Churches That Abuse [Hardcover]

Ronald M. Enroth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1992

A look at churches that practice authoritarian leadership, manipulation, excessive discipline, and spiritual intimidation warns and informs readers about such organizations, naming names and offering advice on identifying a fringe church.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310532906
• ISBN-13: 978-0310532903
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Other Denominations & Sects

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the first books to talk about religious abus, May 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Churches That Abuse (Paperback)

There is a myth out there that unless the church is part of some far-out cult it is 100% safe.

The truth is there are churches that abuse, even in mainline and evangelical protestant denominations.

The book perpetuates the myth some as the examples are given from more cult-ish groups.

No, not every church abuses. Sometimes otherwise healthy, vibrant churches can have unhealth, abusive pockets or sub-groups in them due to the negative influence of one or two leaders. And emotionally abusive parents can visit spiritual abuse on their children even in an overall healthy church.

The outline of the chapters in the book gives an excellent guide for evaluating one's church experience and if it is abusive:

Ten characteristics of churches that abuse:

* Abusive churches use fear, guilt and threats:

1. Control-oriented leadership

2. Manipulation of members

* Abusive churches see themselves as special:

3. Spiritual elitism (e.g., dogmatism)

4. Perceived persecution

* Abusive churches foster rigidity:

5. Lifestyle rigidity (e.g., legalism, performance oriented)

6. Emphasis on experience (e.g., experience of leaders is key source of truth)

* Abusive churches discourage questions:

7. Suppression of dissent (e.g., dogmatism--only our view is right; "trust and obey")

8. Harsh discipline (e.g., legalism, shunning, control of dating & family relationships, etc.)

* Abusive churches make leaving painful:

9. Denunciation of other churches (e.g. salvation is only through us, our brand of faith)

10. A painful exit process (shunning, humiliation, starting over in relationships and/or financially)

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book to own and to regularly review, September 10, 2004

By 

L. L Teuling "meloroze" (McAllen, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Churches That Abuse (Hardcover)

This book was published in 1991. But the central message is as true now as it was then. The church can be a wonderful source of comfort, spiritual guidance and fellowship to Christians. But unfortunately, there are churches -- some of them seemly "mainstream" -- that exercise too much authority in the lives of the people who attend them.

Ronald Enroth gives a list of red flags to look out for to indicate an abusive church. For me, one of them stands out strongly: when a particular person in the church (often, but not always, the pastor) announces him/herself as the channel through which God is working and that obedience to that person is a sign of being truly submitted to God. Some of them will even go as far as to say that if they are wrong, God can still use that for the ultimate good.

Well -- technically, that could be right. If you'll pardon a cliche, God can and does make lemonade out of lemons all the time. But nowhere does the Bible teach that we are to deliberately subject our judment, spiritual discernment and independent thinking to another person.

Since the book was written over 13 years ago, some of the groups Enroth describes may have changed -- but the warning is still there, and it is good for Christians to be aware that there are people who want to steal away the freedom that Jesus Christ can give. He explains why this can happen and gives suggestions on how to either avoid it or get out of the abusive situation.

This book is at its best when reviewed a lot.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights Into Abusive Churches, April 21, 2005

By 

Roy Ingle "The Seeking Disciple" (Lexington, SC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Churches That Abuse (Hardcover)

I believe we all know of people who have been in abusive relationships and even abusive job situations but it is sometimes hard to imagine people getting involved in abusive churches. That is why this book is a must read for every disciple.

This book exposes abusive churches. Dr. Enroth even names names. Every chapter opens with an abusive story. Each person is real. Each person has been hurt by abusive churches. The irony is that the leaders discussed in the book fail to see their abuses. Many try to cover them up or simply ignore the pain they have dealt to others.

In the end, I appreciated Dr. Enroth showing the reader that Jesus is not the abuser. While most of these religious groups claim to be speaking in His name or even quote Scripture, they have twisted the teachings and practices of Jesus to be something He never intended (1 John 5:1-4). Truly, Jesus is not like men (Hebrews 13:8) and He will not cause us the pain that is found in this book (Matthew 11:28-30).