The sad, twisted truth about conservative Christianity's effect on the mind

[Stuckinthebush]

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/01/the_sad_twisted_truth_about_conservative_christianitys_effect_on_the_mind_partner/

This is a Salon article over a year old. It may have been posted a while back but I read it today and thought it was interesting.

“I am 30 years old and I am struggling to find sanity. Between the Christian schools, homeschooling, the Christian group home (indoctrinating work camp) and different churches in different cities, I am a psychological, emotional and spiritual mess.” –A former Evangelical

If a former believer says that Christianity made her depressed, obsessive, or post-traumatic, she is likely to be dismissed as an exaggerator. She might describe panic attacks about the rapture; moods that swung from ecstasy about God’s overwhelming love to suicidal self-loathing about repeated sins; or an obsession with sexual purity.

A symptom like one of these clearly has a religious component, yet many people instinctively blame the victim. They will say that the wounded former believer was prone to anxiety or depression or obsession in the first place—that his Christianity somehow got corrupted by his predisposition to psychological problems. Or they will say that he wasn’t a real Christian. If only he had prayed in faith believing or loved God with all his heart, soul and mind, if only he had really been saved—then he would have experienced the peace that passes all understanding.

But the reality is far more complex. It is true that symptoms like depression or panic attacks most often strike those of us who are vulnerable, perhaps because of genetics or perhaps because situational stressors have worn us down. But certain aspects of Christian beliefs and Christian living also can create those stressors, even setting up multigenerational patterns of abuse, trauma, and self-abuse. Also, over time some religious beliefs can create habitual thought patterns that actually alter brain function, making it difficult for people to heal or grow.

One requirement for success as a sincere Christian is to find a way to believe that which would be unbelievable under normal rules of evidence and inquiry. Christianity contains concepts that help to safeguard belief, such as limiting outside information, practicing thought control, and self-denigration; but for some people the emotional numbing and intellectual suicide just isn’t enough. In other words, for a significant number of children in Christian families, the religion just doesn’t “take.” This can trigger guilt, conflict, and ultimately rejection or abandonment.

Others experience the threats and fear too keenly. For them, childhood can be torturous, and they may carry injuries into adulthood.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. all religious indoctrination of children constitutes child abuse.

Stalin knew that he had to get the kids at a young and tender age, otherwise, he could not rely on their support as they grew up. To this day, the scars left by his indoctrination are felt by the survivors. In that respect, it was no different than catholicism, evangelical christianity, or any other major religion.

Fear must be taught, respect (automatically given to religious leaders) must be demanded and money must be donated (otherwise you risk angering a god who needs a healthy bank account).

[Cartoonist]

2. One of the saddest posts I ever read.

First, I keep reading. Not just those verses, or the other selected verses listed at the local atheist dollar meme website, but the whole book. Then I learn. I learn what the Book of Leviticus is, when and for whom it was intended, and then I read some more. I learn that slavery was rampant in the area at that time and at that place. Then I read some more. In between I look out the window and notice nobody is owning slaves or selling slaves on the way to synagogue or church. Then I read some more. I will read the other verses that condemn slavery, that exhort compassion and tolerance, and extol the dignity of human beings. In short, I read it all. At a certain point I realize what this verse is about and why it was written as it was written when it was written.
(name of poster withheld)

It goes to show the obsession with religion that prevents believers from seeing the truth. they just keep reinforcing the lies they tell themselves, like how it was different then and isn't that way anymore. Especially the part about slavery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking
http://www.humantrafficking.org/

Most telling is this page:
http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/states?gclid=CjwKEAjwmfKpBRC8tb3Mh5rs23ASJACWy1QP6tdMs001tgsV21hDdP6XH3EbX4gLj8kGgBOkJLMKLBoC-mzw_wcB

But because the above quoted poster does not see it out his own window, it therefore doesn't exist, and he can keep his nose buried in his Bible and read only the good parts.

[Lordquinton]

3. "I will read the other verses that condemn slavery"

What verses? I hear they exist, but they are never quoted directly.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. You will never see them quoted directly

because they do not exist. The best the Bible can do is dictate laws on how to do it.....and the only condemnation is if the slaves are not from other tribes, or if you kept them too long, or other bizarre rules.

[beam me up scottie]

4. Children are Targeted for Indoctrination Because the Child Mind is Uniquely Vulnerable.

Children are Targeted for Indoctrination Because the Child Mind is Uniquely Vulnerable.

“Here I am, a fifty-one year old college professor, still smarting from the wounds inflicted by the righteous when I was a child. It is a slow, festering wound, one that smarts every day—in some way or another…. I thought I would leave all of that “God loves… God hates…” stuff behind, but not so. Such deep and confusing fear is not easily forgotten. It pops up in my perfectionism, my melancholy mood, the years of being obsessed with finding the assurance of personal salvation.”

Nowhere is the contrast of viewpoints more stark than in the secular and religious understandings of childhood. In the biblical view, a child is not a being that is born with amazing capabilities that will emerge with the right conditions like a beautiful flower in a well-attended garden. Rather, a child is born in sin, weak, ignorant, and rebellious, needing discipline to learn obedience. Independent thinking is dangerous pride.

I agree with Cartoonist.

A great read, though, thank you for posting it.