Atheism and Spiritual Abuse
Hell as depicted in a medieval fresco at the Church of St. Nicolas, Bulgaria, Author Edan Anton Lefterov, (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
“Spiritual abuse is the act of making people believe — whether by stating or merely implying — that they are going to be punished in this life and/or tormented in hell-fire forever for failure to live a life good enough to please God and thus earn admission to heaven…Spiritual terrorism is the most extreme form of spiritual abuse and may cause serious mental health problems.”
–“Spiritual terrorism” by Boyd C. Purcell, MA, PhD [1A]
Many Christians would be offended by the expression “spiritual abuse”, especially as defined above.
Unfortunately, there are those who distort Christian beliefs, utilizing them for self-gratification and self-aggrandizement.
Religious leaders have at times weaponized religion, focusing on the most vulnerable among their flock. The cult leader and mass murderer, Jim Jones of the People’s Temple, is just one example of this.
More often, church leaders have stood by and tolerated abuse (spiritual, physical, sexual, and financial) both by clergy and church members, damaging their Christian witness and repelling non-believers. The Catholic Church sex scandal is a case in point.
While complicity by the organized church with abusers may not technically qualify as spiritual abuse according to this definition, it is experienced by a significant number of believers as such.
Forms of Spiritual Abuse
Spiritual or religious abuse can take various forms. But all forms of abuse involve control [1B].
- If inflicted by a romantic partner, family member, or friend, such abuse may involve ridicule of the victim’s religious beliefs, interference with the victim’s exercise of his/her religion, or misinterpretation of religious doctrine to justify mistreatment of the victim [2][3].
- If inflicted by clergy, it involves the misuse of religious authority to humiliate, harass, intimidate, exploit, or engage in sexual activity with the victim [4]. The sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages is one illustration. Forced conversion — whether by Islam or the Inquisition — is another.
Impact of Spiritual Abuse
In the short term, religious abuse can result in discouragement and demoralization. In the long term, it can result in lasting trauma (anxiety, depression, etc.) and the loss of faith.
The latter can manifest either as profound grief and a sense of abandonment by God, or profound anger and a rejection of God [5]. In either case, there is a spiritual wound created.
Reality of Heaven and Hell
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13: 41-42).
The reality of heaven and hell does not sit well with those who choose to deny the existence of God, even if out of pain. Unfortunately, those determined to will God out of existence do not realize that they are rushing headlong toward the abyss.
Love that Moves the Stars
“…but my desire and will were moved already – like a wheel revolving uniformly – by the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.”
–Dante, “Divine Comedy”, Paradiso 33
What those who pervert the Gospel fail to share with their listeners is that God offers us a way to avoid hell. Indeed, it is not through our own efforts, but His redemptive grace that we may do so.
Christ, through the ultimate act of love — His death on the cross for our sakes — restored the relationship between God and man. He extends a hand of friendship and forgiveness to all repentant sinners.
And all of us are sinners, not the least of which are those who spiritually abuse others (Mal. 2: 1-3, 6-8; Luke 17: 1; 2 Tim. 2: 18).
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[1A and 1B] Sage Journals, Vol. 15, Issue 3, “Spiritual terrorism” by Boyd C. Purcell, May/June 1998, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/104990919801500312.
[2] VeryWellMind, “Religious Abuse: Spotting the Signs and How to Cope” by Julia Childs Heyl, 5/8/23, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-religious-abuse-6259926.
[3] Patheos, “Abuse Is Not the Same as Persecution” by Olapeju Simoyan MD, 6/7/23, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithandcriticalthinking/2023/06/abuse-is-not-the-same-as-persecution/.
[4] Baylor University, “Clergy Sexual Abuse research”, https://socialwork.web.baylor.edu/research-impact/ongoing-research-and-projects/clergy-sexual-abuse-research.
[5] Spiritual abuse is not, of course, the only underlying cause of atheism. Pride, for example, can play a role.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 
Belief in God does not require belief in a devil. Belief in justice does not require belief in harm.
There is no justice if a criminal defendant can’t take the stand because he will be cross-examined on unrelated bad acts to prove a past character that is not on trial.
Spiritual abuse is the act of making people believe — whether by stating or merely implying — that they are going to be punished in this life and/or tormented …’
It is the law, and not religion, that has adopted spiritual abuse to send men and women to prison without being given a fair chance to tell their side of the story. [i.e. Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, etc.].
The alternative to prison is discipline in a suitable home centered environment that causes no harm. Restraints can be removed as milestones are met to set things right.
I am sorry, but I cannot agree w/ you in any respect. The Bible is the revealed word of God and makes frequent reference to the devil and hell. Christ, Himself, referred to the devil and hell.
There are those who choose evil, who even revel in it. Many will never reform.
Courtroom trials have taken the place of trial by combat. As for cross-examination, its very purpose is to get at the truth, rather than allowing self-serving rants.
There are certainly inequities in the law. However, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump are or were two of the most powerful men on earth. To claim that they have not been permitted an opportunity to defend themselves is nothing short of delusional.
That is no surprise. To deny the word of God is necessarily to fall into delusion. We create a god in our own image. We can no longer tell truth from falsehood or right from wrong. I strongly urge you to reconsider your position.
A good trial attorney knows how to cross examine a “rant” without bringing in phony prejudicial character material.
You seem to confuse evil (harm to self and others) with a devil. The devil is a mythical personification of evil and a necessary poetic invention. No one is known to be in hell or should have to go there according to Pope Francis.
Sadly, I am not the one confused. Pope Francis is mistaken and leading others into error.
Christ, Himself, said: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’….And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25: 41, 46).
Every word of scripture is for instruction. It may be prayer, myth, parables, dreams, or stories for the “little children”. Those who belong to the truth listen to Jesus. Only he knew the Father. The brutal LORD described in the Old Testament was part of the plays recited around camp fires. I suspect the apocryphal collection is larger than we know and all was written by well intentioned men to add their spin.
The traditions of ancient religion all had a devil style boogie man. Even the temptations of Jesus by the devil is considered an allegory to explain the three types of sin: flesh, pride, & envy. The temptations also suggest that even Jesus needed a conscience in his fully human form.
Becoming a child and being humble is being born again.
The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. God’s nature never changes (Mal. 3: 6; Heb. 13: 8).
The prophets did not speak from their own knowledge, but from wisdom imparted by God (Deut. 18: 22; 2 Pet. 1: 20-21). Nor did the authors of the Bible — Old and New Testaments — write fairy tales (Luke 24: 44-45; John 14: 17, 17: 17).
You have created your own theology, misusing Christian terminology and misapplying Christian principles. Hitler did the same. That should be a warning. At the heart of what you describe as an “adult conscience” is pride, rather than humility. You reject the truths you feel are beneath you.
God does not “put us in charge” as you seem to believe. We are His servants, working His fields (1 Cor. 3:9). Paul called himself a slave of Christ’s (Rom. 1: 1).
May God open your eyes.
Jesus corrected many things about Our Father for good reason. Your reference to Hitler is over the top (like some Old Testament stories).
I am not certain what you mean when you say Christ “corrected” many things about God the Father.
Christ never in any way disavowed the Old Testament. Indeed, Christ said He came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5: 17). What He criticized were the burdensome, manmade, religious practices the Pharisees had imposed; the Pharisees’ hypocrisy, ostentatiousness, and hard-heartedness (Matt. 23: 3-7, 13, 23-26).
It was not my intention to be argumentative or to offend you by referring to Hitler. For that I apologize. Hitler, however, led others into darkness misusing Christian terminology and misapplying Christian principles. See, Wikipedia, “Religion in Nazi Germany”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Nazi_Germany.
Rejecting the Old Testament, recasting Christ as an Aryan, and presenting himself as a “savior”, Hitler created a cult of personality and amplified antisemitism to murder 6 million Jews — exemplifying the very evildoers for whom you maintain there is no hell.
Yet many who believed themselves Christians welcomed his rise. See, Holocaust Encyclopedia, “The German Churches and the Nazi State”, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state. You are similarly at risk.
For you to characterize portions of the Old Testament as “over the top”, i.e excessive and inappropriate, is to apply a standard of your own you feel superior to the word of God. That can only lead in one direction. It is not heavenward.
The moral conscience develops differently in each person so it is diverse, subjective, and developmental. Conscience avoids temptation and evil (harm to self and others), and we each have different and changeable opinions about what is harmful and too risky.
Around puberty a childlike conscience must begin the transition to an adult conscience with pro-active skills for social, sexual, political, religious, family, educational, professional, recreational, and economic choices. Self observation is a form of voluntary suffering that brings the good and bad to our attention and produces the embryonic stage of mature free will. Bad habits can be replaced by good plans.
Conscience is often associated with the discipline of guilt and anxiety that accompanies bad choices. Few appreciate the grace (joy, self-control, success, and confidence) that accompanies good choices. Some simply thank their creator for their blessings and others go so far as to partner with the Holy Spirit (born again from above). The perfection of conscience makes us loving and fearless.
Morality is what you make of it, not how you view it. It is an attribute of the work itself. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Of course God’s objective will must be subjectively imagined.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, par 2478 states. “To avoid rash judgement, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way.”
Everyone has a natural right to reputation, respect, and dignity. Detraction and calumny are contrary to justice and charity. Calumny is the telling of a lie about someone, almost always to damage his reputation. Detraction is the telling of the truth about someone to a third party who has no right to that information, and at the risk of damaging the person’s reputation.
Will you think better of me if I say Satan and hell may exist in a form I cannot understand?
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does. James 1:25. So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. James 2:12.
I do not sit in judgment of you. I fear for you.
The verses from James you cite remove believers covered in the blood of Christ from condemnation under the law. But Scripture expressly warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5: 8-10). That is not a metaphor. Nor are believers exempt from temptation, which often comes in subtle forms.
You provide a psychological explanation for the development of the conscience. I would say God imparts a conscience to all men. But if that conscience is not grounded in the whole word of God, it can more easily go astray…all the more so, if a believer fails to recognize the existence of Satan.
That is precisely why we are instructed to put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6: 10-18). Note that those verses warn us of the wiles of the devil because “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Both the great prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel describe Satan’s fall (Isa. 14: 12-14; Ezek 28: 14-18) which is, also, mentioned by the Apostle John (Rev. 12: 3-4). Surely, these three giants of the faith cannot be dismissed as old men sitting around the fire concocting stories.
There is a quote often attributed to Baudelaire that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist. CS Lewis expounds on this in The Screwtape Letters, a book I think you would enjoy.
As for grace, I differ with you there, as well. Certainly the fruits of the Spirit include peace, joy, and self-control (Gal. 5: 22-23). But grace is the undeserved favor of God (Eph. 2: 8). It is that quality of God which goes beyond His mercy and forgiveness of our sins to extend gifts to us through the death and Resurrection of His Son (Rom. 3: 24, 5: 15). Grace provides us power for living, and sustains us in the face of adversity, despite our weakness (2 Cor. 12: 9).
Our confidence is never in ourselves. It is in God (Joshua 1:9; Jer. 17: 7). May He keep His hand on your life.
You hit the nail on the head Anna, spiritual abuse is a form of control and manipulation. I’ve seen so much of this through the years. Ministers who pull one text from scripture and use it to prove their point that someone isn’t measuring up to God’s standards and are thus going to Hell can be found in every denomination.
Legalism in the form of rules and policies have long been used to control the sheep, and nothing strikes fear into a heart like being told “you are not good enough”, and therefore your salvation is in question.
What happened to grace? What happened to mercy and love? Why isn’t compassion and forgiveness our primary message? The answer I believe is that when love, mercy, and grace is our message, we lose control.
Now there’s a novel concept. Instead of man, what if the Lord was in control of our lives?
Well said, Ron. You get to the heart of the matter.
A childlike conscience must become an adult conscience. An adult may become born again from the spirit above. That is how the Lord puts his children in charge.
Does an adult conscience, in your view, reject Scripture? Christ said that unless we become as little children and humble ourselves we will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18: 3-4).
I recall a story about two ministers trying out for a single pulpit. The governing board gave them both the same sermon topic to present: The Unbelievers’ Anticipation of Hell.
Both presented sound theology and excellent Biblical exposition, although #1 was a better orator. However, the board unanimously picked #2. When the losing minister asked why his oratory did not win the choice, the board responded, “Both of you gave solid theology, but you seemed to enjoy your sermon while #2’s heart seemed to break when he spoke of those going to hell.”
❤️&🙏, c.a.
I’ve never heard that story before. 🙂 It conveys God’s love for sinners. He does not wish to send us to hell, much as we might deserve that punishment. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3: 17).
They made a good choice. The attitude of the second preacher should be that of all of us when we think of of anyone’s being lost. 💔
“those determined to will God out of existence do not realize that they are rushing headlong toward the abyss.”
True. And this is especially damnable when it is so-called “religious” leaders themselves who are the victimizers.
Exactly.
Great post Anna..
Many claim to be a ” spiritual advisor” but in their heart they know that vulnerable people are an easy target to manipulate..
You also did well laying out the truth to the spiritually confused..
Thank you, Mary. That means a great deal to me.
Spiritual abuse also occurs when lies about the Christian faith are professed to be truth, and an unsuspecting listener/reader accepts what they’re told. Few take the time to find out why the Bible is a reliable source of truth and what God might say in his Word. You’ve done an excellent job of presenting appropriate scriptures above, Anna, that provide some important facts for the truth-seeker.
Thank you, Nancy. It is always difficult attempting to convey the truth in love to those steeped in error. There is so much confusion in the world today.
Indeed, my friend!
The Good News is only relevant if one knows the bad news first: We are separated from God by our sin and deserving of hell. But as you say, it’s abusive to omit the Good News. However, omitting the warning is equally abusive, like leaving a burning hotel and letting the other guests go on sleeping.
Yes, I hope I made that point clear.
You did. I was probably being redundant,🙄
No problem. 🙂