“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
- FDR during his first Inaugural Address
This has to be one of the most memorable and inspiring quotes in American history. I love it because I think it is a great definition of what real fear can do to us, it can paralyze us and keep us from moving forward, from making progress.
FDR gave this inaugural address during a darker time in our country, and he meant it to give courage and hope to his listeners. I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to encourage us to use fear to manipulate each other, yet it could be the motto for many church leadership groups across the country.
Besides using Guilt and Shame to control and manipulate their followers, the church has learned that Fear is also an effective tactic. It’s quite the scheme they’ve got going on with first inviting you in with stories of God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness. Then BAM – God will smite you, punish you and send you to hell for eternity, if you don’t do what He wishes. Oh, and by the way, we are the only ones who know what He wishes – so, listen to us or you will burn in hell with all those other sinners. Listen to us, support our programs, donate 10% of your weekly earnings to us, buy our books, go on our mission trips, help us raise money for our new church building – and, please, stop hanging out with any of your friends who disagree with anything we say or, pay the consequences of going to Hell for eternity.
Well, maybe you don’t go to a Fire & Brimstone church, maybe you go to a Prosperity Gospel preachin’ church. Then, if you don’t listen to what we say and buy our pastor’s latest best selling book, then you will be poor, and as Americans we know that poverty is Hell on earth.
Regardless of what sadistic consequences pastors – fundamentalist or emergent - lord over their congregation to whip them into line, the result is paralyzing people. Stripping them of their humanity and identity. As I look at our country now and everyday see news stories about scandals, the poor economy, greed, murder and deceit – I can’t help but think about the famous quote from FDR. The church is churning out paralyzed, weak people and it is not only damaging them, but all of us.
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July 08 2009 | Christianity and Jesus and spirituality | No Comments »
The central message of the bible purports to be forgiveness, freedom from sin and reconciliation with God. But is that what most people experience? More importantly, if you call yourself a Christian, is that what you experience?
I know its taboo to talk of such things with in the church. Even just a peep of this internal conflict to your bible study group and everyone will begin to wonder, or gossip about what horrible sin you must have in your life.
But, let’s be honest here.
How do you feel during church service? Do you feel forgiven, refreshed, enlightened and alive?! Or, do you feel shameful and depressed? I’ve tried to have these conversations with a number of church-goers and they are incapable of telling me how they feel, instead they quote dogma, bible verses or lines from their favorite worship song. The guilt and shame from not living up to God’s glory – or the pastor’s expectations – keep them from connecting with their own emotions.
Guilt vs. Shame
Guilt and shame are so closely related that the two emotions are easily confused. Guilt results from regret over an action, whereas shame is uneasiness with who we are.
As mentioned on my previous post, I’ve come across a great number of people in the church that abuse their interpretation of scripture to guilt followers into submission. It’s only natural that after so much of this manipulation followers will begin to not only consider most of their actions to be sinful, but also make them feel very poor about themselves as emphasis is placed on what is wrong with them.
The Power of Shame
Shame can result in ugly and negative behaviors. It causes people to turn inward and begin avoiding others, possibly even attacking or striking out at others. We’ve all seen Christians full of hatred harshly lash out against people they consider “sinners” such as gays or abortion clinic workers. Scripture’s teachings about loving one another are a lost thought as these shame-burdened Christians hope for a moment’s relief from thinking they are unworthy.
I don’t know when this started, but it has become a nasty cycle that is passed from one generation to the next with more success than accurate teachings from the Bible. The church has become a sick institution run by people who are daily battling shame. The effects of shame show their ugly head in church power struggles, Christians withdrawing from the real world, holier-than-thou attitudes and many other actions that are very far from the experience we were promised on that first Sunday we stepped into church. Instead of hope, forgiveness and spiritual awareness, you find pew after pew filled of disenchanted, scared and ashamed people hiding behind a very thin wall of Christian jargon.
Having spent a lot of time in Christian circles, I know there are plenty of people who will be able to argue this point and tell me about their peace within. But after seeing what happens after the debate is over, and how people respond to their own failings, I know better. It’s really strange to me that the group of people who are most ferocious to preach forgiveness and peace and all that are usually the ones who are most unlikely to forgive themselves (or others, for that matter-but that’s another post).
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July 03 2009 | Christianity and Jesus and spirituality | No Comments »
If you’ve attended a church for any length of time and have gotten to know the leaders of the church, then you start to see that there is a vision (sometimes multiple visions) for the organization. Attend a church business meeting and you will get a quick lesson in the politics of church and realize they are run much like a business with goals, missions and a budget. However, unlike a business that can hold the consequence of unemployment for employees who do not perform up to par; the church has developed a different way of ensuring it’s members participate in a way that can help it obtain its outreach goals and fundraising goal for a new building.
This powerful tactic is……guilt, the first aspect of the Unholy Trinity.
I’m not even going to touch on the idea of sin and asking forgiveness (for now). Instead, I want to point out how every Sunday, pastors are stepping into their pulpits and preaching guilt-inducing sermons. The hope is that these sermons will control the congregation’s actions, specifically, how they live, how they vote, how active they are in the church, how they spend money, where their kids go to school, etc.
Not only is guilt a tool used by leaders in the church to affect members, it is a easily taught lesson to start having church members give each other guilt trips. Guilt is one of the most prominent emotions expressed in the church. I’ve heard the phrase, “I feel bad” more often in church than anywhere else. Church-goers are not only expressing guilt over their sins, but also over missing church functions or not measuring up to the church’s expectations.
For many of us the guilt can start at a young age, and maybe even came from our parents who told us that we should go to church. It seems innocent enough – a parent wanting their child to learn about life and spirituality, but this evolves into guilt being the prime motivation for an individual’s church activity.
Maybe we attend long enough to start participating in the special programs. Fellow church members say, “You really should go to this new Bible study”, or “You should help us with vacation bible school.” And the unfortunate few of us who get to attend a church that is raising money for a new building get an extra load of guilt as it seems they can’t contribute enough money to the fund.
But, how do any of these “should” help us discover truth and spiritual growth? The answer is that they can’t, because they are designed to meet the goals of the church, not of the spirit/higher power.
Guilt is a burdensome, negative emotion and in the church it is coming from an external pressure to manipulate people into certain actions. This type of “guidance” is the opposite of what many of us seekers desire, and prevents us from - a spiritual transformation that would result in more finely attuned internal conviction.
After experiencing so much guilt it is common for individuals to become ashamed of who they are, which brings us to the next part of The Unholy Trinity – Shame.
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July 01 2009 | Christianity and Jesus and spirituality | No Comments »
One of the first teachings I heard in the Christian church was about the Trinity, the idea that God exists in three persons united into One. The three “persons” are: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
If you’ve explored Christianity at all you are likely familiar with this idea. I have become intrigued by the power and mystery of the Trinity. Why the need for three different personas? I know many people would answer that question by digging into scripture and listing every possible Bible verse related to the topic. Instead, I examine how I see people interacting with the Trinity. I noticed that many Christians give very different characteristics to each being within the Trinity. Even in prayer, Christians communicate differently to God the Father as they do to the Holy Spirit or Jesus. It’s like each aspect of the Trinity has its own responsibilities, expectations, and functions to believers.
· God the Father, the all-knowing and powerful creator will provide for you
· Jesus died for our sins, and grants forgiveness of sins
· Holy Spirit lives within believers and provides guidance and wisdom
However, despite all the teachings on the Trinity, I found that many Christians are still confused on how the Trinity is part of their everyday life. And how does the Holy Trinity connect with their emotions, spirit, passions, desires, and thoughts?
After spending quite a bit of time in the Christian community and examining how the church’s teachings are affecting its followers, I have concluded that there is a another trinity in Christianity, but it is not holy in any sense of the word. It influences the followers of Christianity, but not in a way that is helpful. It is pervasive, and also perverted.
I call it the Unholy Trinity, and the three “persons” being united as One are:
· Fear
· Shame
· Guilt
I don’t have scripture or doctrine to back up my theory on the Unholy Trinity, but I do have my own experiences and the stories I’ve heard from Christians struggling within the church.
Over the next few posts I’m going to talk a bit more about each part of the Unholy Trinity. Stay tuned!
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June 30 2009 | Christianity and Jesus and spirituality | No Comments »
