistreatment of other people. You can read the intro to the series here. This first post (a long...
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10 Questions a Church Should Ask When it Receives Bad Press
In my experience, most churches act in predictable ways when the media accuses them of cult-like behavior. They either huddle up like the three monkeys, or else leap into damage-control and lash out at...
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Frankenstein Faith: “Because I’m Your Pastor, That’s Why!” (Part 2 of 10)
We’re in a ten-part series about scriptural distortions used by cult leaders or those who spiritually abuse others. One of the greatest abuses of scripture is to use Bible passages to make people...
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Frankenstein Faith: Vestigial Organs in the Body? Natural Family vs....
As a four-year-old, I knew enough to realize that my sister was very sick. There was a blur of fluorescent lights in the Emergency Room, the cool swish of long white coats, a beeping of monitors, the...
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