Among other things, the results of 158 interviews with Catholic and Protestant clergy as well as interviews with victims, batterers and specialists in the domestic violence field are contained in the book. The author, Reverend Al Miles, is astonished at how many pastors are unwilling or do not really know how to deal with domestic [...]
Margaret was here LIVE on May 2nd, 2009 to discuss her book and answer questions.
Book Review
Margaret M. Jones Ph.D.
Not of My Making: Bullying, Scapegoating and Misconduct in Churches
First Printing 2008
Pluck Press, P.O. Box 516, Stoughton MA 02072-0516, www.pluckpress.com
ISBN: 978-0-9801491-0-4
Dr. Jones’ book is more than a memoir of abusive events in her life and her [...]
My Sensei made a comparison today that gave me a new perspective on controllers, the controlled and another category of people that are neither.
I agree with him that most people are sheep - they are used to following. I am still often in that mode of thought. Of course there are more than a few [...]
I was viewing the second video from Jeff VanVonderen on his site.
Lecture 2: The Abusive Religious System
One of the issues he addressed was the Can’t Talk Rule.
He said that unwritten rule comes to the surface when the person that addresses a problem becomes the problem to those that created the problem.
In a problem situation, many [...]
Are you looking for testimonies on spiritual abuse through control in the church? My husband and I have been members of the same church for 32 years. We were victimized by a combination of “church transitioning” into the Purpose Driven Church movement and the influence of dominionism through the Religious Right. The [...]
Originally I wanted to find Old and New Testament examples about the Body of Christ, but unfortunately I could not find any Old Testament references. References for the Body of Christ are found only in Paul’s letters. When examining biblical concepts, it has become a habit of mine to look for references in the OT, [...]
Doing things in the “right channels”
Mary Alice Chrnalogar discusses how different mindsets can cause a person to react to criticism about their pastor or group. She uses two fictitious persons as examples. One does not go to a controlling church and does not see criticism as sinful. The other person however, called “Eddie”, upon hearing [...]
September 20, 2006
There are various discussions on this topic, some insisting that it is a sin, some that say it isn’t. For those that hold scripture to be the authoritative work addressing “believers,” some answers can be found in it. Are the words “sin” or “disobedience” ever used in conjunction with a believer marrying an [...]
September 16, 2006
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.”
What does this phrase really mean? Where does it come from? Some use it to forbid Christians marrying non-Christians or discourage Christians from doing business with non-believers. Is that warranted?
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what [...]
September 12, 2006
“Shame on you!” A sentence like that is short, but sharp enough to embarrass and hurt another. If used by someone that is perceived to be in authority toward someone that is seen as subordinate, it can carry enough clout to break a person or severely impair them. Although guilt and shame are [...]
