Muchos de nosotros hemos interiorizado el mensaje de que simplemente no debemos permitir que las dificultades nos afecten. Que debemos seguir adelante lo más rápido posible y nunca mirar atrás.

I was at an event recently, and the topic of church hurt came up over coffee. (I find that coffee is usually involved when heavy issues like abuse arise.) I shared a bit of my own story with the group, which led to someone else sharing her story, telling me that it took her a while to recognize that what she experienced was wrong. She reminded me that church hurt is the result of people, not God, and that’s true.

¿Alguna vez has querido hacer una pregunta en tu entorno religioso, pero has sentido que no podías porque sabías que algo estaría en juego si lo hacías?

When I was growing up, I didn’t really learn that much about the fear of the Lord, but that’s not true of some of my friends, especially those who grew up in cults. The fear of the Lord is often wielded as a weapon in high-control groups, but what the Bible describes as the fear of the Lord isn’t supposed to be used to harm or control...

My first memory of a pastor being removed from his position was Jimmy Swaggart, a popular televangelist in the 80s...

Mi padre era un hombre volátil. Nadie sabía qué lo haría explotar o cuándo perdería el control, así que siempre estábamos en guardia y...

«Nos estaremos alejando de la bendición de Dios si no nos comprometemos».

I honestly thought I had moved past it all, but about a month ago, I was a couple of hours away from the place where it all went down...

I think I believed that once I left my spiritually abusive situations, talked through them, took a break, and re-entered a solid church...

Creo que pensé que una vez que dejara mis situaciones de abuso espiritual, hablara de ellas, me tomara un descanso y volviera a una...

The process of re-engaging at a church after leaving a spiritually abusive one has been MUCH longer, slower, and more difficult...

El proceso de volver a participar en una iglesia después de dejar una que ha sido espiritualmente abusiva, ha sido MUCHO más largo, lento...

To be frank, undue influence is unbiblical. It is immoral and unethical. It strips a person of their value and autonomy...

Tis the season when we are surrounded by messages of merriment and all things glittery... And yet, many of us lament.

Many of us have internalized the message that we should simply not allow difficult things to affect us.

Me costaba manejar bien mi ira. Mi esposo me podría decir algo que, aunque no era lo mismo, se parecía demasiado a lo que me decían...

Anna Kitko es especialista en sectas y nuevas religiones en Ratio Christi.

It’s probably not a surprise to you that the words of God have been misused and abused since the beginning.

¿Qué es la verdad? La «verdad» fue una vez algo que yo sostenía tan concretamente, algo en lo que confiaba en otro tan diligentemente...

What is Truth? “Truth” was once something I held so concretely, something I trusted another with so diligently…