They went
out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of us.
Can the above scripture be used to cover over the acts of
abuse? I think not. What I have learned in my studies is that scripture cannot
be applied in such ways. The point being it must be applied to the context of
the scripture. In this passage, John is talking about the proto-Gnostics who
believed in an amalgam of Greek philosophy and Christianity. He was trying to
warn the people and explain why some left when their teachings were resisted by
the readers of the epistle. There is a stunning conclusion: these were NOT believers in Christ but were
seeking to live off the flock through their teachings.
In most cases the above scriptural application does not
apply at all UNLESS the premise is made that the ones who left were in some way
malformed or subnormal. This is the main manifest of a dysfunctional religious
group: it treats those who are a part of the group who are not fully embracing
the teachings of the group as somehow abnormal. I had it put to me this way
‘they were not converted’. In some way the work of Christ in their lives was
not complete. I might add that the viewpoint they hold of other believers is
much the same – anyone not in their sphere are assumed to be mongrels in the
faith and not true followers. This in itself is a conundrum to me now. The real
question is IF Christ does the work and is the sole implementer of the work,
then how is it that some who believe in Him are malformed? We are only the clay
and He is the potter. In other words, there cannot be any mistakes because He
who performs the work is perfect.
Yet in the dysfunctional religious group, there is no such
application. Why? Because it leaves the leaders powerless and they cannot be
seen or perceived as a determining factor in those they lead to obtain salvation
to ANY degree. Thus proper application of the scriptures would cross-circuit
the leadership. So what is the answer for them? Inject acts or teachings that
cause dependence on them from their members—this is the spirit of the
anti-Christ (true Greek: anti means substitute). It is very akin to those
proto-Gnostics identified and warned against in the first epistle of John. So,
being unscriptural, the group devolves from perhaps a healthy group into
dysfunction dragging members along with them down into the maelstrom of abuse.
Why? There is no accountability to anyone. There is no check or balance – the
word of God is used as a club to bludgeon instead of free. If there is a
dissenting voice, the yellow star is threatened to be applied and eternal
damnation looms. I know, I was told I was eternally damned when I was ejected
from the group in which I was a part. How anyone can make such a statement
today is beyond my understanding and reveals the true nature and spirit of the
one who wrote it.
How can any group do such things? It is in our fallen
nature. One of the most compelling examples of the stages of abuse is the
progression of the persecution of the Jewish people in pre WWII Germany. Here
is the progression.
1>
In the beginning, the Jewish people
were blamed for the state of affairs in Germany in the early 1930’s. All
sickness of the nation was due to this pariah. In the dysfunctional religious
group, there must always be a scapegoat and it usually some of the people’s old
sin nature that is deemed out of control by the leaders. Someone to point to as
a problem and infectious force that threatens the fiber and future of the
group.
2>
Secondly, because they were not of
Aryan descent, they were sub-human and were placed in with the physically and
mentally handicapped therefore a drain on the society and nothing more that
those who took resources but contributed nothing. The de-humanizing of a race
was soon underway. They began to be perceived as no longer human. How does this
apply to a dysfunctional religious group? Very much so. Remember I mentioned
above that those who did not adhere to the group fully were seen as not ‘fully
converted’? Thus the de-humanizing process is begun. Funny thing is for the
most part, everyone is in this state unless they are a part of the inner
circle. This usually means only a few and most of those are usually family
members of the leadership or the fiercely and blindly loyal – more zealot than
true disciples (there is indeed a difference!). They become the master-race.
All aspire in the group to reach such status…to become human and the only way
to that is to pledge unflinching loyalty to the leader. This in itself is
chillingly present in the dysfunctional religious group. The pledge is not made
to the teachings, nor the divine as much as to the one that originates the
teachings and so the way to the Divine. In Germany at this time, oaths were
made not to the nation but to Hitler and these oaths were to the death. These
acts of submittal are replete in a dysfunctional group and go beyond any
scriptural application of submission.
3>
Third, they were cloistered (that is
a mild word of a ghetto) from the rest of society and left to starve and work
unceasingly for the Reich. How does this apply? It is a further step in
de-humanizing, the member who dissents is tolerated under the guise of
forbearance but every sermon directly addresses them and denigrates them in
some off hand and indirect accusation or insinuation. Everyone in the group
knows who is being pointed out. There is an intangible separation that begins
and increases to where the person is ‘there but not there’. Yet the giving of
tithes is still expected and may become a major point of contention between the
dissenter and the leaders. The person is seen as only a source of income to the
group and nothing more – the star has been firmly placed. In the Polish ghettos
where the Jews of Germany were eventually shipped as cattle, they were so
marked. Them and their children. This had untold damage upon those that wore
them. They were a part of a society that rejected them and told them that they
were nothing better than an animal; the sludge of the Reich.
4>
Fourth, the Jews were eventually
sent to camps where there was no return. There was a void of compassion and
care. They were simply a nuisance that must be dealt with. The zyklon b was
dropped in the showers and the bodies piled and the furnaces burned to heat the
homes of the leaders. Their final use was in their death. They were used to reinforce the leaders’
treatment of them and to cast a fear into the remaining society that they too
could be so marked and processed. The Stockholm Syndrome was in full play. And
so it is in a dysfunctional religious group. Many times ex-members are pointed
to as examples of failure and regression back into the ‘world’ as they call it.
While those still on the inside grow fearful of such acts being performed on
them and so further bond to the leaders all the more out of fear of reprisal. After
all, in their misguided use of the scriptures, the verse of 1 John is invoked
to cover the blood-letting.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they
had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us: but they went
out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
A friend once told me as we were discussing the group (both
of us ex-members). He said to me if there were only a few bodies, then it would
be said by a passerby ‘What a tragedy’ but when the bodies are so many, it
would be said ‘What is happening here?’ I thought that was a good analogy for
what is going on.
When some leave, they do not continue in the faith but lose
it. They are seen doing all sorts of things that are no doubt stretching the
bounds of the Lord’s grace and patience but do I believe that it is their
fault? No I do not. These who have left the dysfunctional religious group
having the yellow star are in a great deal of pain. A good application is the
experience of Elie Weisel who was imprisoned in one of the death camps:
Behind me,
I heard the same man asking:
"For God's sake, where is God?"
And from within me, I heard a voice answer:
"Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows..."
"For God's sake, where is God?"
And from within me, I heard a voice answer:
"Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows..."
As I said, they take
everything. I do not believe God will hold those who have experienced such at
the hands of others without taking what was done to them into account. There is
a compassion that Christ has for those who have suffered in such a way. His
hand is even extended to those who refuse him now. My friend if you are like
this, God is still awaiting your return to Him and in that pathway is healing
and reconciliation to God. Be reconciled He Is waiting.
Does the yellow star ever leave? I would put it this way…how
can it? When we meet or attempt to with estranged family (because they are
still in the group), it is the yellow star they see. We are demonized and
de-humanized in their eyes because of the teachings of which they are still
under. It is easy to walk away, call the police, write nasty letters and
benignly ignore those to whom the star is affixed. We are no longer human to
them, we are the blight on their lives and no matter what we do, the star
remains because it is tattooed on us.
In the Judgment, when we stand together with them before the
seat of Christ, what will He see? He will see the yellow star marking the
injustice and lack of humanity done in His Name.
No comments:
Post a Comment