We don’t believe in mental diagnoses or mental illnesses. There are no mental disturbances, only spiritual ones. Feelings are always inferior to spiritual control and dominion.
Our bodies are always wrong/inherently evil and sinful. Even though God created our bodies, we cannot trust them. We must ignore and shame our “carnal desires,” especially women. Simultaneously a woman must worship her husband and his body as though he is God, to whom she can never say no.
God applauds me for enduring suffering as long as I cling to the delusion that he wants me to experience it and that he is “using” my suffering for the good of others.
By practicing continuous self-abandonment, we live in a constant state of shame and learned helplessness (only God can help me; I cannot know or help myself).
God can only save me if I abandon and reject myself daily, thoroughly. Anything that comes into my path is either holy and God-sent or demonic. I must “test the spirit” to find out which. I test it by projecting my religiosity onto the situation.
Forgiveness must be automated or at least the idea of it is. This keeps us feeling morally “clean” because we are naturally very dirty.
It’s normal to expose children to gory, sexual, apocalyptic things as long as they are “biblical.” The sexuality of children should be discussed and even shamed. Then we will wonder why so many children and teens want to explore their sexuality in non-linear ways. We shame them for this as if we didn’t start the conversation.
Finally, there are no other truths worth exploring other than those spoon-fed to us by “religious leaders”–men who claim spiritual or moral authority positions because of their closeness to God. It is sinful to question anything we are told about God, because it means we lack faith.
The truth is not something we discover, test, or confirm for ourselves. Alternative truths do not exist. We are moral absolutists, even though God in his own words is not one. Only if you conform to our understanding of God can you access the “peace” that comes with it. You must also be at peace with not knowing and seeking answers to your questions; you must accept cognitive dissonance and ignore your urge to resolve it. We pity and look down on those who are not also slaves to religiosity. There is no place for free thinking in our congregation; a free-thinker is deeply troubled at a spiritual level and must consult pastors or their Bible for clarity. Our main concern for them is not quality of life, but rather that they be safe from eternal damnation.
Leave a Reply