The Naked Journal
Thoughts, musings, and meanings behind NakedPastor Art.
The Naked Journal
Why It's Important To Heal From Spiritual Abuse
I care about the victims of abuse. Especially church and spiritual abuse. This is what I do. Too often I see people treat such victims with bandages rather than with the serious interior work that's required. Even after the victim is removed from the abusive situation.Even after the victim is recompensed for his or her pain and suffering.Even after the perpetrator is punished.Even after the victim is advised about new skills to move on.Even after the trauma is over and done and history. The victim must be given the opportunity and any available resources to heal the damage, the wounds, the trauma, the hurt, the pain, that is within. This is my "Still Not Healed" cartoon. They must be given voice. They must be heard. They must be understood. They must be believed. They must be supported and encouraged and empowered in every possible way so that they can assume their free, independent, and sovereign authority over their own lives and resume their lives in healthy ways. I look forward to the day when churches stop using the bandage effect to cover up the symptoms of abuse and begin to deal with the real problem, and that's their propensity for abuse. Bandages don't cure. They just cover. Churches need to be healed within. And people do too. Related Blog Posts on Spiritual Abuse What is Spiritual Abuse? And how to recognize when it is happening to you.10 Reasons Why The Church Is The Perfect Culture For Abuse
Read more
The Dangerous Talk of Purity Culture and Modesty
The modesty and purity culture movement is both fascinating and frightening. When people start talking about purity, someone must die. The cry for cleansing conjures up suggestions of genocide. It reminds me of Rwanda. Religion was necessary in the development of human evolution to control violence by imputing guilt onto the scapegoat. I suggest this exposes the failure of religion because we continue to create, despise and ignore our victims at an ever-increasing rate. Thabiti Anyabwile's blog is "Pure Church" and his tagline is "a desire for an increasingly pure church". Scary. His popular post at the Gospel Coalition blog network titled, "The Importance of Your Gag Reflex When Discussing Homosexuality and Gay Marriage" is horrifying but important because it betrays a very real hatred of homosexuals. Thank God he said it because now we know it's real. It bears a genocidal nuance because it's a small step to calling them "cockroaches" to be cleansed from society. It's the same with the virginity, modesty and purity movement. This purity culture cartoon is called, Sacrificial Virgins, and available as a digital download. The demand for girls to be pure prepares the way for girls to become victims. Our sacrifices. I find the renewed story of Teresa Scanlan, Miss America of 2011, sad but telling. She was homeschooled and the homeschooling community was proud until the slut-shaming began and some started to criticize her because she wore a bikini, even to the point of questioning the genuineness of her Christian faith. She was an adored virgin until she became a despised slut. Those seem to be the only two options. Unless you're a wife. But that's a whole other issue. The pressure women are under, especially young women and girls, is astounding. Is it not true that on the one hand they're pressured to be pure virgins, but then on the other hand they're pressured to be promiscuous? Does it all circulate around their sexuality? Their vaginas? Is it all about whether or not they've been penetrated? Had? Is the female still a supplement to the male, complimentary, a helper? Something to fulfill the male? Like an accessory? An add-on? "You complete me"? The purity and modesty movement objectifies the woman for the man's pleasure whether it's to use the slut now or save the virgin for later. The daughter in this cartoon, about the same age as my daughter, has a good mom. They won't be just another tool in the man's shed. My daughter Casile sums it up well: "This stuff makes me so angry I can't even!" Related Purity Culture Blog Posts Why Purity Culture's Number One Tool is FearIs Purity Culture Stopping You From Enjoying Sex?5 Ways Puriture Culture Can Affect Your Sex Life
Read more
