September 1, 2011
Book Review: The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
There are some books you read, say "that's nice", put on your shelf and forget about. "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" (Bethany House Publishers) is not one of them. In fact, the reader should be forewarned: this book will mess with you.
And that's not at all a bad thing. In fact, as author's David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen winsomely walk the reader through the definition and symptoms of spiritual abuse it can be disturbing at first, then tremendously freeing.
The authors define spiritual abuse as "mistreatment of a person who is in need of help, support or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening, undermining, or decreasing that person's spiritual empowerment." This is accomplished through abuse of authority, guilt, rules of silence, preservation of image, and the trap of increasing levels of legalism. And the purpose of all this is to maintain a kind of spiritual dictatorship over the life of the victim.
Or, as a very wise man put it to me often, "The issue is seldom the issue. The issue is control."--in this case, men and ministries who seek to control the spiritual lives of others. And as one turns the pages of this book, the conclusion is inescapable: there are many such men and ministries. The authors are careful not to name names, but as they describe the methods and motives of the abusers it was hard to escape comparisons to groups both here in Brazil and in the United States.
As I read through this book (and indeed, I had a hard time putting it down) I was appalled by two things: 1) how easy it is for respectable men and ministries to succumb to the temptation to spiritually abuse those in their sphere of influence, and 2) how easy it is for me to fall to the same temptation. It is a lot easier to lead by guilt than by grace. The behavioral effects of "laying down the law" are much more immediate than those of meting out mercy.
And as a missionary, this passage, from page 164, made me squirm:
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the time has come for us all to examine ourselves and what we mean by "spreading the good news" about Jesus Christ. Are we evangelizing--that is, spreading the heavenly message that begins, "Peace on Earth, good will towards men"? Or are we recruiting?...Are we seeking to liberate the burdened and lost--or...are we still trying to validate ourselves?
Ouch.
The subject matter of this work is so important, I would highly recommend it for everybody in ministry, and only somewhat less strongly for everybody being ministered to. I do have one caution: on pages 69 and 70, in a section called "Identifying the Abusive System", the authors talk about "extreme objectivism". It soon becomes clear that they mean a cessationist view of divine revelation. They even resort to the tired coninuationist slogan about being left with "a Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible." While I'm sure there can be extremes in the cessationist position, when it comes to spiritual abuse I believe a far greater danger lies with leaders who claim to have direct communication from God. And to be fair, the next section of the chapter deals with just this problem.
With that one caveat, I highly recommend this book. Read it, and let its words sink in. The spiritual life you save could be your own.
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Posted by Andrew on September 1, 2011 12:00 AM.
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Comments
Posted by: hhcomings at September 1, 2011 7:54 AM
By the way - for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know me (and cares) :-)- When I say I agree with an open system, I do not agree with the "logical" conclusion that God is still giving more Scripture. I believe he speaks to hearts, but that he has moved us into an era where we have the capability of sorting out his voice from a cacophony of others by testing what is said by the fixed benchmark of the completed and sufficient affidavit of Scripture.
Posted by: hhcomings at September 1, 2011 7:58 AM
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Having just finished "Love Wins," I'm going to have to scrounge around and relocate my copy of "Spiritual Abuse." A good part of what makes Bell's thesis so compelling is a reaction to the manipulative and abusive use of the truth of eternal judgment. Your observation about the section on cessationism fleshes out the picture a little more in "Love Wins" and his insistence on an open system (with which I agree) and the logical conclusion that God may still be giving inspired revelation and it may be rendering old revelation obsolete. I find that demagoguery flourishes in both the cessationist and the non-cessationist camps. It is a part of the fallen nature of man and can even find lodging on a Kindergarten playground. Great and, for me, timely review. Thanks.