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Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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What an interesting, and in-depth article by a psychologist who used to be an evangelical christian.
As a writer Valerie tackles the intersection between religious belief, psychology and politics, with a growing focus on women’s issues and contraceptive technologies that she thinks are upstream game changers for a broad range of challenges that humanity faces.
There is a lot of meat in the article, and I will only quote a few salient excerpts:
Quote:
When it comes to psychological damage, certain religious beliefs and practices are reliably more toxic than others.
Quote:
In Bible-believing Christianity, psychological mind-control mechanisms are coupled with beliefs from the Iron Age, including the belief that women and children are possessions of men, that children who are not hit become spoiled, that each of us is born “utterly depraved”, and that a supernatural being demands unquestioning obedience. In this view, the salvation and righteousness of believers is constantly under threat from outsiders and dark spiritual forces. Consequently, Christians need to separate themselves emotionally, spiritually, and socially from the world.These beliefs are fundamental to their overarching mental framework or “deep frame” as linguist George Lakoff would call it. Small wonder then, that many Christians emerge wounded.
Quote:
Because the child’s mind is uniquely susceptible to religious ideas, religious indoctrination particularly targets vulnerable young children. Cognitive development before age seven lacks abstract reasoning. Thinking is magical and primitive, black and white. Also, young humans are wired to obey authority because they are dependent on their caregivers just for survival. Much of their brain growth and development has to happen after birth, which means that children are extremely vulnerable to environmental influences in the first few years when neuronal pathways are formed.
These apologists teaching people they are utterly depraved is the one that makes me sick to my stomach the most. Any parent who teaches their children that kind of thing should have the children taken away from them and the parents put in prison for child abuse. That kind of mental torture is sometimes worse than physical abuse. Physical wounds heal, but psychological wounds last a lifetime. Look at those who live all their lives terrified they are going to hell because of what the parents indoctrinated them with from the cradle.
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster...when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you"
- Friedrich Nietzsche
I think the closing paragraph is the most important one:
Quote:
Religious trauma is difficult to see because it is camouflaged by the respectability of religion in culture. To date, parents are afforded the right to teach their own children whatever doctrines they like, no matter how heinous, degrading, or mentally unhealthy. Even helping professionals largely perceive Christianity as benign. This will need to change for treatment methods to be developed and people to get help that allows them to truly reclaim their lives.
The perception that Christianity is largely benign has to change, and that isn't going to please its practitioners, they will fight it tooth and nail. But it is gradually changing nevertheless.
This not like the church were I go , as Jesus Christ has come to set people free indeed and man with their legalism man made doctrines come and bind people up , where Jesus is not into legalism , as there is no faith in the abuse and Jesus put His trust that people will be free to stop sinning with out the control of man , and through His spirit bring more life .............See the church were I go gives liberty to Jesus Holy Spirit which go a long way with easy with relief ..................Where other church rely on legalism as they are weak in the spirit and legalism is the way to go but faith will be lost so God will not be there .............. As far is the devil is concerned believers need to obey the commandment of love and the devil will not have a place as the tough love which invites the devil is not of God through Jesus , so the devil will beat these people up who use tough love to control people .................. So people should learn that there are better churches out there who are into truth and not some watered down form of godliness which abuses people
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster...when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you"
- Friedrich Nietzsche
I like my Nietzsche with a side of Rumi.
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about
language, ideas, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.
If you dig a pit for others to fall into,
you will fall into it yourself.
Many of the faults you see in others, dear reader,
are your own nature reflected in them.
The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks
is a minor hero
compared to the lion who overcomes himself.
Valerie Tarico Has been a godsend to me. she has a youtube channel were she puts God through the cognitive lens. Awesome stuff!
These apologists teaching people they are utterly depraved is the one that makes me sick to my stomach the most. Any parent who teaches their children that kind of thing should have the children taken away from them and the parents put in prison for child abuse. That kind of mental torture is sometimes worse than physical abuse. Physical wounds heal, but psychological wounds last a lifetime. Look at those who live all their lives terrified they are going to hell because of what the parents indoctrinated them with from the cradle.
I agree completely. My parents did it to me. I've needed actual medical intervention.
I think the closing paragraph is the most important one:
The perception that Christianity is largely benign has to change, and that isn't going to please its practitioners, they will fight it tooth and nail. But it is gradually changing nevertheless.
thinking "christianity" has to do with any evil has to change. People do it, not religion. People are sick, not religion.
Who says a dude died, woke up, and flew away ... literally? religion? If people didn't say it, it wouldn't be said. ex-fundy-mentals that can't blame the proper people (their family and friends) are far more dangerous than any religion and equally as dangerous as fundy mental believers.
These apologists teaching people they are utterly depraved is the one that makes me sick to my stomach the most. Any parent who teaches their children that kind of thing should have the children taken away from them and the parents put in prison for child abuse. That kind of mental torture is sometimes worse than physical abuse. Physical wounds heal, but psychological wounds last a lifetime. Look at those who live all their lives terrified they are going to hell because of what the parents indoctrinated them with from the cradle.
Psychological wounds last a lifetime only if you have a weak mind or you allow it to..
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