Marks
of Abusive Religious Groups
By Rev. Keith
Gibson
Often
in cult ministry we focus on groups that deny central
aspects of the Christian faith such as the Trinity,
deity of Christ, salvation by grace etc. Many Christians
believe that if they simply look at a doctrinal statement,
they will be able to spot potentially harmful organizations.
Such may not be the case. There are many groups,
such as University Bible Fellowship and International
Church of Christ which look very good on paper but
are involved in practices that can prove spiritually
damaging. Our Kansas City office has recently become
involved with one such group. It is important that
believers are able to move beyond the doctrinal statements
to recognize other telltale signs of danger.
Elitism. Abusive religious groups see themselves as
a cut above all others. Whether this manifests in a
belief that they are the only true church or merely
that they are the most dynamic and committed, other
churches are viewed with suspicion and disdain.
Manipulation.
Following closely on the heels of the elitism are
subtle practices
of manipulation. Most
of the time, this is accomplished by limiting options.
An easy way to understand this concept is to picture
a rat in a maze. Though no one physically touches the
rat to move it in a particular direction, the choices
the rat is given are so limited that its course is
essentially predetermined. Similarly, alternatives
are presented to the member in such a way that only
one choice is really possible. For instance, “Do
you want to be wholehearted for Jesus or continue to
love the world and run track?”. Obviously no
one wants to be thought of as loving the world. But
the thought is never allowed that the member might
be able to glorify God by using God-given athletic
abilities. By presenting the alternatives in this way,
the leader of the group is able to conform the behavior
of the members into his/her ideal. At the same time,
the member feels like he/she is the one who made the
decision. Thus it is not uncommon for members to protest
that they are not being coerced. “I chose to
quit track. No one made me do it.” Technically,
they are right. However, the pressure applied made
conformity inevitable, especially if one has already
bought the message that this is the only true church.
Commitment to God = Commitment to Group. In abusive
groups a subtle switch is made that causes commitment
to the activities and beliefs of the group to equal
commitment to God. This may be extremely difficult
to spot at first because most of us express our commitment
to God through faithfulness and ministry in our local
church. The difference is one of degree. Imagine a
student in college. Abusive groups may ask the student
to lead small-group studies on multiple nights of the
week. Other nights may be consumed with gatherings
of the entire group and leadership training. On weekends
the group has evangelistic outreach activities and
of course there are regular special emphasis weeks.
The student may find that their class work or family
life is suffering under the burden. However, if he
questions the amount the group is requiring he will
be told he needs to stop loving the world and go wholeheartedly
after God. Never is the thought allowed that God may
actually want him to study or spend time with his family.
Rigidity. In abusive
groups everything is black and white. There are few
areas
of conscience in which Christians
can legitimately disagree. Related to this is a heavy
emphasis on works. These groups rob members of intimacy
with God for one can never do enough, sacrifice enough,
follow the rules close enough to be sure that God has
been satisfied. Many of the members of these groups
live in a morbid self-reflection, consumed with worry
over whether or not God can accept them today. Some
members of the group, especially those who are new
or close to the leadership, may actually feel that
they ARE keeping all the rules. These members tend
to become very judgmental of others in the group they
perceive to be weaker. One young man, when I questioned
why he had pressured another member to cut his hair
a particular way, responded coldly, “Well I was
worried about _____ because it didn’t look like
he had left enough behind to me.”
Much more could
be said including the use of guilt, milieu control
and a
host of other characteristics
but the sample above should give the discerning Christian
a foundation for recognizing the practices of spiritually
abusive groups. Paul Martin has called these signs, “the
footprints of the wolf”. In order for us to protect
ourselves and our families one thing is certain, we
must look deeper than the doctrinal statement.
Rev.
Keith Gibson
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