Christian Women and Domestic Violence

I’ve been getting many inquiries from Christian women on the subject of domestic violence  in the home.  For that reason I will be starting a series on this issue which has been so misunderstood and caused so much pain to so many good Christian women who were endeavoring to both love and honor their husbands, and their Savior through obedience to the Word of God.

We’ll begin with a study of “The Great Ecclesiastical Conspiracy”

http://www.awildernessvoice.com/GEC.html 

The article above in text form.

Both Christian men as well as women need to study this epic teaching. It is in-YouTube Video form as well. It explains that King James himself had a vested interest in making sure that certain words were put in this translation.  Words like”rule”  and “submit” were intended to reinforce his headship and control over his kingdom. It’s only when we become aware of the truth that it has the power to set us free from the shackles of legalism. The Lord said, “My people perish for lack of knowledge”. Knowledge of what?  God’s Word!
Indeed, knowledge is power. Let’s make sure we are armed with the truth so that we will not succumb to the lies and deception. As one of the Lord’s sheep, even though your pastor or husband is bound by man-made doctrines and traditions of men, of legalistic teachings, by studying the truth, prayer and fasting, you will not have to be. Jesus said to those disciples who believed him, “If you will continue in My Word, then you will be my disciple indeed and then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” Jesus and his pure doctrine supersedes the faulty, unloving notions of men.

“THE GREAT ECCLESIASTICAL CONSPIRACY”

This is HARD!! Many will not be able to hear this at all!

Is it really possible that the Authorized King James Version of the Bible was INTENTIONALLY DOCTORED to reinforce and support a “priest class” and institutional, political hierarchies. The Protestant Reformation didn’t go far enough. It didn’t really eliminate the temple worship and priest class, it just put a nicer face on it.

This explains why things are this bad. It explains why most of this thing we call “Christianity” is in fact, not at ALL what Jesus had in mind. This explains why so many are being abused in a “system” that was NEVER what God designed in the first place.

This is the audio version of the free E-book available at http://www.AWildernessVoice.com and http://www.FellowshipOfTheMartyrs.com . MANY other resources available.

Repent. The days are short. The Babylonian mystery religions have consumed nearly all the “churches”.

The Lord is crying out, “Come out of her, my people!”

Run for the hills. You and Jesus are sufficient. Let HIM be your teacher.

 

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My Story of an Encounter with an Abusive  Christian misogynist:
I hadn’t been posting much for quite some time. Looking over the web offerings, I figured there were enough sites to offer help,warning and healing for those who had just come out of spiritually abusive situations, or….were still in one, and looking for answers. I was wrong. Just when you think there is nothing new to add, some new abuse presents its ugly head, or perhaps an old abuse presenting itself in a new and novel way. So…I guess it’s time to fire up the blog once again.

I post quite a few resources offering “other” folks help, warnings, etc…but this time it happened to be me that got spiritually stung and hurt…again. Me, who should know better how to avoid such situations and people. Me, who has had her guard up and warns others about how to avoid snares, spiritual abuse and the pain that goes along with it. So….how and where did it happen? On an Internet voice over chat room called PalTalk. PalTalk has a fabulous potential for interaction with other Christians, but it can also be a very dangerous place, especially for vulnerable believers who have been isolated, and left abusive church fellowships and/or even been rejected by friends for leaving these churches.

What happened was that I had been visiting, with great caution, spiritual radar detector turn on, a few spiritual chat rooms and had begun to meet a few people there I felt fairly comfortable with and that seemed to be mature Christians with a healthy grasp of scripture and sound doctrine. This seemed to be a godsend because I was needing the fellowship with like minded believers…perhaps more than even I recognized at the time. However, Satan, never a day late or a dollar short, recognized it and I now believe I was set up for a hurt. Looking back, thank God it was only a hurt and not something much worse.

I had been listening to a man who seemed to be above average in godly wisdom and experience. A really interesting man as well, who I’d seen in various Christian chat rooms, sometimes speaking, or other times posting comments and scripture. We began to cross paths, and he developed an interest in me. To be frank, I was both flattered and also, a bit in awe of this guy. This was filling a need in me for fellowship after having been isolated for so long after leaving the apostate church. We were on the same page…..or so I thought.

After about a month of meeting in various chat rooms, and also spending long hours in private chat rooms, sharing and talking about God, and our experiences, what we had in common, laughing, and praying, I began to trust this man and let my guard down. Something I haven’t done in a long time, and I’m not sure I realized just how much I opened up to this man at the time.

With male, female relationships in any realm, there is always the issue of dominance, but especially in the spiritual realm of Christianity and God ordained authority. I’m not going to get into the scriptural aspects by posting scripture on here. Most of you reading this blog are already aware of what the bible has to say about it. As for me, I don’t have a problem with allowing men to be men, and the authority figure in spiritual relationships………as long as they don’t abuse it, and in the process, begin to abuse me. I am God’s and he is and always will be my husband and the final authority.

If a person has been spiritually abused they will usually be very guarded about boundaries. With me, this is extremely true. Very guarded, even with women. God has given me a level of discernment through hours of prayer, tears, and experience that I am very grateful for. But experience is very expensive in terms of having gone through situations and learning from them, (as you learn not to stick your hand in the fire after the first time, or take fire to your bosom and expect not to get burned).

With abusers, somehow they have the uncanny ability to avoid being detected at the very beginning of an encounter with their victims. Even when one has developed a level of spiritual discernment, if they have an opening, such as loneliness, or need for fellowship, as I did, they are fair game for a predator to slip through the boundary and get inside where they can do damage.

So, to describe the scenario further, there was no question of a romantic relationship developing, so that seemed to make this friendship safer where I could relax and enjoy this mutual love of God with this man…He was well read in the scriptures, and shared many spiritual experiences that gave me no reason to doubt or be afraid of him. For the most part, I felt safe, and anyway, wasn’t I a safe distance from him in PalTalk. How could this godly man possibly hurt me? But in all relationships, sooner or later, traits will begin manifesting. One of the first “disagreements” I had with this man, was over the issue of misogyny. He was adamant that women were the worse abusers of men, and that men were “just as” or more abused than women. In fact, he was a little too adamant about it…to the point that I might have thought at the time he was a misogynist himself, a closet woman-hater. Little did I know at the time, just how right on my discernment radar was absolutely spot on. But……I chose to ignore it, but the red flag was up.

The saying goes that women have a high level of intuition, and I think there is something to this…..but especially true with spiritfilled women who have spent much time in the scriptures and in prayer. In any case, the red flag was up.

Sooner or later, a persons true colors will manifest, as the scriptures say, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. On PalTalk, for those who aren’t familiar with it, there is a way to talk directly to a person, just like you would talk to them on the phone. Also, there is a way to text little messages to a person, or leave notes for them. So, what happened next between me and my new spiritual friend is this, I’d left a text note for him to read later. The note was a short synopsis of my understanding of “Paul’s thorn in the flesh” and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. I told him if he agreed with this to just disregard my note. What happened was that he didn’t read or understand what I’d said in my text note, and became irate, accusing me of “being a rebellious woman in the church and one of those women who usurp male authority in the church”, as well as some other accusatory, nasty and overweening remarks aimed directly at me. This floored me, and cut to the quick. I was not only astonished but felt attacked and falsely accused…..which I was.

I have been abused by both women as well as men in the church, but this frankly, was a new experience. I had let my guard down and this woman hating predator got through the door. I sent him a note in text, politely explaining my position and that in no way was I or ever had been a rebellious woman seeking to usurp male authority.
He sent back a lame excuse. I began trying to quietly shy away from him. The trust had been broken. However, not satisfied he came back and contacted me again and began criticizing me, telling me what I should think, what I should do, and “to obey”, not exactly explaining whom I should “obey”, but rather indirectly indicating it should be him.

By this time, I am wanting out. And also by this time, his true colors are showing and he is in full attack, wolf mode and begins to rip me up, telling me everything, (in his opinion), that I’ve done wrong, and what is wrong with me, and that I’m not really “walking in the spirit”.

After this last attack, I sent him back a note saying that Jesus would never talk to me, or treat me the way he did, and that I was not going to accept being spiritually abused in this way. After that, apparently he realized he was not going to be able to dominate me or manipulate me, and so sent back a hateful note with more accusations telling me I was not willing to accept “admonition”, (a handy buzz word for handing you your lunch), and then blocked me from further contact with him, as if that were going to be a problem for me. I was grateful it was over. However…there was the aftermath to deal with.

The aftermath was and is the old spiritual wounds this man left in his wake. Old wounds from the past abuse I thought were healed and now have found out they were still lurking under the surface, and this man ripped them open again. Now, I am praying,Jesus, just please come and love me, comfort me, heal me once again. And LORD, I thank you that you revealed to me what was going on, and that I have the right not to obey mean and cruel commands set up by those assuming false authority in your name. Or accept down in my heart false accusations of wrong doing, by those who would make sad those you haven’t made sad. And also, Jesus, I don’t know who or what made this man the way he is, but please convict him, heal him but keep him from hurting anyone else this way”.

Friends, there is a reason for having healthy boundaries in our lives and guarding our inner circle. Please pray for wisdom and discernment in all your relationships. There are spiritual abusers out there who will cut your soul down to the roots if you allow them to. If you see you’ve opened the door to one of these…back out, run away quickly and never forget to ask the Lord Jesus Christ for help and protection. He is our gentle and good shepherd. He is our protection from wolves that wish to rip us to shreds, and He will never do anything to spiritually hurt and wound us.

Spiritually Abused in Church? What is Your Story?

Many people wouldn’t be reading here if they hadn’t been abused in some fashion.  Those who’ve never been abused, or abusers themselves- wouldn’t know what it felt like, unless they, at some point, felt the sting of it themselves.

It’s my personal belief that all abuse hurts a person spiritually. It’s not likely there will be physical abuse in a church setting, but there, abuse will occur at the very heart of our soul, sometimes driving us into self-condemnation, guilt over false accusations, shaking our spiritual beliefs, and foundation of our faith to the very core.

Our reaction to this may come first as shock, followed by anger and indignation. And soon after, if we are lucky enough to remove ourselves from the abusive situation, we may lapse into a feeling of rejection as we become isolated from former brethren.

My own personal journey through the pain of spiritual abuse was absolute bewilderment and a mind numbing core of hurt that pierced the deepest places in my heart. Even with Christ there to carry me though this, it was without doubt, one of the worse experiences of my life. How could I ever trust “church people” again, now that I knew the truth? Might they not all be like that? I isolated myself from churches, not wanting to take another chance at exposing my deepest feelings to those who were going to reject, falsely judge and hurt me.

My experience with spiritual abuse wasn’t an isolated incident that merely “hurt my feelings”. Instead, without  going into details, it was a long, complex series of abuses that continued over a period of time, that finally culminated with a yet another betrayal, this time even more serious than the others. With this came the  realization that I had to get out. The abuse was affecting me spiritually and emotionally, and there was no other choice but to leave. I couldn’t change anything by staying.

I went through this alone. There was no one to talk to about what happened. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone, betrayed, falsely accused,  and rejected in my entire  life. It’s very hard to describe the feelings I had. I’m not sure there are even adequate words. Maybe something close would be like when someone closest to you died, and there is at first shock and then the grieving process sets in after that, but even that doesn’t quite fit, because when I left the church where I was abused, the only one who I felt had died, was me.  The ones who abused and condemned me wrongly, basically for their own false perceptions, went on, justifying themselves together, and continued on apparently oblivious to the havoc created in my life. (Only later, have I found there are many others who were going through, or had gone through a similar circumstance, but at the time, there wasn’t the ground swell rising up of voices on the Internet to expose this “best kept secret” going on in churches all across America). I felt like I was the only one.

So~

Next came the feelings of bitterness and resentment at those responsible for abusing me. This was a small church, so my betrayers had once been my closest friends. Well, at least some of them. The pastor was an enigma…at times he seemed compassionate and real, but most of the time he had a bully pulpit, and made a practice of calling out those who had committed what he felt were infractions in such a way that everyone knew who he was pointing his finger at. He had his little group of favorites, especially those who curried his favor and fawned over him. That wasn’t my style though and maybe he sensed that.

I knew in my heart what they did was wrong, and I also knew my resentment was wrong. I knew I needed to forgive, that I must forgive, but I didn’t know how I was going to be able to do that, the pain I felt went so deep.

Jesus said, unless we forgive others, our father can’t forgive us. That’s a big order sometimes. But unforgiveness is destructive, both on the offenders but also on the one that needs to extend forgiveness. I think this issue of unforgiveness is truly very misunderstood, but I think our own spiritual growth will be stunted if we fail to forgive and, instead,  allow a root of bitterness to grow in our hearts and become twisted and ugly.

Think about that. If we allow our hearts to become cold and bitter, then Satan has won the round and we will end up more like those who abused us…hypocrites. I don’t want to be like that and neither do you. We need to keep short accounts with God so our prayers can get answered and so that we can move forward in our walk in the
Spirit, leaving ugly emotions behind us. That is the victory over spiritual abuse.

It can be done, but only through much prayer and communion with Jesus in worship, asking for help and laying all burdens at the foot of the cross, for truly, we can do nothing without him.

Jesus bless all of you going through these struggles and I thank God who will give us the victory as we turn fully to him.

Since that time, many years ago, I have studied the phenomena of spiritual abuse in churches, in depth, inside and out, and from every angle. I know what makes it tick, and the games people play in church, all the way from the pulpit, to those in other “leadership” aspects of the church, all the way to those who sit in the pews. There is a pattern to these things, even from church to church, from one denomination to another, in one way or another. I have arrived at this from not any disconnected “psychological analysis”, but from personal experience with scripture and an intimate relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who by His mercy and grace brought me out of it.

If you have been spiritually abused in a church, by the pastor, or another church member, or even the group. You may tell your personal story here, anonymously. Just post it under the comment section here and I will create a post from that, leaving out the parts you choose, (names, places, etc). Your privacy will be vigorously protected. E-mail addresses, personal names will never be released to others, nor will any other privately communicated information. If you would like to talk to me personally, send an e-mail to SpiritualAbuseSanctuary@hotmail.com. I will be glad to talk to you. Skype chats can also sometimes be arranged. I am not a psychologist,  nor do I give medical advice, but I will be happy to listen to hurting people who have been through spiritually abusive situations in church, or in the home.

~God bless you,

Scarlett

Faith Healing Cults

 

 

More on the series of faith healing deaths of babies and small children done “in the name of God”.

See our other post on faith healing death here:

https://spiritualabusesanctuary.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/faith-healing-cults/

 

Faith Healing Cults

Followers of Christ Cult and the Church of the First Born Cult are faith healing splinter sects that have left a cruel and bloody trail of suffering, and now dead victims in their wake.  Many of these victims are helpless babies and small children who have no voice or decision about receiving life saving medical care or relief from pain and suffering.

Many, if not most of these victims could have been saved. In this case, the victim was a teen age boy who happened to be the victim of his parents aberrant spiritual beliefs, that going to a doctor is showing a lack of faith in God.The poor boy must have been influenced by his parents and his church’s beliefs. These cult members then lay the blame on God, that “it must have been God’s will not to heal”. This of course is a form of fatalism, but you’ll never get these brainwashed, doctrinally “indoctrinated” cult members to understand this. They get away with murder literally, hiding behind the religious freedom clause of the Constitution.

http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=518&Itemid=8

This Topix  forum link shows an ongoing debate with some of the Church of the First Born people. You would have a hard time comprehending some of the arguments they give trying to justify allowing babies and small children to suffer and die with horrible and painful conditions. Another one of this churches legalistic and cruel “doctrines” is that of shunning, or “disfellowshipping),  and casting out members who disagree with their doctrines or over some “sin”. This may also include being cast out of one’s own family and be considered “dead” to family members for the rest of the “offenders” life. You would not think this sort of thing goes on in churches called by the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, but this cult abuses that to the limits. In many of these so called churches it appears to have been taken over by Satan, not Jesus. I’m not kidding. I’ve studied them for years, and the stories that come out of this cult are heartbreaking.

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/watts-ok/TOJCMMD52KHNKCL6I/p67

 

These cult churches are scattered all across the United States from Indiana to Washington state. Thankfully, convictions are finally being handed out to these cult members, but too late to save the victims laying in small graves, their cries of pain now silenced by death. 

Spiritual Abuse in the Church~The Churches Best Kept Secret!

 

Where does it start? In the local church. Not only in the leadership in the church, but in the members as well. I know what the woman in this video says is true, because as a new believer, I saw and experienced this in two local churches I belonged to.

 

 

This is apostasy. Do not be deceived into believing the apostate church can be reformed….it can only be abandoned.

Remember what Jesus said: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8, 31-32

This truth will set you free if you obey Jesus and His Word. Church cannot save you. Man cannot save you. Only Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, and is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, can truly set you free from deception and manipulation. And whom the Son sets free, is Free indeed.

 

Mystery Meat Internet “Discernment” Ministries

Preaching and teaching is a calling, NOT A BUSINESS. Beware of those who try to make it a business, and therefore, effectively pilfer your bank account and possibly your soul, making merchandise of you.

 

 

Beware of these guys! So-called “Discernment Ministries” who’ve sprouted up all over the place since the advent of the Internet. The first thing to ask yourself when drawn into one of these blogs or sites, is how do you know this person has discernment? That’s pretty bottom-line, right?I mean, just because they say they have discernment doesn’t make it truth does it? Who exactly has made them the dispensers of God’s Word and Truth? The way it looks, if you think about it, THEY DID. Isn’t that what they’re saying when they advertise their blog, or website?

Look, I’m not saying that all online ministry sites are evil, or that they are perverting the Word of God, but think about it honestly….there is a great possibility that they just might be.What do you actually know about these types of “ministries”, since you can’t look them in the eye, face to face, to be able to examine the spiritual fruits in their lives? Would you make a serious business deal with a stranger, that you couldn’t meet and see eye to eye with the person? Of course not. Folks, where it comes to our spiritual walk down the Christian road, the most important issue in our entire lives, it’s of vital importance to know who and what we are dealing with. The choices we make in this will determine our complete life’s destiny.

If these, what I call Mystery Meat “discernment ministries” or “Watchmen” so-called, are dishing out material based on their view of doctrine, then we’d better be doubly cautious. We’re admonished by scripture time and time again, and by the Lord Jesus Christ’s own words to beware of false doctrine, false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, deception, merchandisers of the Word of God, thinking godliness is gain. We need to be sure that what we are hearing and taking into our spirits lines up with the Word of God, as led by the Holy Spirit.

And beware of that PayPal acct,  and donations page on their sites. This could be a sign they have a vested interest in gathering disciples unto themselves. Jesus warned that “The love of money is the root of ALL EVIL”. Why? Simply because money has the potential to have a corrupting influence in a person’s life.

I was checking out some of these sites on the Internet, and came across a site warning about such discernment ministries and heresy hunters. This was one that I felt was right on in line with scriptural warning to avoid them: http://www.templebuilders.com/anointing/16.htm What it had to say is what has been bugging me for a long time now. Christians have been watching the movie instead of reading the BOOK! 

Study the Word of God, and pray over it, asking the Holy Spirit, your teacher to teach you from scripture.Like the Bereans!

Acts 17:11

In that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

These things may be of God, but the word may contain leaven. There was a big problem with false doctrine at the church at Corinth and the first chapters of Corinthians deal with it. The church at Berea on the other hand, only received truth and searched it out. It did not matter if it came from Paul or Peter, or if someone was healed prior to the word, or if the fellowship was in love, THEY SEARCHED and so must you search as well, daily whether those things are so in scripture.

This word I am speaking to you may be 99% pure unadulterated word that produces the life of The Anointed One – Jesus, and 1% of that which is tainted by my soulish, natural man. We must discern and receive that which relates to Him only. Sometimes you may have to hear “99%” of that which pertains to the soul and God will change you with the “1%”, like the pearl of great price, you searched it out and rejected all but that one pearl. Jesus is that Pearl; He Who is the Word of God.

Some good sheep chow to chew on!

Welcome to Spiritual Abuse Sanctuary

This site has been created as a resource concerning spiritual abuses in the home, church or on the Internet.