SPIRITUAL VIOLENCE 精神暴力(根据前两篇杂志文章而作)
by Cheptoo M
Spiritual violence has been expressed in many different
ways throughout human history. It is not something new. Acts of spiritual
violence in the community ranges from condemnation and casting out of people
who don’t believe in the religion that other people believe in to killing
witches and heretics. However, in the past few years, this violence has been
focused greatly on the LGBTQs. Different religious organizations have different
beliefs about this group of people. However it is clear that many of these
organizations, despite their beliefs being different, ultimately violate these
people’s rights in the name of religion. People are fast to judge others based
on religion for their own selfish motives. LeClaire, in her article ‘Spiritual
Abuse, Christians Cults and Controlling Ministries’, observes that, ‘Spiritual
abuse occurs when someone in a position of spiritual authority… misuses that
authority placing themselves over God’s people, to control, coerce or manipulate
them for seemingly godly purpose which are really their own.’(qtd Van Vondren,
2).
Many people are affected by spiritual violence everyday
in their communities and even in their own families. Some of the main victims
of this kind of violence are children. Children who have been rejected by their
families may end up in the streets with no one to care for them hence leading
to devastation. Another group is people with less or no power in the specific
community. Sometimes victims may not realize the violence they are going
through until they are free from this abuse. Although the media does a good job
in exposing such cruelty, it does not entirely cover all the acts of spiritual
violence taking into consideration that some are well concealed. This is especially
the case with some ministries with more controlling powers who have the ability
to keep such activities away from the light of the media. Churches have been
turned into places of businesses. People pretend to minister the word of God
yet in real sense they just want to gain financially from the people. The
church leaders work on marketing initiatives such that more people bring tithes
and offerings to the church hence they gain more wealth in the name of God.
Religious leaders who focus on their outward appearance are a good indication
of spiritual violence.
Another characteristic of spiritual abuse is the idea of
people with authority expecting members of the particular religious
organization to be obedient and submissive to them without question. They
usually require these members not to question their actions even on issues that
affect them. Therefore people are sort of under their control. This is clearly
violence since people are denied the opportunity to express their own opinions
as in a liberal society.
Spiritual violence has adverse effects on both the person
being abused and the perpetrator. One of
the effects is that it leads to the abused persons developing hate for
themselves and for their abusers. People who view themselves as ‘righteous’
refuse to speak to the victims for fear of being ‘tainted’. Alienation of the
victim may cause depression, especially if the victim is a family member or a
dependent of the perpetrator. Some leaders have gone to the extent of
excommunicating such people as gays and lesbians while misquoting religious
texts to justify their actions. Spiritual violence also leads to public
humiliation. A good example is singling out gays and lesbians for public rebuke
and ridicule by members of the community. Victims may indulge in bad behavior
such as drug abuse to preoccupy in an attempt to forget what they have been
through. Lastly, spiritual violence leads to death of the victim in some
extreme occasions as a result of being tormented by self-doubt, internal stress
and confusion. Death may be as a result of suicide or other causes. Spiritual
violence intends to control or kill.
Religious leaders are expected to lead by example. When
they beginning perpetuating spiritual violence, they go against their beliefs
since they hate other people when they are supposed to promote peace and
equality in church. Rumbert, in his article, ‘Spiritual Violence’, writes that,
‘the pollution of spiritual resources by homophobia and radical distortions of
the truth about the Bible and God has cut off millions of people.’(3) This
shows that many people are turning away from Christianity since people with
selfish motives have distorted its beliefs with time’.
Religious explanations and interpretations made centuries
ago about God are not God. Over the years, a religious environment that is
misinformed has come up due to people introducing their own ideas about
religion and God for their own selfish gains. This has led to confusion among
the believers. These ideas are passed on from generation to generation leading
to confusion. Contradictions among different religious groups often lead to
conflicts too.
The perpetrators display various characteristics
including justifying their actions using religion. They make the victims
believe that they are doing what they are doing because God tells them to do
so. The perpetrators are usually people with authority in the religious
organization and use their positions to abuse other people who are either under
their supervision or have less authority. On many occasions such incidences never get a chance to come to the
light since the victims are brainwashed into believing that that is what their
religion expect of them. The perpetrators on the other hand tend to hide this
from the public such that things look good on the outside yet it’s something
totally different on the inside. The victims are prevented from exposing the
evils being propagated by the ‘unspoken rules’ which do not allow them to speak
out. LeClaire explains that, ‘Unspoken rules are those that govern unhealthy
churches of families but are not said out loud. Because they are not loud, you
don’t find that they’re there until you break them.’(qtd Van Vondren, 4)
One of the suggestions I would give to avoid such
violence is that people should learn to question their religious leaders and
beliefs such that they are not trapped in abusive situations. Where does one
find accurate adequate information? One of the sources you cannot always rely
on is the internet. It offers much information but many times distorted and
based on personal opinions. People should also try to look for the truth about
God themselves.
Begin discovering the truth by sharing your thought with
a small group of people. We can learn a lot form each other therefore this can
help us avoid propagating spiritual abuse. We should also avoid judging people
who we think are violating your religious beliefs. In addition people should
strive to understand the religion more. The little spiritual knowledge they
have is not enough at all. Do not rely on other people to tell you what God is
saying. Listening to people tell you about what God says will lead these people
to manipulate and control you. People deny the existence of spiritual violence
claiming that they are following what God expects them to do which is not true.
In conclusion, I think, one should love other people as
they love themselves no matter how different they maybe from you. By doing
this, we will be able to prevent spiritual violence and persecution. Learn to
accept people the way they are without trying to use religion to oppress them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LeClaire, Jennifer. Spiritual Abuse, Christian Cults and
Controlling Ministries. < http://www.jenniferleclaire.org/articles/spiritual-abuse-christian-cults-and-controlling-ministries>
11.10.2011. Web. Date Accessed. 01.19.2014.
Truluck, Lambert. Spiritual Violence. < http://www.whosoever.org/v5i6/violence.html>
2001. Web. Date Accessed. 01.19.2014
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