Archive | February 2013

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Broken Cisterns: Cultic Codependency (Part 1 of 2)

“Steve, you sound angry,” my pastor said. His voice dripped like brown caramel on my head. The room spun and roared. “No,” I said, but my fists clenched. Ferris* had just told me that I couldn’t go to college yet—I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t spiritually mature enough. Outside, I could see summer sun lean heavily […]

Why Spiritually Abused People Should Not Repent… And Why They Should

By Steve Smith February 23, 2013 8 Comments

If you carry around a burden of guilt because you were spiritually abused, this post is for you. The question is: Do people who have been spiritually abused need to repent for allowing themselves to be abused? Dr. Stephen Crosby—who himself experienced spiritual abuse in the past—wrote in a recent blog post: “If you have […]

Should We Repent for Allowing Ourselves to be Spiritually Abused?

By Steve Smith February 19, 2013 10 Comments

Should we repent for allowing ourselves to be spiritually abused? Yikes. I am re-posting the following article in its entirety from my friend Julie Anne Smith’s blog, Spiritual Sounding Board. It refers to an original post by Dr. Stephen Crosby. This article will make you think. I came across an article on spiritual abuse Spiritual Abuse: […]

Fifteen Feathers of a Legalist (Part 2 of 2)

By Steve Smith February 12, 2013 5 Comments

Legalism is a human system which counterfeits the work of God. It settles for religion when God actually calls us into relationship. I know. I was a legalist for 25 years. In this two-part series, we’re looking at the fifteen “feathers” which help identify a legalist. You can read the first post here, which explains feathers […]

Fifteen Feathers of a Legalist (Part 1 of 2)

By Steve Smith February 9, 2013 10 Comments

Birds of a feather flock together. Ornithologists identify flickers of movement in a thicket as a particular bird. They do so by catching characteristics peculiar to a certain species. Wing feathers, tail feathers, and head or throat feathers all serve identifying purposes. In the two posts in this series you will find fifteen “feathers” to […]

One Who Got Away: Libby Phelps Alvarez, Religious Brainwashing, and the Westboro Baptist Church

By Steve Smith February 6, 2013 2 Comments

We’ve all seen the signs; we’ve all heard the rhetoric of hatred: “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “Soldiers die; God laughs.” The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas remains America’s best-known and least-understood cult. Founded by Pastor Fred Phelps, the rural church believes that the deaths of soldiers and Marines evidences God’s righteous judgment on […]

Rachel Held Evans and the Scandal of the Evangelical Heart

By Steve Smith February 2, 2013 4 Comments

Sometimes I encounter a blog post so compelling, it stops me in my tracks. The other night I couldn’t sleep. Wind shrieked outside as a cold front clawed through Columbus. I padded downstairs over thick carpet and curled on the couch beneath my blue blanket. Cozy. I drank a cup of blueberry coffee and turned […]