Under Much Grace: July 2009

Concerning Things Cultic within Biblical Christianity

Spiritual Abuse describes the process by which a religious authority misuses power and the trust of their flock in order to meet their own needs or the needs of the system.

Many evangelical churches with sound and solid Biblical doctrine can be considered aberrant or "cultic" when they practice techniques of manipulation and thought reform.

Please read here concerning the many different aspects of this type of manipulation and spiritual abuse including development, practice and recovery from the phenomenon.

The blog title emphasizes that Christians live under the unmerited favor of God (grace) as opposed to earning favor with God. The notable aberrant and cultic system established by Bill Gothard redefines grace as something merited through the good work of submission to authority. Grace cannot be earned through submission to any law and comes by unmerited favor through faith alone!

You are not under law,
but under grace.
Romans 6:14

Propaganda Techniques

** Frequently used propaganda techniques in Spiritually Abusive groups
Ad Hominem - Attack your opponent's person rather than the argument itself. Literally "against the man"
Ad Hominem Abusive (Sub category of Ad Hominem) - An attack on the character or other irrelevant personal qualities of the opposition—such as appearance—is offered as evidence against their position. Such attacks are often effective distractions ("red herrings"), because the opponent feels it necessary to defend the self, thus being distracted from the topic of the debate.
Ad Hominem Circumstantial (Subcategory of Ad Hominem) -A Circumstantial Ad Hominem is one in which some irrelevant personal circumstance surrounding the opponent is offered as evidence against the opponent's position. This fallacy is often introduced by phrases such as: "Of course, that's what you'd expect him to say." The fallacy claims that the only reason why he argues as he does is because of personal circumstances, such as standing to gain from the argument's acceptance.
Appeal to Authority - Citing authorities or respected figures to support an argument or to discredit or negate an argument made by an opponent. This effectively thwarts the debate and the argument.
Appeal to Fear** - Fear is used to destabilize people so that they will be more likely to do or believe something that they would not otherwise choose under normal circumstances
Appeal to Force** (Argumentum ad Baculum) - Use of force and threats of force to "win" a debate. (baculum is a walking stick)
Appeal to Ignorance (also Argument from Silence) -An appeal to ignorance is an argument for or against a proposition on the basis of a lack of evidence against or for it. If there is positive evidence for the conclusion, then of course we have other reasons for accepting it, but a lack of evidence by itself is no evidence.
Appeal to Prejudice** - Using emotive terms and connotation to attach moral benefit or goodness to the argument. Attach the modifier "Biblical" to that which should not be questioned. "Cleanliness is next to godliness." It can also be used negatively. "The opinions and unrelated beliefs of a non-Christian cannot really be trusted, even regarding matters that do not relate to morality or Scripture."
Argumentum Ad Nauseum - An idea is repeated relentlessly until it is accepted. Especially effective when there is a great deal of milieu control.
Argumentum Ad Populum - (also called the "bandwagon" and "inevitable victory") Persuasion based on social proof
Big Lie - Create a message that is so complex but contains enough truthful elements so that people will not identify all the fictitious and fallacious elements. By the time it is recognized, many of the ideas are a part of the fabric of the debate and widely accepted.
Black-and-White Fallacy** (also called the Either-Or Fallacy or False Dilemma) - Presents information so that there are only two possible choices, one of which is far more appealing than the other. Obsures the difference between that which is contrary vs contradictory.
Common Man - Taking on of the characteristics of the target audience to make the message more palatable
Demonizing the Enemy** - Dehumanize the enemy and remove elements of commonality so that the target is easily dismissed, worthless, and of "non-person" status
Direct Order - Simplification of the decision making process so that followers will respond to very simple commands without question or need for additional problem solving
Euphoria - Use of emotionally charged and euphoria producing events to perpetuate good feelings and utopian ideals
Flag-waving - Capitalizing on patriotic sentiments to further one's agenda.
Glittering Generality - The use of positive connotation and vague statements to present an argument as very desirable without evidence to support glittering claims
Intentional Vagueness** (also "Fuzzy Logic") - Conclusions are not directly stated and the message may be intentionally vague so that individuals may draw their own conclusions, and the speaker does not have to be held directly accountable for the ideas. This works well in concert with other propaganda techniques.
Oversimplification (also "Fallacy of the Simple Cause") - Very complex processes are described with trite explanations that do not provide a faithful perspective for the target audience. Trite explanations are used to reduce rationales into faulty causalities.
Quoting Out of Context (type of "Straw Man" argument) - Selected quotes are extracted from a passage so that without the full context of the passage, the meaning is greatly distorted.
Rationalization** - Positive and unrelated aspects of something are offered as evidence for an argument's validity. "But they can't teach wrong doctrine because they have a lovely family"
Red Herring - (large category of several fallacies) Irrelevant but compelling aspects of an argument are offered as a distraction from the core issues in order to derail the debate.
Redefinition** - Assigning new meaning to an old term, but this is a logical boobytrap because of the ease of equivocation and confusing meanings. "He who defines, wins."
Reductio ad Hitlerum (type of Red Herring - see also Transference) - Suggestion that a popular idea is associated with something deplorable, hateful and unthinkable so that people will react and reject the argument or source of information based on the association.
Repetition - A rhetorical or literary device that is lyrical and gets stuck in one's mind like an advertising jingle. It is akin to argumentum ad nauseum, but also has literary quality.
Scapegoating** - A single cause or element is identified and vilified as the source of all undesirable circumstances or outcomes. The scapegoat distracts the audience from other possible contributing factors.
Slogans - Short phrases or motto used to make emotional appeals and support ideas. Slogans become "thought stopping" techniques quickly and become communication shortcuts that suspend critical thought.
Steriotyping (also "Name Calling" or "Labeling") - Reduces people, events, practices or ideas to capitalize on prejudice to evoke fear or distain.
Straw Man** - The Prince of All Fallacies (Subtype of "Red Herring") - Attempt to refute an opponent's position, and in the context is required to do so, but instead attacks a position—the "straw man"—not held by the opponent. Argues to a conclusion that denies the "straw man" the arguer has set up, but misses the target. A common straw man is an extreme man. Extreme positions are more difficult to defend because they make fewer allowances for exceptions, or counter-examples.
Testimonial - Reports or testimony from trusted sources are offered, out of context, in support of or for vilification of an idea, person, etc.
Transference** - Projection of either positive or negative qualities to something or someone in order to connote qualities that may or may not be related. It capitalizes on emotional response and is related to "Guilt by Association" and "Reductio ad Hitlerum"
Unstated Assumption** - Beliefs are implied or stated indirectly because a direct statement would seem less credible. "Women's suffrage is outside the prescriptive will of God and Kingdom Architecture." As a woman and a voter, you now have been told that you are acting outside the will of God and willingly disobedient. Any Christian understands that willful disobedience of God and the Scriptures is sin. The speaker can imply that they have not accused anyone of sinning, skirting accountability; however their inference that voting for women is a sin is understood.

Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International's 2006 Resolution Against the Family Integrated Church

The Family Integrated Church Movement was deemed "errant and schismatic" because....
* It encourages schism in the local church bodies by encouraging its adherents to change the theology and philosophy of the churches of which they are members.
* It does violence to local church authority, calling on local church members to leave their churches when the church does not bow to the philosophical demands of the movement.
* It espouses an ecclesiology based upon the family that is not based upon the New Testament but rather is an adaptation of Old Testament (Blog host note: ? or pagan Roman ?!) patriarchy.
* It falsely lays the claim that the destruction of the family in the U.S. is solely the fault of age-graded ministries in local churches. We contend that this is a simplistic and therefore false accusation.
* It espouses a postmillennial theology that is contradictory to a dispensational understanding of Scripture.
* It is oddly inclusive, basing fellowship on a particular philosophy of ministry rather than on the great fundamentals of the faith.

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