Spiritually abusive groups keep their
followers malleable and suggestible by always keeping them a bit off
balance. A group member can never quite become a master of all the
demands of the group because the group is always in flux, inventing
new demands, new doctrines, or twists on new doctrines. In order to
remain acceptable to group leadership and maintain one's status, a
follower must constantly strive to stay current with the latest
musings of the leader which are usually accompanied by a unique code
of language as well as a particular focus of content. The follower
can never rest on their laurels, for they must continually work to
remain connected to the group and acceptable to the group.
The process lends itself well to
postmodern consumerism. The constantly changing, unique nuance in
focus pursued by the leader creates an automatic demand for his new
materials of instruction which followers must buy to stay “in the
know.” This continual flux also creates a high degree of emotional
arousal for the follower, even when the material does not appear to
be especially provocative. The system naturally creates the sense of
anticipation of learning the latest information which is also a type
of stimulation, a ritual that becomes a part of the whole experience.
In keeping with its postmodern appeal,
Vision Forum never seems to disappoint us in this area.
Personally, I grew weary of the new crisis and focus, particularly
after studying the group's material on “multigenerational faithfulness.” The doctrine sounds pleasant on the surface but
actually represents some of the most distasteful perversions of
Christian doctrine that I lost my stomach for it.
However, with a sufficient break
from Vision Forum's idiocy, I found this latest material and nearly
unbelievable, sensationalized subject matter to be most
deserving of honorable mention.
First, Vision Forum's “National
Center for Family Integrated Churches” held a conference this past
October, and one of the sessions was actually entitled.... (wait for
it) …. (drum roll)......
Need I even comment?
And the madness does not end.
If you
didn't make it to that conference, there's another upcoming
conference to inform and delight the participant. As the good Vision
Forum follower should desire to take dominion over everything, Doug
will lead his parachurch flock into the
reformation and dominion over food. (Some of the listed
“entrees” have more dominion over food than others...) “Avoiding
Food Heresies” should be interesting. I'm sure that Doug will
come up with some colorful neologisms as loaded language to describe
genetically manipulated foodstuffs, just as he created the term
“medical adultery” to describe aspects of in vitro
fertilization (specifically, gametes that do not belong to a
married couple). It's insufficient for Vision Forum followers to
watch King Corn
and Food, Inc.
to come to their own understanding of the subject. Christians have
Doug to do their thinking for them because they are too
unsophisticated to figure this out for themselves. And Doug needs the money.
(Please note that, as a nautropath,
I am no fan of GMO
derived or highly processed foods. My focus is the manner in which
VF sensationalizes more banal subject matter and turns all into
sacrament which usually also poses some marketing potential. How
much do you want to bet that VF will market aprons and coordinated
headcoverings at the conference? Ooops! Maybe I've just given them
some additional ideas? I doubt it. I think that they're way ahead
of me.)
I'm always glad to hear that I'm not the only
person who finds the Vision Forum perspective particularly troubling
and deceptive. For those who are interested in delving into the
subject and have read the hundreds of posts
available here on this site, please visit the new blog,
Rethinking
Vision Forum. It features a collection of critical
commentary from a host of sources pertaining to the specific
problematic doctrines and teachings propagated by Vision Forum and
their affiliates.
From The
Problem We See with Vision Forum (at the Rethinking
Vision Forum site):
We believe that Vision Forum’s teachings are neither Biblical nor healthy, and that Vision Forum offers only the allure of the “godly family.”This website is a hub for information on the problems with Vision Forum and its teachings, and the damages these teachings cause. In addition to generating original content, this website will pull together articles from a variety of different locations across the internet, with links listed under the pages tabs. Some articles from elsewhere will also be republished here. The goal is to pull together information from a variety of sources on the problems with Vision Forum for all to see. We have a variety of different beliefs, but we are united in exposing the dirty underbelly of the perfect Vision Forum image. (Continue reading HERE.)
I'm so glad that a group of former followers has put
for the effort to organize and coordinate this much needed website,
bringing the growing body of critiques of the specific teachings of
Vision Forum together in one place.
~~~~~
And for information which delves into the Quiverfull
ideology from a less critical view, please visit another great
website which deserves very honorable mention, A
Quiver Full of Information.
.
