Customer Reviews

Churches That Abuse

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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)

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.

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).

This book is a must-read for those who have suffered spiritual abuse, and for those who work with them. Mr. Enroth gives many real life stories of persons who became involved in harmful churches and groups. He shares what happened to these individuals, and then describes the patterns of abuse so that the reader can recognize signs of abuse or potential abuse. The reader will be able to see the similarities among various groups. The psychological and sociological ramifications are described. An extremely important contribution; this book will enlighten, warn, instruct, and maybe even shock you.

This book was instrumental in revealing to me things that were wrong in the church I was attending when I read the book.
It helped me know I wasn't "crazy" or rebellious or misunderstanding things. I was being abused and God used the truths in this book to set me free.
"Who the Son sets free is free indeed..."

In a world of "mega-churches" and cults of personality, it more important to arm oneself with the truth, and not someone else's version of it. While the examples in the book are taken from the late 1980's, and back about a century, there are many examples everyday of the devastating consequenses of spiritual abuse. Whether it is David Koresh and the Branch-Davidians, Jim Jones and Jonestown, or even Andrea Yates (who's mental illness was only worsened by her husband's minister) the results are tragic. Bad churches happen when good people don't step up and say anything. Read this book and recognise the patterns.

This is a excellant book. Not only for active Christians to read and study, but also for those who have been hurt in life, by Churches that have abused them.
This book came too late for me. I was a convert to a well known "church" denomination, that is a thriving cult in itself.
We were required as faithful members to attend special rituals, that were considered secret and "sacred". Along with this holy ritual we were sworn to secrecy with secret handshakes, signs, tokens and symbols. These things not to be shown to the outside world, or even to fellow Christians.
Coming out of this "church", and breaking away from it, was a mind wrenching experience. And taking it's toll on emotions was devistating.
This book should be read by even those in pastoral seminaries and bible schools also, as to how a Church should not be conducted by those in power.
Church counselors, and those in mental health professions could do well reading this book.

There are extreme forms of church abuse and subtle forms. As we grow as individuals we need to learn how to use our wisdom to prevent us from getting involved in abusive situations like church cults. I really didn't need to read much of this book to know the author's motivation for writing it. I was a member the church that ultimately inspired Mr. Enroth to write this book. Fortunately for me, I was not easily controlled, but there were still things that I went along with simply to appease people I assumed were my friends. Unfortunately, there were members who were not a strong willed and this led to broken homes, severed relationships, and suicide attempts among many other things that left me questioning my own sanity for being involved in something that so obviously had nothing at all to do with God. Read this book if you or someone you know is involved in a religious cult because it might very well save a life or at the very least save someone's sanity.

I have a few books on my shelf on this topic, but this one was the most impact-full to me in terms of its intensity.
This was due to how extensive the examples of abuse are.
Like Fox's book of martyrs, I had to read it in bites, and put it down occasionally.
I guess I'm not very thick skinned :~/

If you are a serious leader in the church, you should be familiar with this material.
Some will say that these events prove that Christians can find safety from abuse within the institutional walls.
But so didn't the children of Israel find safety within the well protected walls of Egypt.
Every institution of man has its pros and cons.
And if you know what to look for, you can always identify the servants and the masters there.

This is why I found this particular book so important.
As I observed the characteristics of one abusive Christian system after another, I started to see the necessary building blocks which lead to the abuse.

For me, the bottom line is, that there are large numbers of people in the world who are very happy being followers. And out of these, are a large number of vulnerable souls.
Vulnerable people are easy to take advantage of.
And it takes a very high level of Christ-character not to be drawn into doing so.
The seed of abuse is inherent within our first Adamic nature.
When the environment is conducive, the seed germinates, and if the new-man does not cast it off, (Hebrews 12:1) we soon have a very large tree.

To be the CEO of Enron requires a high level of academic achievement, business acumen, and charisma.
And so, when an instructionalized clergy-laity system, based on the template of the world exists, the fruit is inevitable.

Men who are put into positions of leadership within a church, which following the template of the world, selects them solely by academic achievement and charisma.
Men, in authority with very little Christ-character worked into their lives are seed beds of abuse ready to germinate.
Place that seed into the ground of vulnerable and submissive followers, and you have today's Christian version of Enron.

This book will help you to see the signs.
100% thumbs up.

This book is very important, especially since we are living in the last days. There are organizations masquerading as Christian churches when their lifestyles and theology are far from Christian. Even in the church, we must "try the spirits to see whether they be of God". Any pastor or organization that exalts themselves where Christ belongs are false. We must hold them accountable for abusing the precious name of Jesus for their own selfish purposes. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to help friends and loved ones be truly "set free" from the mind control of wolves in sheep's clothing